Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Is the world really going to implode, or could you put things into perspective? Understand that this pain or situation is temporary, and that emotional control is more important than blowing this situation out of proportion…
Leadership is so lonely at times. You feel like you have shattered a mirror, been cursed by a black cat, or walked under a ladder. Every day. Forever. And it never stops, right?
Leadership pressure comes in so many forms, from so many directions. How we respond (or react) to that pressure is about the perspective we take.
Perspective taking is not a new topic.
Around 500 BC, the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus talked about the difference between appearance and reality. “Where nothing ever simply “is” but only ever is “becoming” something else”.
In 2022, we call that perspective taking.
What are we experiencing? Could it be interpreted as something else? Something less stressful? something less dramatic? What could it become if we responded differently?
For some leaders, perspective taking comes easier than for others.
So why can some leaders stay calm under fire, and others struggle to keep it together? It is genetics, our nature. Or is it experiences, our nurturing. Nature or nurture? Or both?
I say both.
We know that some people are born more pessimistic than others. Some are more optimistic than others. Regardless of how you look at the glass of water, its either half empty or half full. Look at a 9 upside down and you will find a 6.
In a previous life, I was a Maintenance Superintendent. Meaning I was responsible for the maintenance of an industrial plant. And I would freak out – literally – when the plant broke down. Every time I got a call about a breakdown, I would turn it into a catastrophe of epic proportions.
After about 18 months of stressing about keep the plant running, I looked to my manager for coaching and advice. He never seemed to get stressed like I did.
One day, he explained that he had been in the Navy. While serving, the aircraft carrier that he was on was bombed. His carrier suffered substantial fatalities and casualties. He shared that plant breakdowns are not life and death events. “When my life was in danger, I got stressed. Nothing much seems to stress me anymore”, he said.
We educate perspective taking in our trainings and coaching. It is about the three elements of turning the problem around: To look at it differently. Engaging with others to get their perspective. And then, articulating it differently, to reframe the problem or the situation.
The next time you are under pressure, try those strategies. Don’t thank me now!
And please click the image below if you’d like to chat about what leadership means to you.
If you would like to learn more about Anton or The Guinea Group, please click here to book into Anton’s calendar, to:
UPGRADE your Mindset
UPSKILL your Leadership
UPLIFT your Teams