Pressure Points 4 Better

Welcome to Pressure Points – my fortnightly look back at the last episode of my Better Under Pressure podcast. Here I share my reflections and a few ideas to take away to enable us all to be… better under pressure.

In my latest episode I'm talking to Sigga Sigurdardottir, a leader and champion of customer interaction in the world of finance. Sigga’s led digital innovation for American Express, Santander UK, Tesco Bank, and fintechs. She’s been named in Marketing Week’s top 50 Customer Experience professionals, recognised by Empower as a top ethnic minority advocate, and acknowledged by the FT and HERoes as a champion for women in business.

In our conversation Sigga shares ...

• When her tendency to shield others from pressure became a problem
• Why she chose to step away from her job for 6 months
• And the impact of what she wrote on a piece of paper back in her 20s

Let's dive in to:

4 Pressure Points 4 Better

1. ‘Sometimes you think. ‘This is simply unachievable and I can’t do it.’, but then you just step into it, and it actually raises performance significantly’

Moments of unexpected or added pressure - a situation of high stakes or high uncertainty - can feel unachievable. Stepping into these moments is a choice. It can raise our performance and surprise us. It’s a choice to step in, and the more we practice that choice, the more opportunity we have to learn about ourselves, about the agency we have and what we can achieve when the stakes feel high.

Wild trees develop something called “stress wood” which, put simply, is the trees’ reaction to wind. Wind causes the branches to sway and move which, of course, places stress on the load-bearing parts of the tree. Trees, very cleverly, over time develop an extra layer - ‘stress wood’ - to help them compensate and right themselves, ultimately making the trees better able to survive in the wilder winds. With no experience with wild winds, trees don’t develop this stress wood and are, consequently, much more likely to collapse under their own weight.

The same is true of humans’ relationship with pressure. If we can reframe ‘unexpected pressure’ as ‘a wind to grow our own stress wood’, a way to give us more flexibility, allow us to ‘right ourselves’ and, ultimately, ‘be even better’,... how different would that feel?

What I particularly find useful about this is the fact that growing ‘stress wood’ allows flexibility rather than rigidity. Rather than bracing against the pressure and risking snapping, stress wood allows the tree to confidently trust that it can move with more ease and, once the pressure dies down, the tree will stand upright and stronger.

Ask yourself:

When is my next opportunity to build my ‘stress wood’?

2. ‘Shielding my team from the pressure created a lack of trust as they weren’t fully in the know.’

Sigga shared a useful insight for herself as a leader. She had decided to protect her team from the pressure she was experiencing. The positive intent of her ‘shielding’ the team was to enable them to focus on delivery. To not distract them. She felt that it was her pressure to deal with alone. However, this choice began to rock their trust.

Here are a few of Sigg’s insights;

We, as leaders need to lead by example.

When you share a bit more of yourself - particularly if you are a senior leader - it gives people permission to do the same.

The more we allow people to bring their whole selves into work, the more we have a chance to understand better what people are going through and then adapt. It builds trust and allows you to step into high performance in a trusted way. It’s a balance and a choice.

Ask yourself:

• What could I share to bring more of me to work?
• How would I want someone in my team to describe me when dealing with pressure?

If you missed the episode, click the image above to give it a listen!

In each episode, I ask my guest to pick two things they do to perform well under pressure that they would pay forward to anyone listening.

Here are Sigga's "Pay Forwards":

3. Pay Forward 1

‘Have a sense of humour. Don’t take yourself too seriously.’

A simple way of connecting to a ‘sense of humour’ in a moment of pressure is to smile. A smile can calm our ‘Dog Drain’. A smile reassures our Dog Brain to come off high alert and, as a result, gives us more choice. The situation can feel ‘lighter’ and more attainable.

We worked with yr11 students to help them to be at their best in exam conditions. One of the practices we encouraged in moments of pressure was to smile by placing a pen across their mouth between their lips to force the corners of their mouth upwards in the shape of a smile. This reminded their Dog Brain to relax!

Sigga mentioned that if she could give her younger self advice she would say;

You’re going to be ok

• Laugh
• Push ahead
• Have conviction
• Be brave. Step into it.

Ask yourself:

What advice would I give my younger self when it comes to pressure?

4. Pay Forward 2:

‘Take care of yourself and understand your conditions for success so you can be at your best’

This piece of advice comes through so often in the conversations on Better Under Pressure: the importance of making sure you honour your conditions for success so you can be at your best; to know what’s important to give you the fuel required to manage any pressure you might be facing.

This requires deliberate, consistent practice. ‘Get into the lab’ with yourself and keep evolving what those conditions are for you. As your life evolves, sometimes your habits need to too.

Ask yourself:

• What ‘condition for success’ do I want to pay more attention to this year?
• What will this require of me?
• How we respond to pressure is always a choice.

Stay tuned for more.

Hope you enjoyed this and please share it with others!

Until next time,

Sara

Coaching Impact