This is a great thought. I love how it describes what survives and doesn't survive storms. I try to take a breath and remind myself of this type of stuff when many things in my life seem to be spinning out of control. My natural response is almost always wrong, but sometimes I self-correct and get it right. How do you do this? You have to be able to self-regulate your emotions. Self-regulation is the difference between high & low social-emotional intelligence. Time and again, the research identifies social-emotional intelligence as the key indicator of a successful leader, making the root cause, self-regulation, critical. So, here are a few ways that you can be an anchor for people around you during a 'life storm.'
PAUSE, BUT DO NOT PANIC - What do coaches do when a crisis hits their team in the heat of competition? They call a timeout. During the timeout, the coach has roughly sixty seconds to refocus the team. It is this brief pause that can keep panic from setting in. The same can be valid for a leadership crisis. Do not hesitate to pause momentarily to get your people together so that panic does not occur.
BODY LANGUAGE AND TONE OF VOICE - Stay calm! Raising your voice, flailing your arms, and using negative, attacking tones will not fix the problem. You cannot scream someone into a peaceful state of mind. Controlling these things helps me galvanize people together to fix the problem rather than send them running for shelter.
INTENTIONAL SMALL ACTIONS - I make a quick, short list of actionable items I can take on immediately to fix the problem. These are not creatively genius thoughts. They are almost always simple and small. It is incredible how small things can stabilize a group when a crisis hits. When I'm with a group, I can delegate some of these things so that they can begin leaning in with me. A momentary pause to think about what I can do at the moment rather than a reactionary panic focusing on what is happening has a way of keeping you from overreacting.
ASK FOR HELP - Occasionally, you can solve a problem by breathing and asking for help. I had a recent reminder of this when we had some significant complications that almost caused our family to miss a necessary appointment. We were all freaking out to the point that we forgot that we could call and move the appointment back an hour. With a simple phone call and request for help, the stress of the entire situation melted away.
Stress and chaos are coming your way. Make sure that you are an anchor for the people depending on you.
Keep on, keepin' on, friends!
Bite Down and Don’t Let Go is a collection of writings on relentlessly leading yourself and others well. Read about it more here. You can listen to the Bite Down and Don't Let Go podcast here!
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart, and they have three children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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