A leader’s success can easily be predicted by how pressure affects performance. But while the pressures that organizations routinely place on leaders can be tremendous, it’s the pressures leaders put on themselves that are often more powerful…and debilitating.
Pressures Imposed by the Organization
The list of pressures that organizations put on leaders is near-infinite. Here are just a few examples of what you already know this to be about:
- pressures to increase sales, again and again and again
- pressures to decrease costs, again and again and again
- pressures to better accelerate and integrate change
- pressures to do more with less
- pressures to collaborate more fully and freely, especially with those who are historically not particularly productive or cooperative
- pressures to deal smoothly and crisply with changing priorities, special requests, and executive overrides
- pressures to build (or rebuild) reputation and credibility
- pressures to speed time-to-market
- pressures to not just meet, but hardily exceed quarterly earnings expectations
- pressures to instill urgency in nearly everything and everyone
- pressures to roll with political pressures, conflicting priorities, inter-department communications issues and the failed commitments of others
- pressures to maintain motivation and morale notwithstanding decision-making bottlenecks up the chain
- pressures to create and maintain effective workarounds to technology shortcomings and hiccups
- pressures to freeze hiring, retain staff, minimize turnover, and manage output
- pressures to be bound by ineffective policies and processes
- pressures to resolve a seemingly endless flow of customer, vendor, employee, and shareholder complaints
Is any of this easy? Often not. But it’s what the job entails so we do our best to deal with it all as effectively as we can. And some leaders do that much better than others.
Whether you do it well or not, it’s quite likely that someone will notice and recognize – and hopefully reward – your achievements, if not the your efforts in doing so.
The upside can be surprisingly positive, just as the downside can be surprisingly negative, each being a resume-updating opportunity of its own – although for significantly different reasons.
By, and large, whatever job you’re in could quite easily be more accurately defined by the pressures it puts you under rather than a mere recitation of its primary responsibilities. (Do yourself a favor a bookmark that idea for when you’re preparing for your year-end performance review with your immediate supervisor.)
That’s why we get paid – to deal with all of that.
Self-Imposed Pressures
But then there are the pressures we put on ourselves that our employer may not even know, or care about:
- our perfectionist tendencies
- our fear of failure
- our fear of success
- our worry about buckling under an overwhelming sense of responsibility
- our suspicions that we’re losing esteem with others because we’re letting them down in some way
- our second-guessing ourselves
- our losing our confidence and questioning our value and self-worth
- our not being able to shake this growing sense of anxiety, uncertainty, and doubt
These are the pressures that cause far more disruption than most everything our employers put on us.
Why? Because it all happens internally. We do it to ourselves. And, unlike a cast on your arm or a patch over an eye, the signs are not particularly obvious…at first.
Sure, others can see our performance ebb and flow – especially if the self-imposed pressure starts affecting our mood. (And, yes, it WILL affect your mood so ignore the signs at your own peril.)
Even if others take note, chances are that, in time, more and more will. Your inconsistencies and changes in behaviors will become increasingly apparent…and unflattering.
Which only adds to the pressure you’ll be under.
But YOU’LL know what it is. And that begs an important question to ask yourself: “How well am I doing with that?”
Easing Up on Yourself
Think about it. How well ARE you doing with your self-imposed pressures?
Your answer matters.
Greatly.
Let me know if you need some help thinking it through.
A oldie, but definitely a goodie, from the archives:
