It happens often, in all kinds of situations. In the midst of an activity, during a meeting, alone on the drive home. Even in safe, trusting and fun practice environments: An activity is not working, progress has stalled, or a problem is not getting solved.
💥 Cue threat response.
👈 Exit stage left ‘logic and awareness’.
👉 Enter stage right ‘super-micro-detail-focus’.
It is a simple function of being human and holding responsibility for a task, and it can be debilitating.
While facilitating leadership development activities I have witnessed the leadership freak-out strike many times.
All the boxes were ticked before the task:
✔ Team brought together and energised
✔ Purpose and strategy identified
✔ Planning conducted
✔ Roles and responsibilities confirmed
✔ Common understanding achieved
✔ Action commences…
And then, a challenge presents.
😀 Calm and communication is maintained.
💡 Ideas and options floated.
🎯 New action tested…
Fail
😐 Calm and communication is strained.
💤 Ideas and options repeated.
🔁 Old-new action tweaked and tested…
Fail
😖 Calm and communication leave the building.
⚡ Ideas and optio – “shhhhhh I’m trying to think here!”
🔁 Old-tweaked action tweaked again…
Fail
⛔The clocks run out, times up, over, blaow.
Often, someone in the team would have suggested a top idea but the stressed leader is just too submerged in the details of the failure to understand. Words from others simply enter the ear canal, vibrate the drum and the signal is filed as white noise.
Whenever we don that leader’s hat and take responsibility there is the chance of freak-out. The threat of failure and a ‘perceived responsibility’ to single handedly overcome challenges can render us useless for our teams.
The key is to remember it’s your responsibility to create and sustain the environment where people can and want to perform. And that may mean:
Hitting the stop button, breathing and resetting.
Or sometimes,
Getting out of their way and handing over.