By Josh Okello.
Business and leadership is where the unexpected frequently occur. Some news can destroy you and even result into serious medical problems if not well taken care of. There is only one solution to entrepreneurship and leadership bad news; stay calm.
It is not easy to stay calm when bad news is fresh. When you are disappointed, discouraged and covered in rubbles. That moment when your roof caves in and walls crumble apart, when all hopes are gone and failure is the best you are left with. The worst is yet to happen and that is why you need to be calm. Here are some importance of being Calm.
Decision Making
When your world is shuttered, it is highly probable that the decisions you are going to make are going to cost you more. It is hard to make informed decision when you are torn apart. It is therefore better to recollect yourself before making decisions especially when you are angry or highly disappointed.
Take your Time
If any moment when patience become a virtue is when things go wrong. It is hard to stay patient and calm in such a time but best solutions are not made when people are mad. Take your time to calm down and see the challenge as a mare hurdle that tests your genuine heroic strengths behind your efforts.
Build Trust
Nobody trusts a leader who paces up and down in time of turmoil. People tend to love more those leaders who are brave or can put a smile despite the biggest challenge an organization might be going through. Once people learn of your confidence and ability to take a beating, they will look at you as their hero, a person they can confidently confide in to change their lives.
Positive Thought Process
It is often very easy to switch into retaliation mode by making hasty decisions when angry. Staying calm will make you sober and start thinking positively instead of negatively. Staying calm will make you act on your failures and challenges. Making decisions when you are angry and frustrated is a sign that you are reacting to the challenge making the challenge bigger than what it actually is. You should be controlling the challenge not the challenge controlling you. This is a concept that is widely adopted by those who go for mega success.
Despite the fact that you are challenged, never react but rather act on solving the problem. Challenges are there to be solved not to be fueled. By making decisions on the spot when you are not emotionally stable, you show a weakness that can be read by many.
Take Deep Breaths
It might sound silly primafacie but try it when you are rattled. It really does help. Different people have different ways of calming themselves down. Some people find solace in crying while I personally find solace in retrieving and thinking critically on the next step. I try not to work in panic mode. If the stress is more than I can handle then I just take a nap and wake up when I am fresh. Take a few deep breaths and make a decision on the best and realistic solution for the challenge. I then immediately start working on it and the more I get done the more my stress and anger goes down.
Find your philosophy of dealing with such challenges and be disciplined at implementing it.
Never Communicate
Anytime our organization faces a challenge, I try to cut all communications from emails, phone calls, social media, texts and anything that can show my emotions at that moment. People can read your emotions in the way you communicate with them even if it is not a face to face communication. Let nobody read your emotions when you are rattled. People will always think of you as a calm leader who knows and understand how to solve problems.
In some organizations, you might need to call a crisis meeting. Make sure that before you sit down with your team to inform them of the challenge, that you have digested the problem and have come up with possible ways to reduce the magnitude of the challenge so that your team can see it as a minor thing that they can act on and solve. Any moment you magnify a challenge, your team will double the magnifying glasses and make the challenge look twice as bigger than it is.
Mega success achievers understand these factors making them great problem solvers with high emotional control. For mega success, remember to stay calm.
© Joshua Okello 2015.
Joshua Okello is a B.A graduate in Business Administration, International Development and Philosophy. He is also the author of the book Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership He has exceptional skills in organizing, coordinating projects and capacity building initiatives with key emphasis on livelihood programs; microfinance through savings and credit led models; business development services and entrepreneurial leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Succeed Africa Relief Organization, a Canadian Christian Organization geared towards giving hope and transformation in lives of the chronically poor in Africa.
Josh OKELLO 