What are the strategies to support a person in distress or crisis?

One of the most important tests in every leader’s journey, is a crisis.  It’s easy to imagine yourself as an effective leader when times are good.  However, when things start to fall apart, feelings of devastation can suddenly ambush you. Even though negative emotions challenge your composure, they shouldn’t be allowed to paralyze and defeat you.  Emotional control is one of the most important things a leader can do in order to survive a crisis.

How to Overcome Problems?

Emotions Fuel Decisions

Emotional control is integral to decision-making because emotions influence judgment.  It is necessary for anyone in leadership to manage their emotions because reckless emotions can provoke bad judgment.  Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist Amy Morin suggests that “Emotions are powerful... they determine how you deal with challenges, and how you spend your time. Gaining control over your emotions will help you become mentally stronger.” But what does it take to achieve healthy emotional balance?  Exactly how does one avoid emotional recklessness during times of crisis?  Here are four steps how:

1) Be Honest about How You Feel

Leaders are automatically expected to show strength, especially during times of adversity.  Unfortunately, this expectation deceives leaders into suppressing their emotions in a dysfunctional way.  It’s not healthy to live in emotional denial.  Especially for long periods of time. Acknowledge the fact that you have a wide range of emotions during crisis. Sometimes you’ll feel good, and sometimes you’ll feel bad.  It’s OK to be human.

2) Make an Effort to Heal Negative Emotions

If you know you’re feeling anxious and stressed, don’t let this negativity incubate in your heart.  Take charge of your emotions, and use all of the resources at your disposal to prevent them from corrupting your decisions.  Use therapeutic techniques to amplify positive emotions, and mitigate negative ones.  Seek counselling if you can. But if you can’t, modify your lifestyle in a way that reduces the chances of being tormented by negativity.

3) Be Mindful of Your Team

The decisions you make as a leader have a direct impact on the people who depend on your leadership.  This is why empathy should be your highest priority in times of crisis.  If emotional conflicts have you struggling to make good decisions, all you have to do is put yourself in other people’s shoes before taking a course of action.  Empathy will provide an anchor that prevents you from getting carried away by uncertainty, anger, fear or frustration.

4) Activate Your Support System

When disaster strikes, the pressure of decision-making puts a strain on people in leadership.  Leaning on your support system is a good way to help cope with this tension. Spend time with your family, or consult with your advisers.  Exchange thoughts with your mentors, or hang out with your friends. Having a support system helps you manage the weight of responsibility.

Conclusion

Coping with a crisis isn’t always a walk in the park.  Especially for people in positions of leadership.  The more difficult circumstances threaten your survival, the more urgency there is to make effective choices as a leader.  Naturally this can create a lot of stress.  But the stress doesn’t have to overwhelm you if you confront it with sobriety.  Stay grounded by living in the truth of your emotions. If you like what you just read from our blog, you’ll love the various informative courses, workshops and events listed on our websites and social media. Whether you’re interested in personal development, or overall improvement of your business, give us a call at 1 (888) 823-7757 to find out how The RISE Academy can help you break past your daily struggles and start soaring in success. For business development coaching by Richard Martinez, call at 626-202-2291 or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.