“Crunch Time: How to Be at Your Best When it Matters Most” by Rick Peterson and Judd Hoekstra (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $19.95).Peterson, who helped many baseball pitchers achieve stardom, and Hoekstra, a VP handling leadership consulting at the Ken Blanchard Companies, combine their “people” knowledge to show managers and employees how to reframe high-pressure situations into […]
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“Crunch Time: How to Be at Your Best When it Matters Most” by Rick Peterson and Judd Hoekstra (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $19.95).
Peterson, who helped many baseball pitchers achieve stardom, and Hoekstra, a VP handling leadership consulting at the Ken Blanchard Companies, combine their “people” knowledge to show managers and employees how to reframe high-pressure situations into opportunities to shine.
To set the stage, think about listening to the radio on your way to work. You've preset stations based upon your likes. You press a preset and it's playing one of your favorite songs; you sing along and turn up the volume; negative thoughts disappear. The next song isn't one you like. What do you do? Change stations because the song evoked a negative thought. Changing stations was your positive reaction to the negative thought. You reframed the situation.
At work, you often self-inflict pressure for three negative reasons: 1. You think you have little control over the situation. 2. You don't think you can handle the assignment. 3. You're thinking about the consequences of failure. Your woe-is-me approach means you're trying not to lose. That's a game you can't win because the negatives create a reflexive bias on your approach to the situation/task. By dumbing-down your ability, you've become “your own worst coach.”
The “conscious thinker” takes a positive approach by identifying what can be controlled — your ability to apply your skills. Doing so creates confidence in your ability to explore and assess options while preparing for/working on the task. This playing-to-win mindset sees problems as opportunities to showcase and hone your skills and produce results.
To think consciously, slow things down. Before diving in, question assumptions you're making about the situation and possible outcomes. Filter out the negative ones and remember that you've faced similar situations and won. Create a “how will I use my skills” game plan.
Key takeaway: Thoughts drive actions.