FEED: What would you say to those who are under extra pressure now and feel like they haven’t the time to take a break and reassess?
EDDIE O’CONNOR: High achievers want to do more than they have time for. But that just
sets us up either for failure, because something gets dropped by accident, or disappointment, because we’re now not meeting our unrealistic goals. Some of the best interventions are to help people see how much they want, and ask how they fit all that into a limited amount of time and how much will it cost them. It’s really about being intentional; knowing what you’re doing and knowing what it’s going to cost. If you can’t do it all – you’ve got too many emails and projects and a deadline to meet – you might have to decide which one to drop. Maybe you don’t check emails, or only respond to half of them. Maybe you have to be late for one project to be on time for
another. Or maybe you have to hire a bigger sales force.We’re here to make decisions.Where are you going to take the hit? If you’re playing football, you’re gonna come out sore.You can’t expect to not hurt. This has helped a lot of the runners I’ve worked for.They have come to me because they can’t push past the pain. And I say, “What do you expect? Your body has never done this before. Don’t you think that it should hurt?” And that tends to be the thing that gets them through it. So why wouldn’t you struggle during a crisis?Why wouldn’t you have anxiety during a pandemic? But can you move your company forward while you’re still feeling fear and anxiety? Hopefully, it will be according to your values, and through kindness and good communication.
FEED: What techniques are there for engaging your best thinking and creativity when you are under a lot of pressure?
EDDIE O’CONNOR: You’re going to be more creative when you have enough sleep – you’re going to think better and make better decisions.When we’re in crisis, we have more caffeine to stay up later and work harder. But if it’s at the cost of sleep, science says you’re hurting yourself. If you get a bunch of stressed executives who have stopped exercising, are drinking more, are feeling more pressure and are not sleeping, they are not going to be creative.They are going to rely on the things that they have always done and their minds are not going to be open. I can pretty
much guarantee that they are not going to be at their very best. When we get under pressure, doubling down on the foundational health benefits is where it all starts. If your mind and body are not healthy, you can’t have the best creativity. So continue to exercise during stress. Make your sleep and nutrition a priority and be careful about substances. The second thing I’d say is seek other opinions. I’m not necessarily saying hire a consulting firm, but if you’re working with a leadership group that has been together ten years and you’ve always done
things a certain way, maybe you can get a consultant to come in and facilitate a change. I really believe in lifelong learning – the more I know, the more I realise that I don’t know. I get more and more humbled by how little I know, the older I get.
“WHENWE GET UNDER PRESSURE, DOUBLING DOWN ONTHE FOUNDATIONAL HEALTH BENEFITS ISWHERE ITALL STARTS”
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