Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

Tip Sheet #19

Grace Under Pressure 

Ernest Hemingway once said, “Courage is grace under pressure”.  I heard the phrase several times over the last few weeks and I thought it might be worth a bit more exploration.

Likewise, I am sure that you have heard the phrase, “adversity does not build character, it reveals it”.  (This quote has widely been attributed to novelist James Lane Allen.)  If you have ever been around athletics, I am equally sure that you have heard your coach use some variation of this quote.  It is a “go to” quote, yet I wonder how many of us really live by that axiom.  I hope I do. No matter how you look at it, the phrase to me describes a desired attribute.  It communicates toughness, calmness, class, dignity and confidence.

To exhibit grace under pressure, one must be prepared and practiced. Each event, or each crisis has a crucial point. By how you respond to this crucial point will most likely define who you are.  Whether it is fair or not, this definition will be locked in the minds of both the people that you lead and the people that you serve.  When the crisis point appears, it is essential that you have at least in your mind, “been there and done that”.  You must practice your response for every potential occurrence.  You must be proactive to the point where your response becomes merely a reaction. You must foresee every possible unforeseen situation and know how you will respond to it. Your response must become second nature. Never let them see you sweat is sound advice.

It is also critical to always think before you speak.  It is extremely hard to bring back words that you may have uttered in this critical time.  Think of your words as being the bullet shot out of gun.  You can never put the bullet back.

Showing grace under pressure is also revealed when you lose the big one.  How do you respond to the loss?  Do you run away to the locker room and sequester yourself?  Or do you hold your head up high knowing that you gave your all?  Once again, people always will remember how you responded in a defeat.  People rarely will recall what you did when you won the big one.

Whether you are in a school or in the business environment, think of your day as a compilation of many small unique encounters.  And in each encounter, you will be challenged.

How will you be remembered?

I know that I want to build my team and surround myself with people that always show “grace under pressure”.   When I do this, I know that my team will be hard to beat.