“Nobody works better under pressure. They just work faster.”
― Brian Tracy

It does not matter if you are a new leader or if you are entrepreneur launching a new business, there is an underlying pressure to be an immediate success. This is one of the top challenges that leaders face today. Some of the pressure is from the teams you lead or the senior leadership you may be answering to. The other pressure may come from family, friends, or investors with the expectation that failure is not an option. There is this expectation to deliver results and the pressure is on from all directions.

As with anything new, it takes time to develop competencies. Some knowledge, skills, and abilities are expected, however, any leader with a few years of experience under their belt will tell you that even though you reached one level that there are new challenges at every level along the way. Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, discusses how leaders often think that the same skills that got them their current level of success will be the same ones that get them to the next levels of success. However, new challenges are faced and new knowledge, skills, and abilities get refine. You do not know your capacity to handle new situations until you are in them.

“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.”
― Tommy Lasorda

Be Prepared to Commit to Being the Leader or Entrepreneur You See Yourself to Be. You can choose to be interested in your role or you can choose to commit and passionately pursue the vision you have. Ensuring that you are ready and prepared to face the challenges you face with a positive attitude means that you are over 50% of the way there.

Don’t Put Too Much Pressure on Yourself. Be kind to yourself. We are often our own worst enemy with putting unrealistic expectations on ourselves to perform. Mistakes are inevitable. You will fail. Learn to fail forward by being open and willing to learn and improve.

If You Do Not Know Something, Admit It. Don’t pretend to know something you do not. You could be putting yourself at risk. Why risk it? You can learn what you do not know, ask for advice from a professional or someone who does know what you don’t, or ask questions to help find out the answer. People would rather do business or work for someone who admits when the do not know rater than pretending that they do. Chances are you are not expected to have every answer. You are expected to know how to find it. Ask questions!!

Expose Yourself to New Situations. The more situations you work through, the greater the experience you will have. You will learn, adjust your course, and grow from the experience. Take time to reflect on how the situation unfolded and how it may be handled differently if a similar circumstance occurred again. A person is only as good as the experiences they have been exposed to.

Learn as much about the Industry as possible. By learning as much as you can about the industry, you are setting yourself up for success. You will be able to understand the trends and how to position yourself best in the market place. You will able to be more strategic with your decision making.

Stay Solution Focused. The more you look for solutions the more likely you will be to find them. When people focus on the roadblocks and challenges, they often find more of the same.

Discover What the Expectations of Your Team or Senior Leadership Are. How do you know if you met expectations if you do not even know what those expectations are? You could be putting needless pressure on yourself to have immediate success and you do not need to!

Take Time Out to Recharge and Rejuvenate. Excelling in a new role can be challenging. You want to ensure you are taking time to look after you. Eat right. Get some exercise. Sleep Well.

Remember that there are very few overnight successes. The people who we think are overnight successes were the people you spent many late nights refining and honing their crafts. There were sleepless night and many sacrifices made. A little bit of pressure can improve performance and motivate you to work at improving. Too little pressure you may procrastinate or become complacent. Too much pressure and you will become overwhelmed. You may even stop taking the actions need to get results.

Release the pressure! Step into the leader you know you CAN BE! Above all, BELIEVE in yourself!

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com