Leadership Under Pressure

It’s critical nature

OPINION PIECE

Uzair Hassan, 3H Solutions,

11/4/20263 min read

Globally, organizations experience change, on average, every 2-3 years. In fact, for many, they have not recuperated from one change when the other arrives. Yet, less than 30% discuss leadership behavior during crisis and times of change. Its impact is astronomical, yet the attention it gets is miniscule.

Effective management of change, disruption, stressful times is critical. Yet, it’s more critical to manage ourselves to ensure we can lead the people we are responsible for, more effectively. Crystal clear direction from leaders is key in such times. But pressure brings out a side of leadership we usually, and thankfully, do not see.

Pressure has a way of stripping all the veneer from composure. All the thin veils that a leader may have. Their reactions, their behaviors, are key in these trying times. It is one aspect that requires laser focus given the impact it can have, not only on the organization, but the people it purports to care for.

Carl Jung the famous Psychologist said: If you want to see someone’s true character look at just 2 things: How they treat the powerless (People who can offer nothing to them) and how they handle frustration and adversity. This is true for leaders as well.

Leadership under pressure is a very different animal. One that is not controlled and presented. One that derails, demotivates, and disrupts. One that needs a different mirror. A brutally honest one.

One minute you are empathetic, decisive, composed, in control. The next minute, the uncomfortable truth emerges. When reputation, control, status and certainty are questioned. When they are threatened. A visceral personality emerges.

Pressure does not build character. It exposes it. Micromanagers emerge where devolution and empowerment were preached. Anyone who questions their reign is punished whereas they were all about transparency and open communication.

Your worldview is set. Your experiences, biases and blind spots contribute to certainty around your strongly held beliefs. When anyone questions those, you dismiss the evidence. In effect, your experience is stopping you from seeing what could be possible, and not allowing open debate or discussions on direction, strategy, approach etc.

The bottleneck is the way leaders manage their emotions. Your team should not shelter you from bad news based on your mood that day. That news, reaching you urgently, could make the difference between success or disaster and should not depend on your team going through a chat about if it’s a good time for you, as a leader. If news travels to you intermittently, based on your moods and approachability, you must revisit, clarify and set standards to address this challenge.

The ability to accept mistakes and let go of a previous decision instead of defending or justifying it, is a big one. Resources should not flow into dead end projects because changing direction may look like weakness or admitting fault. Your ego needs to take a back seat to the bigger picture.

Does everyone nod in agreement in meetings and you never hear any disagreement or different points of view? Could it be that everyone has decided its not worth the political cost? It should be a clear signal to you about how you are reacting to anyone breaking your mental barricades.

In the end, realization can only come from you and it can only come if you are brutally honest with yourself. Do you react when it would be beneficial to think it through? Question yourself before blaming others? Do you have the humility to realize and accept that you may be the problem? Its not about how well you do when things are going well, but how you fare when things go south.

The north star, the holy grail, the master key, the X factor, lie therein.

Uzair Hassan, CEO Three H Solutions

Uzair.hassan@3hsolutions.biz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/uzair-hassan-6451024/