Stress is everywhere. You see your team not performing the way you had hoped. The economy has a downward tilt to it. Customers are not as easy to acquire as they once were.
So what is a great leader like you to do? How will you put on your best face when leaving home in the morning? And how do you live the adage:
Serenity is not freedom from the storm–it’s calm in its midst.
Here are some tips:
1. Recognize that ‘this too, shall pass.’ I learned that early in life when one of my basketball coaches saw me upset about something I couldn’t control. He pulled me aside and said, “I noticed that you are upset about things that you have no control over. How’s that working for you?” Then, he suggested I take a “this–too–shall–pass” approach to life’s curve balls. That allowed me to ‘get out of myself’ and bring a more creative, energetic self to the world.
2. It’s all about competency. If you have the wrong people in the wrong slots on your team, then stress of any kind will create ‘derailers.’ When any member of your team is off track (derailed) then lousy behavior shows up. They talk too much—they don’t listen enough–they are ungrateful–they talk over others–they are a pain-in-the-arse to be around. So, keep working on making people competent.
3. Get the team together. It’s crazy that when we get the most stressed we stop having meetings and tell people just to ‘get out there and make it happen.’ Well, sometimes, making it happen won’t happen. Sometimes you can learn more when you assemble your team and have a retreat to address ideas on how you can improve things. We recently did just that. And an idea that came from it got people so pumped up, they totally forgot about the economic slowdown.
So, sometimes, you just have to take a different path through/around the trouble. And you, as a leader, must help your team navigate around it. One thing you should not to is go into hiding. People need you to step up and be a man (or woman).
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