I have been working on the planning committee for Region VII's conference in Cody, Wyoming. There are quite a few people on the committee and I have all the confidence in them to get the job done and to have our event run very smoothly. I just don't seem to have the same confidence in myself. This is the first conference that I've been this involved in the planning.
Seeing my anxiety Margie asked me to list out my tasks for the conference. Listing out all that I was responsible for I could see that I had completed all of my tasks. She pointed out all the preparation and organization I had worked on since I started working with the planning committee. Then she started listing off a few other items to make sure they had been completed. It seems all is in order. After talking it over with Margie I was able to finally relax.
I tend to let stress creep up on me by staying with a moment rather than looking at a bigger picture. Every once in a while we need to take a look at that bigger picture, allowing us to consider a few great points:
- Where we are in our plan
- Are we still on the correct path to accomplish the plan
- Smaller accomplishments that we can recognize
- To enjoy and celebrate how far we've come towards our goal
As a future leader I intend to remember this lesson. It will be important to show my team that their leader is able to handle stress and lead by example. I've seen it before, a manager that displays a lot of stress usually instills that trait into their team. The stress of the manager may not even be work related. Once the team is on edge, though, it can be difficult to reverse the situation.
I've also seen the opposite. A manager that has the trust of their team to carry them through a difficult project. That manager conveys confidence and an ability to handle stress, recognizes and celebrates the teams success within the broader project.
I want to be the confident leader who inspires creativity in their team. For now I'll take this lesson and learn to manage my own stress!
