In these times of change and uncertainty, we have heard accounts of people having moments of brilliance followed by an outburst or a breakdown on the very same day. A healthy dose of pressure is often good in the work environment; it gives us motivation and a chance to move from our comfort zone into the growth zone. But when we’re under too much pressure or the stress goes on too long, we often ‘revert to type’, relying on our most practiced part of our personality, our most dominant style. Although this style is often our biggest strength, in times of stress, it can become our biggest weakness.
Think of a Tachometer in a car – if you push down hard on the accelerator without changing gear, you’re going to red-line it and consume lots of fuel in the process. Naturally, red-line behaviour will vary for each of us, depending on our style. At Francis Health, we favour the Team Management Profile to highlight our work preference style. It’s an internationally validated tool that plots your major and secondary preferences for the types of work required to achieve a task. It is our major preference or style that we tend to over-do when we’re feeling stressed. For example, Thruster-Organisers who like to get into action, may quickly appear overly bossy and pushy. Explorer-Promoters who enjoy variation and are outgoing, might become too exhausting to be around and seem excessively ‘full on’. On the flip side of the wheel, Controller-Inspectors may be perceived as pedantic and over-critical.
The aim is to try and stay in the mid-range: The Goldilocks zone! Revs and acceleration are both up but steady. We’re contributing positively to our team, collectively using all of our styles to achieve our tasks. This is where the moments of brilliance come out in individuals and teams.
To avoid the outburst or breakdown, the challenge is to keep your cool and take your foot off the accelerator when you feel the revs creeping up. Knowing your style and recognising your stress tendencies is a good first step. Drawing on the strengths and complementary styles of other team members will provide you with some balance. If you’d like to find out your style or know more about the Team Management Profile, get in touch with Stuart, Rory, Martin or Naila, all accredited Team Management Practitioners.
Jacqui Summers
Senior Consultant