Leading Under Pressure

The role of leadership is seldom smooth. By definition, as soon as we realise that we can lead ourselves, let alone others, there is a feeling of responsibility and desire to level up that can’t go unacknowledged. On a good day, no matter what level or role we’re choosing to lead from, leadership requires us to focus, to care about an outcome and to make decisions — all of which require our personal energy.

Because neither life nor leadership ever runs smoothly for very long, there will always be moments where change or a challenge presents itself, further adding to the considerations we were already managing.
These changes or challenges will require extra energy from us, be it mental, emotional, physical, or all three.

When we’re feeling under pressure, is perhaps when we need to check ourselves the most. Change and challenge will always activate our egos (the part of our brain assigned to assess the risk we may be facing), and our ego’s sole job is to look out for №1. This activation can be detrimental to our ability to see a broad picture, to consider others and to collaborate. Left unchecked by the adult in us, our egos can make some fairly questionable decisions — at the very least creating background noise for our previously clear thinking.

Brian Tracy said, “The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis”. Martin Luther King Jnr said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments…