No matter how much experience you have as a leader, business owner, expert, mentor or whatever label you identify with, we all face challenges. We never get to the point where life is completely smooth sailing. In fact, if we do, we’re probably not pushing ourselves enough.
But when it comes to dealing with those challenges, we’re at a fork in the road. Either we can use the opportunity to grow and create a healthy and productive work environment. Or the situation sends us and our company spiralling down and creates an environment that doesn’t help anyone to be successful.
Through my years of being in business myself and supporting the growth of other businesses, I’ve come up with a method for handling challenges effectively. And it all starts with you. It starts with you stopping, pausing, thinking and then acting. It’s the core of how I help leaders to develop so let me explain this methodology and why it works.
Warning – this might not be what you want to hear but instead what you need to hear.
Stop
Most of the time our immediate reactions are not the most helpful. Sometimes when faced with challenges we feel triggered. So we respond according to the emotional reaction the trigger brought out. Instead, we need to respond according to the present situation. That requires us to take a step back and embrace responsibility for how we react. It’s easy to blame the person or people who triggered you but if you want to act with empowerment, you need to decide how you respond.
Also, we’ve all got to admit that we don’t know it all. I know a lot. And so do you otherwise you wouldn’t have got to where you are now. But none of us ever know it all. It takes emotional intelligence to accept that and act accordingly. We need time to reflect first.
Let the people involved know this. You can say “Let me get back to you” without losing any credit as a leader. In fact, it will garner more respect by putting in the effort to respond correctly.
Pause
Just stopping isn’t enough. We need time to let emotions settle, consider our options and even consult trusted advisors before we make an informed decision about how to respond. It all starts with taking a deep breath. Ground yourself in the present moment. Reconnect with what’s happening now to ensure you aren’t acting according to past negative experiences.
Journaling can be really helpful in this grounding process. It’s a way to get out your thoughts in a safe space and reflect on them to understand what’s going on in your head and the impact it has on the situation. Perspective is super important to consider. What are the facts? What is your interpretation of the situation? What is the situation like from the other person’s perspective? More often than not people don’t act intentionally to hurt us but because it makes sense to them. Keep that in mind when figuring out how to respond.
Think
In order to think through the situation and come to a fair conclusion, self-development is key. Continue to work on yourself, explore, educate and better understand yourself. The more you invest in your self-development, the more you’ll be able to act with emotional intelligence and make the most of even the hardest situations. My programme is based on 12 core workshops that will teach and challenge you in exactly the way you need it to.
I’m known for my flip the thinking technique where thoughts discovered through reflection and journaling are worked through logically. This allows you to disprove fears and limiting beliefs as well as find patterns for deeper exploration. Johari window is another technique I share with leaders to help them to understand their relationship with themselves and others. There’s so much we can learn and do to refine ourselves. When we refine ourselves, our relationships and businesses benefit.
Now act
After stopping the decision-making process, pausing to reground and thinking about the emotional intelligence needed to respond effectively, we get to the point where we can act. We have self-regulated our reaction to the point where we can act appropriately.
However you have decided to respond, focus on communication. You might have made the most emotionally intelligent decision ever but if it isn’t communicated properly to the people involved, it could seem to them like the worst decision ever. Challenges are vastly diminished through open communication.
Can you see how this simple 4 step process ensures that how we deal with challenges benefits everyone? This methodology has been created by past mistakes so don’t worry if this is totally new to you. When we have a structure for how to deal with it, the panic disappears and results improve.
Really challenges are a gift to us. These situations always teach us something. Whether it’s a mistake in our processes, a gap in our knowledge or a new perspective, there’s something we can take away. Embrace it! Don’t run away from it.
If you’d like to find out more about this leadership methodology, book a free consultation with me. I’ll give you insights on growing as a leader and advice for moving forward.