Growth Under Pressure
Poor decisions are not made because of a lack of skill, confidence or will. Poor decisions are made due to inability to handle pressure.
Resilience is built when a person views adversity as
1) temporary
2) as a path to be better and do better.
Sports team understand that players learn how to handle weights, pressures and problems by practicing under pressure. That’s where the championships are won. But, there is no practice time in business. You are expected and rewarded when you make the right decisions under the greatest pressure. And you’re expected to do this without training? How can you help your team perform under pressure and grow in the face of great challenges?
First thing is to have conversations around this.
Discuss:
~ how the best growth opportunities come in the middle of a crisis or difficulty.
~resilience, values, and non-negotiables.
~role models who make good decisions under pressure.
Discuss how your individual team members handle current responsibilities and challenges. Do they avoid, procrastinate, compromise, make rash decisions? These conversations are so very important because there are still too many people who think what got them to their current level will keep them. And, that is a death knell for high performance: individual and team performance.
The state of being frustrated, overwhelmed and anxious is dangerous because it narrows one’s ability to problem solve and innovate. Unless it is arrested, it will create more tension. This can lead to aggression, panic or just shutting down. And, we know it creates havoc on a person’s health.
Staying in mental clarity first takes a decision to do so before the crisis occurs. It’s the essence of emotional intelligence: self awareness, then choosing carefully and finally courageously acting on your values instead reacting to the crisis.
If you want a high performing team, take time to begin this process. Your team is either moving forward or backwards — there is no compromise. No middle ground.
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