When your world lacks certainty, your brain automatically searches for patterns to calm down. When the pace of change increases, your brain must work even harder. Yet not all change is equal. For many leaders, workplace disruptions can produce significant anxiety.
Leading during periods of high anxiety can cause automatic decisions, leading you to be stressed and impede your team’s effectiveness.
Self-differentiation is not a goal to achieve, rather it is a lifelong journey of growing in maturity.
Self-differentiation is not a goal to achieve, rather it is a lifelong journey of growing in maturity.
It’s safe to say that in the days ahead you will encounter both triumphs and setbacks. Some days will be all smooth sailing.
Leaders’ relationships with those they lead are mature and most likely to be effective when they are “close enough to influence – yet distant enough to lead”. The phrase is easy to remember, but it is not so easy to maintain. It’s a balancing act, and it takes practice.
As we begin another school year, I’m reminded of certain constants that mark the rhythm of the academic cycle. As a long-time educator myself, I’ve come to appreciate the excitement of a fresh year and the opportunity to meet a new group of students, many of whom are taking a next step in their educational journey involving major transitions that bring new experiences and new challenges.
Sometimes when we leave home we begin to wonder: “Did I turn off the oven before I left or not?” We may sit in our car at a stoplight down the street and think: “Should I turn around and go back to double check?” We consider if we have time to go back and still make our important appointment. Finally, we must make a choice: “Go on or go back?”
Recently a young woman, confronted with some much-needed dental work was in the chair undergoing the removal of a crown when her dentist abruptly stopped the procedure and, in a voice, filled with anxiety said, “don’t swallow”, right after she had swallowed.
When faced with complex problems, unwanted challenges or disappointments and especially when faced with setbacks, our immediate reaction is to become anxious. The fear of failure creeps in. A physiological reaction arises and we either strike back in our words or our actions or we wither and sometimes even withdraw.
