Emergency Coping Reactions

Leadership Coaching Notes September 2009

Emergency Coping Reactions

As the pressures rose higher, Stan’s anxiety rose, too. He had hired well, invested in developing performance, and rewarded excellence. His team had produced impressive results. But, under high More About Us and prolonged stress, Stan began Join Our Mailing List! using “primitive” coping reactions that Past Issues LCNotes threatened to dismantle the very strengths he had worked so hard
to build. What happened and what did he shift?

What Worked

1. It’s Not All Up to You: In an emergency, it can be critical to have a take-charge leader direct action. Stan over used this response. He felt solely responsible and forgot he had a team of strong resources who wanted to help. As he viewed everything as a crisis, he justified barking detailed orders. He forgot to encourage people’s strengths and, instead, criticized their mistakes and shortfalls, often in public.
Instead of affirming his confidence in them, he impatiently micromanaged and disempowered them. Stan learned to step away. He remembered the best leaders in emergency teams, like those in hospitals, disasters and SWAT teams. He took a deep breath, reset and started acting like them.

What You Can Do: Lead You, Engage Them: Check: In challenging times, how clearly do you set priorities so everyone, including you, focuses on what is most critical to your success? How well do your mood and style generate the engagement and enthusiasm you most need? Do your reactions convey your fears or your fortitude?

The best emergency personnel keep their emotions in check and focus skillfully and resourcefully to address the chaos they face. They scan the scene, prioritize the most critical needs, and make smart use of people and resources available. Exhale, remember and model them.

2. Stand at the Hub: Stan let his conviction that “failure is not an option” slip into believing that feeling high stress and acting like a cornered tiger was his only choice. As he became increasingly overloaded, tired, and angry, the idea of slowing down never entered his mind. Then he realized that speed could kill – him, his people and even his family.

He began practicing “calm at the center.” Imagining himself at the hub, not the rim, of a spinning wheel helped him use a style and skills that encouraged his and others’ best contributions. Being the calm at the center of the storm made his thinking clearer, more flexible and more helpful to others.

What You Can Do: Connect with Your Strengths: Check: Who are you bringing to your next meeting, the next project? Your best or your emergency coping reactions?

Make a bullet list of your strengths, attitudes, style and behavior when you are performing at your most effective times. Create a regular practice of finding your internal, quiet center and remembering these resources. Schedule consistent time to reset these, more when things are toughest. Practice each time you return to your desk or before every meeting. Showing up at your best will help others to be theirs.
Prioritize regular exercise (several short efforts each day count), breathe deeply, pray or meditate, play with kids and laugh, eat wisely and drink lots of water. Cut out anything discretionary in your workload so you bring your full attention to what matters most.

3. Create Your Personal Advisory Committee: Jim hated to take time for anything more, but realized the risks if he didn’t. Things were changing so fast that he couldn’t keep track of all the key issues.

He asked a small group of colleagues he trusted to advise him about priority issues, opportunities, and people he needed to address. He listened, argued constructively and asked for their help in moving forward. He asked them to tell him directly when he sabotaged the spirit and performance he most wanted. When they did, he thanked them, chose to believe them and worked hard to change.

What You Can Do: Call Your Lifelines: Who is on your advisory team or who might you add? Define how they can powerfully support to you and your organization’s success and then ask them for it. Prioritize meeting with them monthly. Check: How do you respond when they bring you views you don’t agree with? How willing are you to learn from them? How much value do they think they add to you? Do they know how much you value them?

Business Impact

Stan remembered that great leaders are people who stay their best when others are at their worst. His investment in staying his best helped others focus on what was most important rather than on compensating for him. The business environment didn’t get any better, but his office environment improved notably. Everyone gained confidence that they would beat the challenges and maybe even achieve the impossible.

What’s Next

If you are wearing thin as a leader, know you are losing your grip or feeling alone in the storms and you want to change, please give me a call to discuss your situation and options. If you are coaching others who want good support to be the leaders who help others exceed their expectations, invite them to call. Our first call is always free.
Liked the article? Didn’t like it? Have any questions? Drop me a line mkimbell@corporateadventure.com. I’d love to hear from you!

All the best,

Meredith Kimbell
Executive Advisor,Strategy Consultant
Corporate Adventure

Leadership Coaching Notes uses real or composite client examples drawn from 25 years of coaching and consulting with leaders committed to solving their toughest personal, interpersonal and organizational issues.
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is copyrighted by Meredith Kimbell © 2011. All rights reserved. You may reprint any or all of this material if you include the following:
“Leadership Coaching Notes © 2011 Meredith Kimbell, Corporate Adventure, Reston, VA. Used with permission.”