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Dangerous Leader: Dealing with pressure
Find the level that works for you
By Jennifer Smith, - Dangerous Leader columnist
Jun. 30, 2024 5:00 am
Last month, I asked you if you were worth the sacrifice of the many service members we honor on Memorial Day. For those of you who took that challenge seriously, it may have created a bit of pressure.
Pressure is when we have a big demand on us and something critical is at stake. This question of worth is a big question worth pursuing.
In support of answering that BIG question, I asked you to reflect on the following questions:
- Are you the leader you can be? Do you take care of those who trust you to do so?
- Are you contributing to your community and those you call family to the best of your ability?
- Where in your world do you want to live “bigger?” What is one action you can take?
These are questions designed to create pressure — the good kind of pressure.
Did you know there are different kinds of pressure?
The Performance and Pressure Curve is rooted in research from 1908, which has evolved and been built on by other researchers since then.
The core findings remain relatively unchanged — there is a connection between performance and pressure. When we have too little pressure, we get bored and complacent. When we have too much, we get stressed.
However, when we are in the optimal zone between too little and too much, we embody the mythical, high-performing version of ourselves. It is a fantastic feeling.
Who knows what might happen if we sought this high like we do a Friday night, binge-drinking session?
This is relative. There are no standards to measure against regarding how much or how little pressure is optimal for you.
Many of us love to say we would be happy lounging on the beach for the rest of our lives. And for those who operate on the lower-pressure-is-optimal performance zone, that may be correct.
But those of us who love new challenges, change, stretch goals and new experiences crave additional activities between beach times for optimal pressure.
Pay attention to where you feel you are performing at your highest level while under pressure. The exercise below allows you to assess your pressure level at any given time.
- Start by focusing on the here and now. Do this by tuning into the five senses: What do you see, hear, smell, feel, taste?
- Check in with your body. How do you feel? Name the emotion or feeling.
- Trust your feedback. Is this limiting or supporting your current activity?
- Adjust as desired to find your optimal pressure level.
The right levels of pressure are empowering in the right situations. Ironically, finding your optimal level requires you to put pressure on yourself to find it. It is a big demand, but isn’t finding that optimal level for you pretty critical?
Live Dangerously, Be You
You are worth it.
Jennifer Smith is a Cedar Rapids-based personal and executive coach, host of The Dangerous Leader Podcast, and unapologetic optimist. Comments: jennifer@dangerousleader.com; @drjennsmith
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