Leaders Breakdown Under Pressure

To become an effective leader, there are several core competencies one should have—ranging from the ability to influence and inspire others to knowing how to act decisively. While these traits are important in our daily role as a leader, they are especially critical during times of pressure and stress. The demanding situations and crises we face over the course of our career are likely to be the moments that define who we are as a leader and, potentially, as a person. How we act in these situations can impact how our employees and co-workers remember us for rest of their lives. When managers break down, so can their teams, resulting in hindered performance and lower morale. This can cause your employees to miss deadlines, make mistakes, and potentially lose customers—the exact opposite of what you need during times of crisis. 

Over the past 20 odd months, crisis mode has become the new normal. Even the most fortunate among us is likely struggling in some way. Knowing this, good managers everywhere are feeling pressure to “fix” situations for their teams. Guess what? You can’t fix this crisis. And that’s ok. Even if you don’t have control over the conditions or fallout from the ongoing public health, social justice and economic crises, you do have control over building and supporting your team's resilience. It’s time for a new approach to the situation we’re in now that we’ve officially crossed into the long-term-near-permanence territory. Businesses must acknowledge new priorities and goals, and leaders must remain open to fresh ideas and candid discussions with employees and agree to disagree.

To help managers reframe their thinking, here are five best practices to consider:

1. Wait to Act

A leader is someone who responds to a situation calmly and with a well-thought-out plan. Before you jump headfirst into problem-solving, take a deep breath and pause to collect your thoughts and assess the situation with a clear mind. This advice is the most important tip that Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn, who teaches a free, online leadership lesson about legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton, learned when she studied former US President Abraham Lincoln’s method of leadership.

“One of the things Lincoln cultivated in high-stakes situations was to do nothing in the moment,” she explains. “He wasn’t living with nonstop social media. But he was constantly bombarded by people and important issues demanding his attention. In such an environment, his rule was that the higher the stakes, the less likely he was to do anything.” In a crisis, it’s important to take a deep breath and remain as calm as possible—especially as the stakes rise or as circumstantial turbulence accelerates—before responding in order to move forward with an actionable plan and to avoid creating mass panic. The smallest pause before picking up the phone, shooting out an email, or saying something to someone will help a leader gather his or her thoughts and maximize the chances that he or she makes a smart move.

2. You Can’t Resolve Everything

Many managers are stressed out knowing their team members feel isolated and anxious, may be grieving or are stretched thin work-life balance and may be more. The fact that you know what your team members are struggling with means you’ve been consistently checking in with them, not with a frowning face but with a real smile on your face. 

Although you can’t fix what they’re each going through, the very act of asking “how are you feeling?” and making space in meetings or one-on-ones for everyone to answer can be a more supportive and effective approach than trying to be the problem-solver. Your time, concern and positive feedback means world to them.

3. Understand the Real Situation

It’s crucial to recognize the reality of a situation and acknowledge your limitations during a crisis, no matter how difficult that might be. Realize that in the heat of the moment, nothing an individual leader can do can solve the whole situation. You’re better off acting from your strongest, calmest self than you are taking the first reactive, immediate action.

While a problem can seem overwhelming at first, the best way to approach it is to break it down step-by-step. Doing so can help you gain a clear picture of the circumstances, enabling you to work closely with your team, prioritize your next steps, and delegate effectively. Once you’ve decided on a plan, stick to it and rely on yourself and your team to complete the tasks assigned and carry out a successful resolution.

4. Help Teams Reshape Perspective

Most of what we’re struggling with right now is truly difficult. Even so, some of what we’re dealing with can be tackled with a clear mindset. The stress and anxiety that comes with a crisis push us into raw emotional state, and things that wouldn’t normally bother us, might be just enough to set us over the edge. Early in the pandemic, I recall intense frustration over a simple failed cookie recipe. Something I would normally have laughed off. A little time and distance later and I know this was a manifestation of other feelings, completely unrelated. Helping our teams reframe perspectives by looking at situations through a different lens can be a game-changer and help us see what’s actually bothering us. 

Ask your team to identify the problem, challenge their assumptions, and then reshape or reframe it. This can be as simple as asking how someone we admire would respond to the situation, or how a fictional character might react. All it takes is a tweak in the angle to look at a situation in a whole new way. 

5. Compel yourself to think positively  

It’s hard to cultivate an optimistic mindset during a global pandemic, but this is one of those times in our lives and careers that we must force ourselves to think positively. Reflect on how you’re explaining the current challenge to yourself. Do you acknowledge that these difficult circumstances are temporary? Do you take the adversity personally? Or are you able to recognize that many people are in the same boat? If you fall into the catastrophic camp, try to be vigilant about not going down a rabbit hole of negativity.

There is an emotional contagion that occurs when you’re thinking and communicating from that place, and your team is likely to suffer as a consequence. To battle pessimistic tendencies, take “detachment breaks from work and the news. Find ways to recharge yourself. If you can, get a little fresh air and sunshine. Have lunch with your significant other or a virtual coffee break with a friend. Do what you can, to find the glimmers of hope and possibility.

Take Away 

If you’re in a leadership position, learning how to control yourself and maintain a level head during challenging times will serve you well over the course of your career. But that can be easier said than done. Becoming an effective leader takes work. Not only do you need to constantly hone your leadership skills, but you must also maintain poise under pressure and learn to adapt to various situations.

It also requires developing a personal leadership style. Like any successful leader, you don’t have to do it alone. Taking leadership courses can help you learn skills and qualities to use both in your personal and professional life. When the heat turns up at work, most of us aren’t at our best. If you’ve lost your temper 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 am I?” 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.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and Evolve HR’s website.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.