I was invited to a friends house recently for dinner. Everyone was sitting outside, relaxing and taking in the evening sun, while the cooking was in full swing in the kitchen. As I am not a person to sit around and wait to be served, I went to the kitchen to lend a hand. The atmosphere in the kitchen was quite different, and it was ironic that there was a pressure cooker in the corner which perfectly fitted the setting I had walked into.
It got me thinking about the amount of pressure people are under these days and the impact it has, not just at work but also at home and it can make enjoying a holiday virtually impossible.
In fact, this pressure cooker reminded me of a business leader I met recently who was carrying all the weight of his business on his shoulders, yet he had a very professional team who were not being as motivated or productive as they could be. He felt 100% responsible for everything, therefore, handing over some responsibility was too risky for a team who were not showing the ownership and accountability he could trust that they would not ‘drop the ball’. This was HIS pressure cooker. As the pressure was building it was impacting his relationships at work and at home. He had a young family and he felt guilt and sadness of not being able to spend more time with them. He felt trapped.
So, what happens when pressure gets trapped? there will be an explosion! Thankfully he reached out for help before an explosion, as he took the leadership to accept there was a problem and he needed help to resolve and get on a path to getting back in healthy control of his business and life.
He was like a pressure cooker ready to explode…. so we rolled up our sleeves and figured out what the team issues were and created a plan to start solving them, one by one.
Having taken these steps and doing the work to develop his own leadership style and empower his team, he got his life back and the business that inspired his success.
He threw out the ‘pressure cooker’ workstyle, and the outcome was a business leader who built trust in himself and his team, and developed an engaged and motivated workforce, delivering the results he would previously not have expected of his team.
It turned out that the problems were not that big but left unresolved could have been.
Today, its a different story, that client has things much more under control, the team are experiencing great leadership, so they’re more motivated, engaged, and delivering excellent results.
No more ‘unnecessary’ pressure and a happier more productive team!
Who doesn’t want that?
In my opinion, there is no need for any company or business leader to put themselves under serious stress and pressure. And It actually takes great leadership to know you need to get support to step towards a business where you feel in control.
If you’re reading this now and you’re under pressure, with your team, and you know it is causing problems but you’re just not sure what to do about it, then take action.
Don’t wait for things to explode, see the situation for what it is now and do something about it before it is too late.
And if you want to have a conversation with me, send me an email and lets set up a time to talk. I would be happy to share some suggestions and resources that will help you.
About the Author
Anne Caulfield is an accredited Executive Coach and Emotional Intelligence Coach, supporting professionals to unleash their full potential, and finding the path to satisfaction and fulfillment in their career. Anne supports her clients through one-to-one coaching, masterclasses and workshops. Anne’s ability to enable insight, learning, and deliver results which are outcome and action orientated, makes it a transforming experience for her clients. You can contact Anne at anne@elevateedge.com
**Anne ranked #37 in the Sage Top 100 Global SME Business Influencers list for 2017*
