Top Tips - February 2009
Stress: Take a deep breath
The true nature of change is wild energy. The best leaders don’t attempt to control the winds of change, but like sailors, they control themselves and seek to capture the power that is present in unfolding situations.
All extraordinary leaders exhibit deep presence under pressure. Barak Obama gave us a recent example with his courageous speech on race. Not only was there wisdom in his words, but even more striking was his calm under fire. The military calls it command presence and they develop it at the War College.’ Sully’ Sullenberger did it recently when he saved his crew and passengers by safely landing his damaged Airbus A320 in the Hudson river. Have a listen to flight recording and read the transcript here
That’s all fine for people like Obama and Sully, but what if you don’t naturally have that ability. If you are not an aspiring great leader, but you want to manage stressful situations better, what can you do?
Well, I read an article recently that said it all comes down to this: intentional and focused breathing generates deep presence, in an instant. That translates into being perceived by others as a grounded and powerful person.
I thought for a few moments about the people I have known over the years and how they physically behaved in charged moments. I thought about stressful situations that I have experienced myself. I thought about how people were behaving when things weren’t going well, and you know what? The guy makes a lot of sense.
Next time you are in a high pressure situation, try this technique:- focus your attention on your own breathing. You commonly hear people say if you are nervous, “take a deep breath.” This is a step in the right direction. But to take it a step further, especially right in the middle of a critical and pressure packed moment, you can do more.
Take a slow, breath deep inside, into your core body. Take the 2 or 3 seconds that you need. Sense your breath and where it flows in your body. As you gently release it, sense the flow radiating from your heart back out into the world. Do that just once or twice slowly, and you’ll reduce the adrenaline rush, calm your heart rate and settle into a more comfortable state where you can focus on what really matters.
It is a good idea to practice this technique at moments when it is not necessary. That way, when you need to do it, you can do so quickly and naturally...because you have practiced.
You’ve probably seen professional athletes like golfers standing for a few seconds over a critical putt or basketball players on the free throw line taking their time. That’s what they are doing; taking control of themselves through their breathing, slowing things down. Establishing your presence is the ability to demonstrate deep awareness and calm when engaged in difficult circumstances. So next time you find yourself in a critical leadership moment, try taking a couple of deep, intentional and focused breaths. It will make all the difference in how you are perceived.
Any comments? Drop me an email.
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