Becoming a Calm & Collected Leader : A Guide to Handling Pressure When Stakes Are High

A calm, cool and collected leader is better than a distracted one.

Being a leader means more than just holding the title. It's about setting the tone for your team and being a role model, mentor, coach and cheerleader all in one.

If you're feeling pressure to get things done quickly—and are tempted to work through it alone—you could be jeopardizing the performance of your entire team by not taking enough time to engage with them. There's no better way to relieve stress than by spending some time with others: sharing ideas, brainstorming solutions together, encouraging one another and celebrating small wins along the way.

Leaders must hold their composure even when they're under immense pressure.

You should keep your composure even when you're under immense pressure. Leaders need to hold their composure in a crisis, even when they're feeling like they might lose control of their emotions.

Most people have the ability to keep their emotions in check during a crisis or stressful situation, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. In fact, keeping your composure can be one of the hardest things you do as a leader—and it's important that leaders know how to do this well because losing your temper or displaying other signs of being unprofessional could hurt both your credibility and employee perception of you.

The most effective leaders are able to stay calm in the face of adversity and under pressure.

By now, you’ve probably realized that being a leader isn’t just about getting people to listen to what you have to say. In fact, the most effective leaders are able to stay calm in the face of adversity and under pressure. This means that they can manage their own emotions, as well as those of others.

●????Leading requires emotional intelligence: The ability for an individual to understand and manage his or her emotions effectively is an essential part of leadership. Being able to do this allows you to understand how other people are feeling, which will help guide how you interact with them on a regular basis and how you direct them when necessary.

●????Leadership comes from within: It's important not only for leaders themselves but also those they lead (and everyone else involved) that they remain calm during difficult times; otherwise things can get ugly quickly! As someone who wants others' respect while leading them through challenging situations, it's vital that YOU be able yourself first before expecting anyone else around YOU - whether it's your family members at home or co-workers at work - so take some time right now if needed because there will always be another time later down road where NOW would definitely mean better than never later down road too late instead!"

Maintaining your composure makes you more effective as a leader, increases team morale and helps bring out the best in people around you.

Effective leadership is about more than giving orders and telling people what to do. It's about inspiring others to perform their best, which means you have to keep calm in the face of pressure.

Your staff wants to see that you can handle yourself under pressure; they want to know that they can trust your judgment. If they see you shaking or stuttering when things get tough, then they won't trust your decisions and they won't be able to follow your lead. The same applies if they see you get angry or emotional: it doesn't matter how well-intentioned those emotions might be—they'll undermine your authority as a leader and make it harder for them do their job effectively.

The best way avoid this problem is by maintaining self-control throughout challenging situations so that everyone can get on with doing their job without having too much time wasted on dealing with issues caused by stress (like arguments breaking out between team members). If things start getting heated, try asking someone else for advice rather than taking sides; this will show everyone else that you're neutralizing any tension before it gets out of hand. This also demonstrates leadership because no one person should ever feel like there isn't another way around an issue besides fighting each other over it!

You can strengthen your ability to lead under pressure by learning to be more present and mindful.

The first step to becoming a better leader under pressure is learning to be more present. Mindfulness is the practice of being fully aware in the moment. It's an active, open attention on your inner and outer experiences.

While you may find yourself thinking about what you're going to wear for work tomorrow or wondering how stressful your commute was this morning before remembering to focus on your breath, mindfulness doesn't require superhuman concentration skills (though those certainly help). All it means is that you're intentionally choosing not to distract yourself from the present moment with distracting thoughts or activities like checking social media.

By practicing mindfulness regularly, you can become more aware of yourself and others around you. This awareness helps reduce stress because it allows us all make choices about how we respond rather than reacting automatically based on past experience or assumptions about other people's intentions—which might lead us down paths that create unnecessary conflict instead of finding solutions together as teammates should do! Plus since being mindful makes us more self-aware too...

A calm leader leads to less stress for employees, according to a new study.

Employees are less likely to feel stressed when their leader is calm. That's according to a new study from the University of British Columbia, which found that leaders who exhibit emotional and behavioral control are less likely to cause anxiety in their employees.

The study was conducted by UBC psychology professor Daniel Skarlicki, who examined how emotional contagion—the process by which someone can 'catch' another person's emotions—relates to employee stress. The researchers observed how participants were affected by videos of other people experiencing either high or low levels of emotionality while completing tasks that required them to make decisions under pressure.

The results showed that when exposed to high levels of emotionality, participants tended toward risk aversion rather than taking bold action or making mistakes that could lead them down an alternative path (such as trying out new ideas). However, if they were exposed instead to low levels of emotionality from those around them—which indicates a calm leader—they were more likely take risks and explore new areas."

A stressed-out leader can strain interactions with employees, according to new research from Wharton professor Olivia Mitchell.

"Stress has been shown to affect everything from how we interact with others to our decision-making processes and even the health of our bodies," Mitchell, who is also the executive vice president of Wharton's Center for Health Care Innovation, said in a statement. "Our research shows that leaders' stress levels can affect their ability to lead effectively."

The new research, which was published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and conducted by Mitchell along with her colleagues at Wharton and Ohio State University, involved analyzing data from more than 100 healthcare leaders across multiple industries. The researchers analyzed each leader's job demands and demands that were related to organizational climate and culture (such as long hours and lack of clarity), self-perceived stress levels, leadership style tendencies (such as authoritarian versus democratic), perceived employee engagement level among employees under those leaders' management teams, as well as objective measures such as productivity metrics.

A calmer demeanor inspires confidence in others.

You may not realize it, but your team is watching you for cues about how to act. When you're calm, collected and confident in the face of adversity, your team will trust that their behaviors are appropriate for the situation. To model this behavior:

●????Be present. If you're distracted or preoccupied with other concerns, it can be hard to focus on what's happening around you and respond appropriately. Take time away from your smartphone and computer screen if necessary so that you can be fully present during these high-pressure situations.

●????Be mindful of others' feelings and needs first before worrying about yourself or what's going wrong around you (assuming there isn't an emergency). Being mindful means taking time to reflect on how others are feeling before reacting emotionally yourself—a skill we all could use more practice with!

●????Stay positive even when things aren't going well so that others won't assume they should feel negative too—even if they do!

Leadership is not about being a perfect person; it's about being the best you can be at any given moment in time. Every day brings new challenges that require strong decision-making skills and the ability to handle external pressures with poise and grace. By keeping your emotions in check during these times of uncertainty and stress, you show others around you that they should do the same—which sets an example for them as well!