Keep Your Cool

Back to writing after a long vacation!

Today, I was reflecting on another trait I picked up from great leaders: the ability to stay focused during emergencies. The ability to stay calm during high-pressure moments is contagious. There is a distinctive difference between communicating a sense of urgency and panic. A sense of urgency arises when something needs to take priority over everything else; anyone contributing to the resolution of the problem should drop whatever they are doing and redirect their energy to the issue.

A clear example of this is an outage or an incident. In the tech industry, it's not about if it will happen but when. One thing I picked up a while ago was the ability of leaders to help the team stay focused. It's easy to scramble and panic when things go south, trying to revert whatever possible to remedy the issue. At times, though, that's not ideal and can give a false sense of confidence that a problem is resolved. Directions in these situations have to be specific with assigned responsibilities. Understand the impact, focus on the next steps, divide and conquer.

The real-life example that I always find helpful to explain this is the infamous "Someone call 911!". Just because someone said that out loud doesn't mean anyone will do it. This is why it's recommended to appoint a specific individual to do it, "You, call 911!". The same principle applies in any urgent situation; rather than declaring what needs to be done, it's essential to clarify who is responsible for what and reconvene for regular updates. This is simpler if you can stay calm and follow the process. Especially in critical moments, it is vital to follow whatever process is in place (and please draft one BEFORE you need it). That's what it's for, so you don't have to come up with the next steps during a high-pressure moment but can calmly follow protocol.

Thoughts

Don't rush it. When temperatures are high the worst that can happen is for things to slip through the cracks. If you lead with panic, others will panic too. Communicate the sense of urgency clearly and outline the next steps. I expect Senior individuals to confidently guide a process like this and help outline the plan. You don't have to have it all figured out, but there has to be a clear intention for the effort to be coordinated. Take a deep breath, review the process, and proceed accordingly.