How to be the calm within the storm

After publishing a blog post on the benefits of remaining calm at work, the next logical step is to share some strategies on how to actually do it. The following tips I’ve pulled together from articles, my own experience and my observations of others. Enjoy!

Tips on remaining calm at work:

1. Aim to remain calm

Perhaps the most important step in remaining calm in any situation is to make a conscious decision to try and do it. Setting a goal means that you’re more likely to monitor your emotions and take steps to control them.

Why be the calm within the storm

“Be consistently calm – irrespective of the situation” was a piece of advice my manager gave me early in my career. The following list briefly outlines the benefits of keeping your cool at work; some obvious, some perhaps less so.

Benefits of remaining calm:

1. It’s good for your health

The negative impacts to your health of stress are well documented.

2. Calmness and clarity of thought leads to better decisions

It is very easy to fall into the trap of making decisions based on emotion, not logic.  For example, no matter

Promise good, deliver great

I first heard the phrase “promise good, deliver great” during one of the senior executive speeches at work. He was providing advice to members of the organization’s graduate program and this was one of the things that he believed had contributed to his success.

One of the key elements of building a reputation of being a trustworthy and valuable team member or supplier is to deliver on your promises. In order to do that, you will need to be able to accurately estimate how long it will take you to complete specified tasks.

Ten rules of the (business) game

As part of my organization’s graduate program, a variety of speakers were brought in to help us succeed in our roles. The list below was given to us by one of the speakers. Please only use it as a starting point for reflection and remember that it’s just one person’s point of view.

Visualize working in business as a game and these are the rules…

1. Never ever take it personally

If it hasn't happened already, you are going to encounter criticism throughout your career and you'll need to find a way to learn from it.