Leading Under Pressure: How Leaders Can Use Stress to Get Better Results

Leading Under Pressure: 5 Ways Leaders Can Use Stress to Get Better Results

If there’s something that I’ve come to learn having worked as a leader for over 2 decades, working with leaders across a wide variety of industries worldwide, is the fact that leaders are not naturally predisposed to deal with stress any better than most of us.

At a time of crisis, stress and uncertainty can put a heavy burden to carry on all of us. COVID 19 is causing stress to the world at large, yet how you deal with it can determine whether you succeed or not.

The fact is that all stressful events can lead to achievement. Think for a moment of those stressful times in your own life when you overcame stress in order to rise up to something important, like taking exams to get your qualifications, interviewing for the role you knew you deserve, going on a date with your now partner, speaking or presenting in public about your own ideas and opinions, motivating your team or pitching to new clients – didn’t they all require for you to deal with a certain amount of stress?

What many of my clients would say, is that in the absence of pressure or stress, they wouldn’t be able to perform optimally, causing them to get bored or find ways to procrastinate if no pressure exists. So one could argue that pressure demands that we rise up to the challenge and we bring out the best in ourselves, and in doing so, become role models for others to do the same.

Leaders are somehow always aligned with challenges, and must learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable, constantly looking for ways to be challenged to produce outstanding results. There is however a fine balance where too much becomes the tipping point that send us into panic, paralizing our efforts to effectively show up, inhibiting our ability to make good decisions. The key here is handling pressure without panic, so how do we achieve that?

Neuroscience shows that dealing effectively with stressful situations requires the ability to balance our brain chemicals in the best way possible, and there are skills that can easily be taught that do just that. 

One of my favourite phrases is “when emotions run high, logic goes down”. In a heightened emotional state, our default physiological reaction is to go into ‘fight-or-flight’ response, our brain’s way of helping us jump into self-preservation. This is typically the time when in a business situation, we start freezing, micromanaging or start making mistakes.

But fear not, for there are many ways in which you can minimize or avoid the ‘fight-or-flight’ impulse. Leaders have many ways of dealing with stress. Here are five of the most common when facing a stressful situation:

1. Stay calm, remain fearless. See the situation as a challenge, not a crisis. Approach the situation from a place of curiosity, wanting to find out all that’s required to evaluate your response. Being curious will help you approach the topic from a proactive perspective, and your brain won’t have the ability to jump into panic mode. Be realistic and consider the fact that in life, sometimes things do go wrong. When they do, those setbacks will be dealt. Hang onto the lessons learned while maintaining the ability to stay upbeat about the future.
2. Keep it simple. Find order in the chaos and maintain clarity of thought. Work on the things that really count. Don’t get emotional or defensive. If you feel that emotions are getting the best of you, or overwhelm starts creeping in, it is time to take some distance to bring some space and perspective into the matter. At times like these, less is more. Bring it back to the basics, compose yourself, and only then you may come back to addressing the issue. Simplicity under pressure is best.
3. Exercise. Multiple studies have shown that physical exercise not only reduces stress but also improve concentration by reducing anxiety, therefore leading to better decisions. If you are feeling like things are getting on top of you, take a break and go for a walk, do some stretching, of a high intensity activity that allows you to release some endorphins and reset your mental and emotional states.
4. Focus on the goal and take decisive action. Taking the time to reflect on the big picture, why you do what you do, and moving the needle towards your goals will reduce stress, improve clarity and increase your likelihood of resolving the issue; the act of doing something to resolve it will also reduce the pressure. One brain can only think one thought at the time, so when we are being and actively doing, our brain is busy helping us achieve it.
5. Prepare for the unexpected. This is a technique that top athletes use in preparing for extreme quests. They visualize the worst that could happen, then go about considering what they will do when that happens. Going through this experience in your brain allows your mind to quieten up, so you can worry about getting on with things. You’re much less likely to be stressed about something if you were expecting it. The trick is not to worry about everything that might happen, but to be prepared for it if does. A lot easier said than done I know! Just know that your brain knows no difference between real or envisioned scenarios, so help yourself by helping your brain.

For leaders to succeed, they need to understand and embrace the fact hat dealing with stress and pressure is part of being a leader, and learning to cope with it is a necessary step on the path to achievement. Leaders must therefore make the shift from resisting and reacting to pressure to embracing it, making it a necessary part of their role, and equiping themselves to make the most of it.

When leaders break down under pressure, so do their teams. When the heat turns up at work, most of us aren’t at our best. If you haven’t coped with pressure well in the past, be easy on yourself. You may do it again. But don’t be discouraged – or complacent. Ask yourself, “When it matters most, who do I want to be? How do I want to show up?” While it isn’t easy to step up to your best self under pressure, it is incredibly important. These are defining moments for you and for your team.

Here’s to your success!

Isabel

Isabel is an experienced Peak Performance Strategist with over 20 years of international work experience holding senior positions within the hospitality industry in countries around the world, as well as Executive and Leadership coaching, mentoring and training.

She specializes in high performance strategy, leadership development and building organizational culture to help leaders and their teams learn, grow and succeed.

Isabel is passionate about closing the gender gap and helping women reach more leadership roles by empowering them in business with the mindset, performance, skills and strategies that they need to get ahead.

More available on www.isabelvalle.com