Skill 2: Master our response
The special forces have a 3-step process for dealing with feelings of overwhelm: Breath. Observe. Make a call. Note the first step is to take a moment to compose yourself. Our emotional response as a leader sets the tone for the team. One way we can help others to respond effectively, is to be conscious of setting the ‘thermostat’ temperature to the right level of urgency to prompt productive action. Not too hot that people panic, but equally if people are complacent, we may need to up the heat.
Trap: Being hijacked by emotions
Develop double vision
As adaptive leaders we need to practice a kind of double vision. In addition to scanning our external environment, we need to develop our ability to monitor the effectiveness of our response to it. How are our preferences, values, assumptions, loyalties, strengths and comfort zones biasing our response? Similarly, how effective is our emotional response? We obviously want to avoid panic under pressure. But complacency about the need for change can also be very damaging.
Remain resourceful under pressure and setting the thermostat
Adaptive challenges come in two types. Emergency situations that require an immediate response, and situations where we have more time to adapt. Each of these has their own traps and requires a different approach. In crisis situations, our first priority as leaders is often to figure out how to buy time. When making decisions under time pressure we need to remain calm and
Picture Credit : NASA/Bill Ingalls, Portrait of Retired Flight Director and Manager Gene Kranz
In the film of the Apollo 13 rescue, we see Flight Director Gene Kranz constantly monitoring and changing the thermostat temperature in the team around him following the explosion on board the spacecraft. Initially raising it when the team think it must be an instrumentation issue.
resourceful. If we start to go into overwhelm or panic, our clarity of thought is affected.
9
Adaptive Leadership : Building your capacity to thrive in a disruptive environment
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator