The Pressure Principles at Play & Work

At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, we began to reflect on the idea of our "human capital". We learned to create the critical momentum we needed to continue to live, learn, improve, create, and even grow in the process as individuals. The air of uncertainty that circulated was ruthless as it robbed us of our control, and added tremendous pressure to perform in business, school, and stay healthy. The pressure we face on a daily basis is an interplay of our momentum. We gain or lose momentum as a result of our real as well as perceived "conflicts" we manage or choose to avoid because as the Third Physics Law of the Conservation of Momentum states, in any collision, the total net momentum stays at 0, with the object hitting its target losing, and the latter gaining momentum in the process. However, how we created momentum over the last two years of the pandemic and what we learned varied tremendously across our people, states, and countries in this global phenomenon.

One approach to adapt quickly in a new world I found natural in my family was to 1) control what was in our hands systematically and completely, 2) discover new personalized, and informal sources of wellness, learning and entertainment, and 3) eliminate most of the rest that remained in the form of "news sources" which I felt increased an unnecessary perception of pressure that was already at capacity. We started a 10-discipline event carried out in quarantine called "Home Olympics" that we began to broadcast live remotely to our friends and family with the children to stay fit, connect, and create our own sources of wellness, and entertainment. The governments and their people made their own conclusions, and as it became more challenging than ever to eliminate the noise or myths from facts as all of us reacted to the pressure or defined our social responsibilities to others quite differently.

Some people channeled their creative inspiration to respond to pressure, such as Author Haroon Rashid who wrote the poem "We Fell Asleep" in the Covid era. In my opinion, it was one of the most direct and touching expressions of not only how the pandemic impacted our emotions, but with a strong message to reawaken us to not forget how vulnerable we all ultimately are to the force of nature, which we must not forget and respect.

We thought we had managed to seize back control of this pandemic. I personally looked forward to a breakthrough, safer, healthier Winter Olympics and Soccer World Cup year in 2022 with less pressure but more control, influence, clarity, and purpose. Yet, without any interval reserved for our relief or a "time-out", as recent events culminating last week demonstrated, we felt the pressure rise once again to unprecedented levels as we awakened to the reality of war with potentially global consequences. We should acknowledge, however, that no matter how much pressure escalates whether in peace, during war, or at a critical sales pitch, in order to gain momentum it is first important to target and increase what we are able to control rather than immediately aim at the conclusion, which is difficult to influence without knowing the driving forces, hidden networks, and assumptions that may explain motivations and behaviors of others completely.

The "InWeekend" Newsletter is not directed to serve as political commentary and I am writing it as an absolutely "apolitical" individual during a period of heightened anxiety globally. Therefore, this second issue of the year reviews recent lessons on responding to pressure more effectively as an individual or an organization, which is quite timely at the moment.

Dr. Don Greene is a peak performance psychologist who has coached 1000s of professional artists, dancers, musicians, and Olympic athletes, among whom 28 won medals including 5 gold. He revealed some of his personal secrets to his success in a recent Slate podcast.

Pump Yourself Up in Practice Sessions. One of Don's coaching principles to anticipate a high-pressure performance is to engage in vigorous activity. For example he trains a bassist at the Chicago Lyric Opera house to do jumping jacks before every practice session to nail a critical audition. If someone stumbles, he forces them to continue. Paradoxically, he says that "you gain control by letting go of control and not over-controlling". Thus, Dr. Greene's routine ultimately trains the candidates or athletes to loosen up during the practice sessions to replicate the same approach at the audition or the main event.

Don't Ignore Your Nerves. He does not encourage advising someone to "just relax" during the event, but instead explains the role of adrenaline to his clients and how it signifies just how important that audition or competition truly is to them, and advises them to channel the nervous energy and the adrenaline that follows it to create momentum and fuel instead.

Don't Strive for Perfection, Strive for Excellence. Even though the top athletes scrutinize their performances down to every minor detail, they should instead only concentrate on the variables they know are within their control themselves.

Celebrate Your Successes. He suggests to mark any minor accomplishments or personal records, and take the time to celebrate them rather than dwell on errors even if you did not reach the desired outcome. Focus on capturing personal improvement over time.

Mastering our mindset to deliver the performance of a lifetime, win a championship, or conquer the last hurdle that stood in our way of reaching the next level is a critical strategy that helps us grow, upskill, and continue to compete in a variety of environments. Enduring pressure and adversity marks our leadership potential and differentiates us on an individual level.

From an organizational perspective, while traditional leaders have worked to create pressure, modern leaders now look to find how to reduce unnecessary pressure in their team environment to better deal with the unpredictable economy and volatile business environment of today.

One such a progressive leader who embraces the growth mindset is Stan Phelps. When I had spoken to Stan, Forbes columnist, international keynote speaker, Marketing executive, best-selling author of 15 books, he described what he calls the diamond rule that says we must manage ourselves under pressure "to neutralize yourself" to focus on addressing others to avoid their triggers" and thus decreasing pressure if possible when working with customers, colleagues, or any key stakeholders.

3 minute clip from the "Respond to Pressure in Business" episode with Stan Phelps on the Alloutcoach Podcast

Stan has a Goldfish series of books of various colors, and I interviewed him to speak about his "Diamond Goldfish" edition. He discussed the 5 most important factors that stimulate the growth of an organization - the market size, competition, economy, performance within the first 120 days, and identity. Only one of these 5 factors, however, is within its team members' control - identity. He says "Business is a game of building identity. Identity is defined as value and trust, which is a combination of sincerity and confidence as 80% of how we view people comes down to sincerity and confidence. Managing yourself and building the identity of others is the most important capital we can build. He highlights research by Market Force based on detailed behavioral surveys of over 150000 people, which divides all people into four behavior styles: control, influence, power, and authority, and he has built a matrix which allows people to first analyze their own behavioral style after completing an assessment in this book, and then learn how one behavioral style best interacts with another one based on a detailed matrix he has highlighted in his book. Ultimately, Stan believes that in the volatile business environment today, people have to learn how to do research on their prospects, customers, stakeholders' behavioral styles and adapt their own accordingly to be able to respond to pressure in business more quickly and build stronger relationships.

Finally, Stan quotes Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychologist and Holocaust survivor who said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Tim Mikhelashvili, PharmD

Host of the Alloutcoach Podcast and YouTube Channel!