Sometimes problems at work can take up a disproportionate amount of time and brain-space. Whether you are a top-level executive or anywhere else on the organizational chart, you might find a particular issue churning over in your mind at night and draining your energy during the day. It could be about anything: the future of your business or your career, a problem with your boss, colleague or your employees. But the stress can build, and, as your brain defaults to freeze, flight or fight mode, you can feel trapped, with little room to maneuver.
But there are always more options than you think.
Here is a framework of four strategies that I’ve developed that can prevent impulsive decisions that you might regret later. As you run through each strategy, you will find the emotion is defused, you will see your situation more clearly, and you will be more likely to exercise sound judgment as you assess what to do.
The “Stick-around” Strategy
People generally prefer not to disrupt the status quo, so our default strategy is often to just stay put and hope things will improve. At times, this might be the wisest course of action. The good thing about living in these crazy times is that things constantly change. So if you sit tight, the very circumstances that you are finding problematic may simply disappear. Nothing wrong with the passive approach, especially if it is an eyes-open choice to just wait things out, in the knowledge that nothing in the workplace is permanent.
If you go with this strategy, however, it is important that you manage your attitude. Keep your complaints to yourself, and don’t whinge. Playing the helpless victim gets old quickly and you will wear out other people’s tolerance if you insist on reveling in your misery.
Also beware of adopting this strategy because you are in denial and refuse to address what’s worrying you. I am not advocating for putting your head in the sand and pretending things are great when they are not. But I am suggesting you take a longer-term view of the current pressures in your situation. Circumstances will change, troublesome people will move on, and you may see things differently as things unfold. Recognize that your own motivations and reactions could evolve too, so “sticking around” – with patience and positivity – may be better than jumping ship for the next shiny opportunity.
As you wait-and-see, make sure you alleviate your stress and manage your emotions by:
- Working out what is in your control and what is not, and giving your attention to the former.
- Anticipating and planning more, so you can focus on priorities and intentionally release some time.
- Being more selective about the tasks or battles you take on.
- And ensuring you take some time for non-work activities that will clear your head and relax you.
Simply gaining perspective will help you deflect the discomfort and make your situation more bearable. You may grow to accept, or even welcome, the people and conditions you currently perceive as noxious, and be glad you chose to stay put.
The “Work-around” Strategy
If the “stick-around” strategy feels too passive, and the Zen approach of “this too shall pass” doesn’t work for you, you can take matters into your own hands and make adjustments to improve your work situation. Engage your creativity and negotiation skills, analyze the trade-offs you may need to make, and find a way to work around what’s bugging you.
If you evaluate the pros and cons of various alternatives, and take into account different stakeholders’ points of view, you are likely to come up with some decent suggestions for an acceptable middle path. You may not be able to get everything you want or to overcome huge obstacles, but may well find a workable solution.
Let’s look at some examples: Say you are leading a team whose performance is less than stellar, and everything you have tried does not seem to be working. It is slowly driving you nuts. You may never have the perfect team or all the right tools and resources, but team performance is often improved when you find ways to motivate individuals and empower the group rather than micromanaging them. By defining achievable goals and setting realistic expectations, you will be able to build an increased sense of accountability and move toward better performance.
Or say you have a long-simmering conflict with a colleague, whose every action seems designed to irritate or undermine you. Make an effort to understand the situation from their perspective, and figure out a fresh approach. With a bit of imagination, flexibility and interpersonal flair, you will find that you can usually negotiate a work-around and open the door to more productive working relationships.
The “Turn-around” Strategy
This is the act of turning a situational or organizational sow’s ear into a silk purse. The higher in the organization you are, the more leverage you have to be the catalyst for firm-wide transformation. But anyone has the power to turn things in their world around. All it takes is a shift of perspective from one way of viewing things to another. A new mindset leads to seeing different possibilities, adopting different behaviors, and achieving different results.
This is simply a bigger, bolder version of the work-around. It implies a willingness to question received ideas and established practices, and to bring about radical change and new paradigms. It can impact individual behavior (coach your employee rather than criticizing her, address long simmering issues rather than letting them languish) or your whole business (introduce more workplace flexibility, and stop non-sensical routines if you want to engage and retain talented staff).
This strategy is the most challenging, but when you are able to create a break-through or a turn-around, it offers the most reward in terms of stronger performance and delivering greater value to all stakeholders. This is often where the most fruitful work with an outside consultant or coach occurs.
The “Walk-away” strategy
Let’s not forget that this always remains an option. If none of the above strategies is appropriate for your circumstances, or if you have tried any one of them and none has yielded the results you are hoping to achieve, plan your exit strategy.
When you find yourself in an environment or culture that is really not a good fit, it is unlikely to change, so make your peace with this and move on. Go and seek a workplace where you will be able to contribute and flourish.