How do you respond to adversity? What do you do when you “feel” overwhelmed with work, your relationships, or simply tire from chasing too many objectives? What happens when you are overcome, suddenly with FEAR? What is the impact on you and your teams PERFORMANCE? Have you ever wondered how you might perform if you were in the twin towers on 9/11, in New Orleans during Katrina, or had a seat on the Titanic?
I have.
My curiosity about how our brain works has led me to read countless books on the topic and, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, one of the recent ones was titled The Unthinkable, by Amanda Ripley. She wrote one worth reading. Here’s a couple thoughts from her research and some extrapolations to our work.
When faced with a disaster the brain goes three places. These three places are tied to your performance. Check it out.
Denial. This first stop is often the last. When something happens to us that we’ve never imagined possible, most of us stay in denial way too long. We simply ignore the news reports, the negative performance review, the lack of results, and continue to do what we’ve always done. We defend the status quo. We stick to the routine. In the workplace this leads to delays, delays, and more delays. Defending the status quo is slow death at work. In a disaster, this leads to quick death most of the time.
Deliberate. For those that jump out of denial this second one can be a lengthy landing locale. Something bad happens. We begin to process alternatives. We keep processing. We wait for one more piece of evidence to get going. This piece also leads to delays, delays, and more delays. At work we know what we’re doing is NOT working but instead of ACTING we keep thinking about alternatives. We send our team back and forth with alternative after alternative and all they want is for us to make a stinkin’ decision. Fear of being wrong grips us. We deliberate some more. Meanwhile, the staircases are blocked and our room is filling up with smoke.
Decide. The untrained brain does NOT make very good decisions when adversity strikes. The brain is flooded with chemicals to prepare us to “fight or flight” which always results in less focus to decision making. We forget what we know works. We desperately “swing for the fences.” Lacking discipline, planning, and practice leads to decision we regret. Adversity is NOT the time for testing the brain. Adversity is when we are better off “not thinking.” This will take practice, practice, practice, and more practice before your room is filled with smoke.
Here’s what rarely happens. This is good news. Very rarely do people panic. Most people do just the opposite. This is BAD news.
The most common response by an untrained brain during adversity is to do NOTHING.
This has been programmed for thousands and thousands of years. Way back when it made sense to do nothing when the brain was flooded with fight or flight chemicals. Doing nothing worked.
Then.
Today, there are few lions, tigers, and bears to fake with our attempt at “playing dead.” Yet, it is still the most common response to unbridled FEAR. We don’t actually “play” dead, we simply become paralyzed, we freeze, we stop moving. In fact, during countless disasters the world over this is the most common reaction.
Nothing.
The only way to combat these untrained, prehistorically wired brains is to, well, TRAIN them. This requires PRACTICE. This is one of the big reasons why we believe in practicing with your team every month. Transformational leaders know that adversity will find them. They prepare the team accordingly. They prepare when times are good and when times are NOT so good. Practice is what leads to performance.
We need more executive teams that have practiced how to communicate their vision and how to translate that vision into productive actions. IF you are to lead your team through a sales draught, it will help to have practiced the fundamentals when sales were free and easy. The time to develop and build disciplines are not during the adversity. We practice and perform through adversity because we have been committed to practicing all the while. Does this describe you and your team?
If we are to survive adversity, it should be obvious, we will need to train our brain how to respond. We will train our brain to respond “without thinking.” This is “how” you and your team will know you are ready. When you can perform without thinking. This matters when the adversity is a terrorist attack and this matters when the adversity is something as small as losing your biggest customer. See how perspective changes everything?
How are you preparing your team for adversity?
What are you practicing when you tell your team they simply need to sell more?
What are you practicing when you simply demand better results?
What are you practicing when you use hiring freezes, layoffs, and expense management as your profitability formula?
What are you practicing when you demand results from your people without giving them the gift of practice?
What are you practicing when you have your huddles?
What are you practicing when you gather for BTL practice?
What are you practicing when you followup?
What are you doing to demonstrate that ACTION is the only way forward?
How are you moving your brain beyond paralysis?
How do you calm those around you that might panic?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, through the coming merger or acquisition?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, through the coming reduction in force?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, through the pending sale?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, even after your retirement?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, when you hand over the reins to your sons, your daughters, or to your hand picked successor?
What are you practicing to prepare your team, to perform, in spite of what happens when they drop the reins?
Why?
Why?
Why?
BUILT TO LEAD 