Performing under pressure.
What’s up my fellow humans,
If there’s one skillset common to all successful working professionals, that is the ability to perform under pressure. As a founder, building Leeloo creates all sorts of pressure for myself and the team - some expected and others not so much. What’s always exciting, is strategizing on the best ways to deal with pressure so that we’re not just getting by but crushing it. So, I felt it apt to talk a little about pressure.
The Chameleon's Secret
In the wild, chameleons adapt to their surroundings by changing colors for survival. Similarly, working professionals and team players can learn to adapt to high-pressure situations, but it’s not about surviving in our career. It’s about navigating pressure in such a way that we thrive despite the pressure. If you’re merely surviving, feeling trapped, overwhelmed by deadlines, unable to function under risk and inundated by commitments, you may be lacking some tools and techniques to deal with pressure.
Pressure vs. Adversity
Mountains withstand the elements, but even they eventually crumble under enough pressure. The difference between pressure and adversity lies in manageability. Pressure is a force that can be harnessed, while adversity is beyond our control. Recognizing this distinction empowers us to tackle challenges with confidence, even when facing overwhelming odds. This means getting very specific on the type and intensity of pressure that you’re experiencing in your workforce….
Pressure Under the Microscope
High pressure situations are intensified by factors such as challenge, difficulty, isolation from help, time restraints, and risk or consequences of being wrong or incomplete. What factors best describe the pressure you commonly experience? Like the calm eye of a storm, awareness of these factors allows you to develop a specific strategy for that particular type of pressure. To help you better maintain composure and balance when you’re in a pressure cooker. Reflect on the last time you faced intense pressure. What factors were at play, and how can you better prepare for them in the future?
The Tortoise's Triumph
Steady but not slow decision making wins. Under time pressure, our decision-making abilities can falter, leading to errors in judgment. The tortoise's steady pace serves as a reminder that slowing down and analyzing situations can lead to better outcomes. When we analyze our options we benefit from thinking about what we can do as well as what other people might do to deal with the pressure we are experiencing. More on this in another post! In short…. sometimes this means imagining we are someone else. Other times this means asking someone else.
Oyster's of Wisdom
In nature, oysters turn irritants into beautiful pearls. Experiencing ‘little irritating things’ frequently is often a sign that you tend to be in high pressure circumstances. Like, rude clients, disrespectful colleagues, complaining teammates, organizations that value your money making skills over your health. Each and every irritant can add up over time leading to a breakdown under pressure - an inability to perform under even a small amount of pressure that would usually have no effect on you. This can lead to a feeling of shame and loss of self-confidence. To prevent this it’s important to lean into each of the irritants as and when they arise, dealing with each one of them before they accumulate into thoughts and feelings that are intangible and unmanageable. What 3 little irritating occurrences are you experiencing this past week that you can aim to deal with within the next 2 days?
Finding Zen Amidst Chaos
When faced with high-pressure situations, maintaining mental and emotional health is crucial. Incorporate practices such as mindfulness, meditation, or physical exercise to cultivate calm and balance might not solve your issues but what they can do is provide you with the clarity you need to feel more resourceful and less emotionally on-edge under pressure. Better yet, mindfulness techniques can help you contemplate different tools and strategies you can use to tackle the types of pressure you experience the most. Mastering high-pressure situations involves adapting like a chameleon, distinguishing between pressure and adversity, identifying factors that intensify pressure, employing effective decision-making tactics, using tools like mindfulness and exercise to release some of the emotion or irritation around people, places and things that create pressure.
In engineering Leeloo, we spent a lot of time training our algorithm to recognize pressure in your queries. And if that’s something you’d like to work through with Leeloo then you can share your thoughts and feelings about pressure with Leeloo in a free session. All you need is your email to sign up! 😎
Leeloo is a digital advisor/sidekick for helping you navigate personal and professional challenges throughout your career with soulful guidance. You could tell Leeloo an answer or any thoughts that came up for you during this article and see what perspective Leeloo can give you.
Are you a Guardian of your Galaxy?
If you’re a leader, coach or health practitioner, who’s interested in getting to amplify your listening power by getting to know your people better, Leeloo can help with that. Ping us an email at leeloo@silicealabs.com. We are currently onboarding new users every week.
Dan
CEO, Silicea Labs
