PPB February 2020

the problem. This is not the same thing as getting bent out of shape. You can be honest and calm at the same time. Put some ground rules in place to help others manage stress. Busy, stressful times are when you need cooperation and engagement the most. Yet it’s during these times that tension builds, emotions run hot and people explode or otherwise behave poorly. Recognize this and put a plan in place to help people deal with frustrations and conflict in a way that won't harm the team’s ability to perform. For example, youmight ask everyone to be mindful of their tone when communicating while under pressure. Youmight also ask others to jump in and help when they see a coworker getting overwhelmed. As a leader, you need to not only manage your own stress, but help others manage theirs as well. Master a few tactics for calming yourself down and teach others to do the same. If you feel yourself starting to get overwhelmed by stress, here are a fewways you can calm yourself down quickly: • Control your body. Don’t let it control you. • Walk away. Take a 20-minute break. • Go for a walk. Physical activity is a great stress reliever. It can help you calm your mind and get some much-needed clarity around what needs to happen next. It’s even better if you can get outside, if only for a moment. Most of the time, natural sunlight can make a big difference on your mood. • Open up your body and take a few deep breaths. Put your shoulders back, head up and stand tall. Try to intentionally quiet your mind. This is a technique professional athletes have known and used for years to manage stress before a big game. Opening up the body allows for better blood flow, and deep breathing puts more oxygen in the blood and can help minimize the impact of cortisol (the stress hormone). • Count backward from 10. Do it twice if needed. Shifting your attention from the problem at hand to a relatively simple task can help you come back to your work with a fresh set of eyes. It also helps your brain reset and refocus. Moving the focus away from your problem and onto an abstract thought, even one as simple as counting from 10, will also help you calm down and control your emotional response. It forces you to use a different part of the brain. Create a best-odds plan for staying healthy. This gives you the stamina you need—both physical andmental—to cope with stress and keep going. Sleep well, eat well, stay hydrated and generally take good care of your body so you'll be in tip-top shape mentally. This requires discipline and planning, but health and well-being are too important to leave to chance. Good habits fall to the wayside during busy times. Youmay be tempted to skip lunch because you’re too busy to eat, or stay up working until 1 am. Remind yourself that this is counterproductive. If you aren’t healthy, you won’t be able to cope when stress levels kick into overdrive. Be resilient/learn to reset. Setbacks will happen. Leaders must be able to bounce back quickly and continue tomove forward even when things appear to be falling apart. Resiliency is essential as leaders need to have the mental wherewithal to offer support and continue to direct their teams. Being resilient comes fromhaving good coping skills, supportive environments with a lot of psychological safety, a strong sense of optimism, grit, and the mental and physical stamina to sustain andmove through stressful situations. Work on these factors but also know that resiliency also comes with growth. As with everything else, experience counts for a lot. The more seasoned leaders will be better at handling stress just because they have had somany years to learn to cope. They’ve seen what can happen when they don’t handle stress well, and they are more motivated to change. If you are a new leader, know that this is a skill you build just like everything else. Use these tools and tactics and know that it gets easier every day. Quint Studer is the author of 10 books, including the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader’s Handbook, and a lifelong businessman, entrepreneur and student of leadership. He is also the founder of Vibrant Community Partners and Pensacola’s Studer Community Institute. He currently serves as the entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of West Florida. Setbacks will happen. Leaders must be able to bounce back quickly and continue tomove forward even when things appear to be falling apart. 64 | FEBRUARY 2020 | THINK