{"id":7916,"date":"2025-02-14T11:08:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T11:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/uncategorized\/leading-under-pressure-2-2\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T11:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T11:09:43","slug":"leading-under-pressure-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/developing-leaders\/leading-under-pressure-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7916\" class=\"elementor elementor-7916\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-36da179e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"36da179e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6ef560f9\" data-id=\"6ef560f9\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1c956625 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1c956625\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>[Published: October 2020; Updated February 2025]<\/p>\n<p>The concept of &#8220;pressure&#8221; is frequently discussed in leadership circles, but it&#8217;s important to understand that pressure is a broad term that can manifest in many forms. Developing the ability to lead under pressure is crucial for emerging leaders who wish to be effective. However, recognising the type of pressure you&#8217;re facing is equally important\u2014not only to avoid burnout but also to ensure you don\u2019t make rash decisions in an attempt to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Understanding Different Types of Pressure<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><i>\u201cWe\u2019ve been trained to think of pressure as the enemy, the unfair burden that holds us down\u2026Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of a great opportunity.\u201d \u2013 Michael Johnson, Slaying the Dragon<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Pressure can be broadly categorised into two types: <strong>eustress<\/strong> and <strong>distress<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Eustress <\/strong>is a positive response to a stressor. It encourages us to engage more deeply, focus, and elevate our performance. When we experience eustress, we often adapt effectively, and a sense of fulfilment follows. This type of pressure is necessary for growth and shouldn\u2019t be avoided.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Distress<\/strong>, on the other hand, is an unhealthy response. We perceive the challenges as overwhelming\u2014either too large or too numerous\u2014and feel ill-equipped to handle them. As a result, we may resort to coping mechanisms such as over-analysing the situation, blaming others, or rushing into action without considering the consequences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Through coaching and introspection, we can gradually shift our mindset and reduce distress. However, in the short term, how can we maintain eustress at an optimal level while minimising distress and its potentially destructive effects?<\/p>\n<h2><b>People management under pressure<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cIntensity clarifies. It creates not only momentum, but also the pressure you need to feel either friction, or fulfilment.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Marcus Buckingham<\/p>\n<p>Joshua Margolis and Paul Stoltz, in their <em>Harvard Business Review<\/em> article <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2010\/01\/how-to-bounce-back-from-adversity\"><em>How to Bounce Back from Adversity<\/em><\/a>, highlight the importance of moving quickly from analysing the cause of a challenge to devising a plan to move forward. Resilient individuals can shift from fixating on the problem to taking actionable steps.<\/p>\n<p>However, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Practice-Adaptive-Leadership-Organization-Practitioners\/dp\/1422105768\"><em>Adaptive Leadership<\/em><\/a>, Ron Heifetz warns that stress can sometimes create a false sense of urgency, leading to hasty decisions. He explains, \u201cYou may have been there before. You know how to rise to the occasion. Even if you do not have the foggiest idea of what to do, you have a strong incentive to give in to others\u2019 demands: \u2018Do something!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to responding to pressure. Leaders who typically reflect before acting might benefit from quicker decision-making, while those who tend to act impulsively might need to pause and reflect more often. The key is to avoid seeing yourself as the sole saviour of the situation. You may feel pressured to act immediately, fearing the expectations of others, or you might take rash action without consulting those around you.<\/p>\n<p>Looking to support your leaders in times of pressure? <a href=\"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/solutions\/leadership-development\/\">Speak to the team at TPC Leadership about our programmes.<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The word pressure is thrown around a lot in leadership circles. But pressure is a broad term when discussing how it might be navigated. Growing the capacity to\u00a0lead under pressure\u00a0is &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,163],"tags":[],"featured-blog-post":[],"page-type":[],"class_list":["post-7916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-developing-leaders","category-tpcl-academy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7916"},{"taxonomy":"featured-blog-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured-blog-post?post=7916"},{"taxonomy":"page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page-type?post=7916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}