PMcrunch

All professionals – Project Managers, Program Managers, Executives, leaders of all kinds -  worry at times, and some more than others.  Worrying a lot or a little is actually a controllable habit.  Worrying a lot is little more than trading your peace of mind and taking a negative view of the future.  The urge to worry can be useful in alerting us to possibilities to manage, but worrying is needless, and the cost is very steep, often the cost of actually bringing our worst fears to reality.

Worry and Leadership
Worry is a reaction, or coping mechanism, that occurs naturally inside of our heads.  Many say that it’s not what happens to you, but your reaction to it that is important.  On the topic of worry, that can be taken a step further to include what MIGHT happen to you!  When we think about all of the things that happen to us, and also think about what we want to make happen, what place does what MIGHT happen have?  Well, it should take a back seat, but let’s take a look.

As leaders and managers, in a very real way, we need to manage our worries, and similarly manage risk.  We need to be realists and face our own concerns and the concerns of those around us, and the projects and programs for which we are responsible.  A while back I participated in some extensive Dale Carnegie training.  Once simple technique that Dale Carnegie used to manage worry was this:

1. Write down your worry on a small piece of paper.
2. Put the paper into a drawer or folder, and forget about it.
3. Wait for a week or 2 and retrieve that paper and read it.
4. Most of the time, the worry will have disappeared, as it was not something worth worrying about.  If it is still there, it is a legitimate issue and needs to be handled.

Taking it a step further, if an issue needs to be handled, as very simple Dale Carnegie problem solving technique for handling it is as follows:

1. Write down this issue.
2. Write down all the possible solutions.
3. Select the one best solution.
4. Begin to implement that solution right away.

This can be down as an individual, or in a group or on a team.  In project and program management, it can get as sophisticated and involved as brainstorming every possible thing that could go wrong, estimating probability and impact, and developing preventive and remedial solutions.  In all cases, the result is peace of mind and the exercise of leadership.

Conclusion
Leadership is manifested in the act of managing worry and problems.  We need to remember that the real situation must be managed, but also our thoughts must be managed, and we can virtually manage worry away.  On a personal basis, we can take a hard look at what we are worried about today, identify the underlying fear, then let the feeling pass through us like a wave.  Once fear’s peak has passed, we can then have the courage to change what we can, and the serenity to accept whatever remains.  Managing worries and risks is the ultimate leadership activity!