Читать книгу Performance Under Pressure - Ceri Evans - Страница 39

Under pressure we all succeed in predictable ways.

Peter is a foreman leading an expensive new house build that is just three weeks out from the date when the owners expect to move in. His team is facing pressure on several fronts. The architect has identified a large area of plastering that will need to be redone. One of Peter’s senior builders has had an accident onsite, which has triggered a health and safety investigation and left Peter short-handed. Plus, Peter’s usual subcontracting electrician isn’t available because of a family bereavement, and the replacement is not fitting in well with his team. On top of that, there’s been an extended spell of poor weather.

It would be very easy for Peter to fall into APE behaviours that block progress instead of moving his team forward. The pathway ahead, though, is clear.

First, he needs to stay aware of his internal reactions, to limit any APE behaviours. It won’t help for him to go deep RED right now!

Second, he needs to be clear about the proper process for the health and safety investigation, the repair timeline for the plasterers, and his expectations of the replacement electrician.

Third, he must stay on top of his crew and make sure that each task is finished calmly and efficiently, so that they get the house built on time.

This aware–clear–task sequence – or ACT – stands in contrast to the RED-fuelled APE reactions, which are characterised by lack of self-awareness, lack of clarity, and off-task behaviours. No matter how big the moment of pressure, we are well served by an ACT approach because it leads to specific actions that create movement.

ACT needs our BLUE mind to fire strongly. Because the BLUE mind is linear, it loves short sequences, so the three ACT steps are a good fit. (As we’ll discover, the RED–BLUE tool is based on the very same sequence.)

To be aware requires us to step back and reflect, which is a core BLUE-brain activity. Once we have a good idea of our external situation and our personal reaction to it, we can ensure we’re clear about what needs to be done first, and how to do it. Plenty of people start doing things without being aware and clear, and so the impact of their actions is diluted. There’s a lot to be gained from a deliberate process of considering alternatives and consequences before deciding to act.

Once we’ve made our decision, we can carry out our task accurately. If we are aware and clear, there is no doubt or vagueness to divert us, and our actions will have impact.

BLUE-based ACT responses are based on a desire to function better in challenging situations, while RED-driven APE reactions are based on getting out of threatening situations.

When we are in the zone, we will already be in an ACT state of mind. But for the majority of our lives we need a simple set of steps to follow under pressure. The great thing is that by not concentrating on getting into the zone and just following the process, we are more likely to end up in the zone anyway.

The ACT sequence is intended for repeated use because most performances involve a series of separate challenges. Aware provides our personal overview of the situation. Clear gives us a strategy to put into action. And task gets us going.

Instead of reacting to pressure defensively with APE behaviours, we can use the ACT sequence to face the pressure, and find a way to adapt and move forward.

It wouldn’t make sense to bury ourselves in the task without constantly reviewing our context and strategy. Every time we check on the context, we can adjust our strategy. Every time we adapt our strategy, we can adjust our actions. And every time we act, the context changes slightly, so we can circle back to the top. A key mental building block for performance under pressure is flexibility.

Choose a recent moment when you had to step up under pressure, and did. Can you recognise a moment when you put a stop to your APE behaviour, and got a grip on your reaction to the context (aware), formed a strategy (clear) and went to work with conviction (task)? If so, you’ve already intuitively discovered the ACT structure and applied it successfully.