5 Tips How To Demonstrate Leadership During Times Of Pressure

Preparation is the key to success. Demonstrating leadership under pressure starts by preparing ahead of time. You have to accept that you’re going to be emotionally triggered at some point when you are under pressure. You also want to have an idea about how you’re going to handle
that.

As a leader, all eyes are on you! Your team mates, coaching staff, fans will be looking at you. You will feel the brunt of difficult emotions and stress when under pressure. Not having an idea or plan on how to respond to your faced challenges are likely to lead to negative emotions, which
influence your behaviour, decision-making accuracy, reaction time and ability to be present.

What’s the solution to demonstrating leadership when under pressure? Mentally prepare by staying curious. When you are in a state of genuine curiosity, it’s hard for you to react in an emotional manner. Why? When you are curious, you are open minded and solution orientated while you are managing your current situation.

More importantly, it’s almost impossible for you to be in a negative state such as anger, frustration, or being scared when you’re curious.

During high-stakes critical moments, tensions—and tempers—run high. People’s behaviours can be erratic and out of character.

The best leaders separate the person from their behaviour. Understand others will likely attack you due to them feeling pressured. For example, someone on your team might do something ill- advised and you’re going to have to clean up their mess. Address their behaviour while being compassionate to the individual. People are not their behaviours. We’ve all done stupid things at times, it doesn’t make us stupid!

During pressure moments, great leaders understand that stepping up to the plate when it matters most is the real challenge—not the people associated with it, regardless of how they act. This includes their behaviour aka actions.

It’s the leader’s job to turn everyone on the team into an efficient problem-solving unit—not let tempers get the best of your behaviour.

When you’re in the middle of a tight game, there are three things your team mates want, dare I say MUST see from you, confidence, sincerity and genuineness.

Everyone on your team is going to be looking at you for some kind of reassurance. If they see any fear and hesitancy on your end, it will create the same emotions in their own minds. Stand or sit up tall, speak in an even statement like tone of voice, look your team in the eye.

Always be honest and realistic about what you’re facing and what you as a team are going to do to navigate your challenge.

The most effective leaders embrace the moment for what it is, one specific moment in time right now without invoking fear and understating the magnitude of what’s happening.

In the midst of the dying seconds of a game, making a decision can be extremely difficult. Let alone making the “right” decision. But decisions will need to be made.

There’s nothing worse than a leader who appears to be indecisive. By the same token, that doesn’t mean you should rush into making a hasty decision. “Be quick —but don’t hurry”.

Nothing good ever comes from rushing into a decision. Take your time, observe, process and then decide.

In addition, you need to be flexible. The person who is most flexible is likely to control the situation. While you need to be decisive, consider several options. Don’t get hung up on one solution and forego input from your team mates or coaches. Ego and an inflated sense of authority can be a deadly combination. I’ve seen it happen all too often when leaders on the pitch don’t take any advice or feedback from their team resulting in frustration, anger and tempers flying high.

The bottom line? Leaders are most proficient when they are decisive AND flexible.

As a coach it is my responsibility to control the chaos and for me this starts as I am on my way to the scene. Players, other coaches are likely to be running around without their heads attached.

My job was to start settling everyone down before any action happens.

On the water, field or locker-room it’s the same thing. When expectation and pressure rear their sometimes ugly head, leaders need to act to mitigate the chaos and confusion.