While challenges can motivate or bring the team together to tackle a goal as one unit, challenges or stress placed on members by a team leader will only make it difficult to work effectively. Simita Sambyal, an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) master practitioner and corporate trainer, notes that transferring one’s anxiety to members, being harsh or unsupportive, and pointing out failures openly will result in unpleasant interactions and difficult relationships. Eventually, team members will lose trust and confidence in their colleagues, their work and the leader.

Simita Sambyal

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Instead of getting upset, if the leader can separate the stress from the goal and focus on the latter, members too will follow suit. This will instill the team’s trust and confidence in the leader, so they feel they can speak honestly, share their concerns and handle challenges better, rather than avoiding seeking help from their manager. “Leaders must be aware that their team looks up to them and observes how they conduct themselves in easy and difficult situations,” she says.

Seek a trusted mentor or support system for advice in tricky situations

Take charge

Neha Mishra, a leadership trainer, believes that attitude plays a significant role in assessing one’s leadership effectiveness. “A leader’s words, actions and emotions should manoeuvre the team’s productivity and results in an upward direction. During a crisis, one can either pull the team out of the dumps or create uncontrollable ripples.” Stress might be unavoidable but one can mitigate it. She suggests:

Neha Mishra

. Be aware of and identify your behavioural patterns during stressful situations.
. Understand what you can control and what is beyond your control.
. Acknowledge boundaries. Do not jump to problem-solving without assessing the situation.
. Practise calming techniques to declutter the mind and meditation for self-awareness.

Mishra, who is the founder of Neha Talks,  notes that the pandemic reaffirmed the importance of resilience as one of the biggest virtues for today’s leaders. But that does not mean one must ignore emotions or stress. Instead, find effective ways to deal with it like maintaining a journal to monitor stress-related behaviour patterns, building trusted support communities for advice, and not doubting your decisions.

Notes from the playing field

Dolly Kumar, founder and director of Cosmic Nutracos, believes that the key to dealing with any crisis is being strong-minded and making peace with the situation. This allows you to stay calm and make better decisions. “I have come across many brilliant leaders who lead their teams through difficult situations by staying calm and thinking through,” Kumar notes. She adds that practices like regular communication with the team, being transparent about the situation and meditation can help during tough times. 

She tells us, “Leaving a high-paying corporate job to start my venture was challenging. But balancing various responsibilities and dealing with crises and uncertainties are now a part of my life. I won’t hesitate to share that at times, it can feel impossible to manage everything when multitasking. During such times, my mantra is to follow an informed approach. I put to use the knowledge and insights I gained during my initial years in my professional life that help me look at the other side of the coin.” For aspiring entrepreneurs, Kumar suggests two key elements to achieve success and emerge as leaders — clear communication and collaboration. Her organisation often conducts recreational sessions to facilitate an exchange of ideas among employees and brainstorm new ways to cope with day-to-day challenges.

Lizanne Dsouza, founder, Liz Lyn Careers and a podcast host, notes that while it’s hard to stay calm during stressful situations, it’s important for leaders to be aware that how one communicates can impact others and the scenario. Seeing every-one as an equal can help in communicating one’s thoughts effectively without offending others. To manage stress, she suggests tools like breathing techniques, pausing before speaking, or taking a five-minute break to cool off. Having a mentor for guidance and, if time permits, to consult with, can be helpful. She reiterates that maintaining your cool is key, not just for others but for yourself too, lest your decision-making abilities get affected or you find yourself exhausted at the end of the day.

Citing her own experience, Dsouza reveals, “It’s been a tough road to get here; I had to accept that not everything will always go as planned; that is just how life is, and if you do everything you can, it’s enough. Sometimes, when it is hard to keep calm, I apologise and remind my team that I am human and prone to feeling pressured too. I have seen leaders yelling at or insulting their employees to get the job done. This doesn’t work. People are not motivated by insults but by encouraging words; they look up to a leader for guidance, not parenting. If you cannot respect people, they will not respect you.”