Today, I want to talk to you about the pressure cooker.
So, what do I mean by the pressure cooker?
It’s something that I see in our business and in all our clients’ businesses, where situations arise, and leaders or managers get under significant pressure.
This often leads them to make decisions that are out of character, resulting in hasty, sometimes poor choices.
I want you to take a look at your business right now.
Think about which area is really hurting you.
Where are the decisions being made?
Reflect on the last six months. Did you make a decision that ultimately was a short-term snap judgment made under pressure, or was it made with careful thought and consideration?
Recently, I encountered a business grappling with recruitment.
A senior salesperson had left, and they didn't act quickly enough to replace that person.
They went through the standard recruitment process and narrowed it down to three candidates. However, none of them were truly a good fit.
Under pressure to fill the position, they made a hasty decision. You can guess what happened: the hire didn’t work out, leading to a situation where they had to manage that individual out of the business within six to seven weeks.
This resulted in wasted recruitment fees, lost time, and wasted training, all stemming from a poor decision made under pressure.
It’s crucial to get organized.
As a business leader, I encourage you to examine your pressure cooker situations.
Do you have a partner or colleague you can talk things through with to gain a second opinion?
If you oversee managers in your business, take five minutes to check in with them to understand any pressures they might be masking.
It’s not uncommon for managers to feel they can’t open up because they don’t want their superiors to think they are struggling.
As a leader, you should make it a priority to sit down with your team regularly to identify pressure points and offer support.
By addressing these pressure situations, you’ll create an environment where better decisions can be made, decisions that are less costly and yield better results for your business.
A Non executive director can help leadership in these situations, set up a call with me if you need to de-pressurize.