The past two or three weeks have been pretty full for me, involving plenty of travelling to work with my clients. I’ve also done a few guest podcasts, the most recent of which was part of Lisa Haneberg’s series of ‘Fireside Chats’ with authors. Click on the link below to listen to the 20 minute interview about how to thrive on pressure.
http://www.managementcraft.com/2010/10/fireside-cat-with-graham-jones-thrive-on-pressure-1.html
My work with clients has included delivering a one day workshop on ‘mental toughness’ with senior leaders in Dublin, a three day workshop on ‘creating high performance organizations’ with business heads in Holland, and a two day workshop on ‘coaching high performance’ with high flyers in New Jersey.
As I have moved around from workshop to workshop and from continent to continent, I have been reminded just how tough things still are out there in the business world. Nothing can be taken for granted.
As I write this blog in my hotel room in Atlanta, I am contemplating my next three days with a group of twelve senior business leaders who are under the severest pressure. I will work with them on how they can manage their own pressure and actually turn it to their advantage. But the most important focus will be on how they can develop a collective resilience in their organizations. Teamwork has never been more important, but I am not referring merely to how people interact and work together. I am referring, instead, to how teams, like individuals, can thrive on pressure. Have a look at the article by Kelly Walsh to find more about what I mean.
What I like about the article is that it’s different from the traditional approach to building high performing teams. It goes far beyond the predicable ‘insights’ around role clarity, communication, and shared responsibility and accountability. Kelly delves, instead, into the aspects of teams that really make the difference in tough times like the ones most of us are experiencing right now. ‘Team psychological edge’, ‘team mind’, and ‘team emotion’ are areas that leaders must harness if they are to have the support they need from the people around them. And that support is vital for leaders in these times. You cannot do it on your own!
