Dan Dworkis, an emergency physician and Chief Medical Officer at The Mission Critical Team Institute, shares his expertise on thriving in high-pressure situations. He discusses how to differentiate emergencies from bad days and emphasizes the importance of team dynamics in crisis management. Dworkis reveals techniques like graduated pressure and effective communication to enhance performance. He also explains that staying calm under pressure is a skill that can be developed through practice and reflection, encouraging adaptability and resilience.
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Quick takeaways
Emergencies require leaders to shift from standard responses to adaptive strategies, as traditional methods may exacerbate crises.
Applying graduated pressure during training enhances adaptability and resilience, enabling individuals to perform better in real-life high-stress situations.
Deep dives
Understanding Emergencies
Emergencies are characterized by unique features that set them apart from typical bad days or challenging situations. They are defined by pressure, uncertainty, complexity, and the necessity for immediate action, highlighting that the usual tools and protocols may not apply. Recognizing these traits is crucial for leaders, as failure to adapt can exacerbate the crisis. For instance, what one might consider a standard response, such as making a decision based on available resources, can lead to detrimental outcomes in an emergency setting.
Decision-Making Under Pressure
Effective leadership during emergencies requires swift decision-making and clarity in communication. Leaders must assess the situation and control the aspects within their power to facilitate progress toward a solution. Inexperienced responders often become overwhelmed and focus on immediate actions, whereas seasoned professionals adopt a more holistic view, considering higher-order effects and team dynamics. This shift in perspective emphasizes the importance of teamwork over individual performance, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes.
Graduated Pressure Training
Applying graduated pressure is a practical technique that enhances performance in high-stress situations by gradually introducing elements of stress during training. For example, medical professionals may simulate emergency scenarios by practicing complex procedures in increasingly chaotic environments to build resilience and adaptability. This training method allows individuals to familiarize themselves with tasks before encountering them in real-life emergencies, thereby improving their chances of success. By starting with low-pressure tasks and incrementally increasing the intensity, leaders can develop skills that are essential for crisis management.
Embracing Suboptimal Conditions
Acknowledging and labeling suboptimal conditions during a crisis fosters a balanced perspective, helping teams navigate adversity more effectively. Leaders can diffuse tense situations by humorously admitting that circumstances are less than ideal, while simultaneously fostering a resilient mindset among team members. The approach encourages an environment where challenges are recognized but are also met with an optimistic attitude towards overcoming them. By integrating this practice into leadership, teams can maintain momentum and move forward despite the complexities of the situation.
Dan Dworkis is Chief Medical Officer at The Mission Critical Team Institute. He’s an emergency physician who helps individuals and teams apply knowledge under extreme pressure and perform at their best when it matters the most. He is the author of The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure*.
Every leader, at least occasionally, faces emergencies. In an emergency, the only way out is through. In this conversation, Dan and I explore the mindsets and tactics that will help us handle the most difficult situations.
Key Points
Emergencies are not just worse bad days. They are liminal — the only way out is through.
Apply graduated pressure. Never allow suffering to be wasted. By going a bit slower, you notice where and why failures happen.
Label an emergency with language that both recognizes the urgency of the situation and your faith in the team to resolve it.
The room is always smarter than any one person in it. Tell people what problem they are working and your confidence level in it.
Staying cool under pressure is not a fixed personality trait. You can get better by noticing and experimenting with what works for you (and doesn’t) to handle high-pressure situations.
Experience makes working under pressure easier, but you still need to practice for it. Notice what’s effective (and not) in past and new situations before you experiment.
Use situations in everyday life (a hard workout, an angry customer, getting cut off in traffic) to train yourself for responding in the toughest situations.