Spinning

 
 

Do you ever find yourself spinning when an unexpected situation pops up?  This was my experience earlier this week.

I received a heads-up that an issue had occurred with some data that wasn’t easily explainable. I became frustrated that the vendor involved couldn’t immediately address the issue or tell me why it was happening. I started spinning, wondering how this had happened, what the potential consequences were, how we would address it, and a bunch of other questions. The swirling clouded my ability to think through the best next step, and the day went by with a high stress factor regarding how this would be resolved.

After I had walked away from the situation for a while to focus on other priorities, I started to get some perspective on what I could have taken as first steps and how I could have handled things more smoothly with the vendor.

When we’re in a stressful moment, we often don’t realize that we’re not doing our best thinking.  We’re in a reactive and sometimes defensive mode, which clouds our ability to see all the options.

Two things that would have helped me immediately would have been:

  • Stopping and taking some deep breaths before jumping into problem-solving mode

  • Stepping away from the situation earlier so I could get some perspective

If we're prone to " spinning " mode when unexpected situations arise, we're less likely to be perceived as effective leaders. In stressful situations, the best leaders stay calm, assess the situation, and create a path forward. They don’t allow the situation to take control; they continue to own it.

This situation (and another recent one) reminded me of the work I need to continue to do for myself as I take on responsibilities where the unexpected is likely to regularly reprioritize my focus for the day.  My key takeaways: 

  • Leave enough space in my calendar for the unexpected

  • Breathe

  • Remind myself of the intentions I have for myself as a leader.

What strategies work for you?


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