A new year delivers a host of opportunities for the manufacturing professional with technology innovations, changing trends and even the potential for a new hire. However, each of those things comes with their own share of challenges and concerns too. It’s no wonder that many leaders in the construction space find it difficult to manage their feelings of stress.
While the complexities of running a company can put a lot of pressure on an expert, it’s worth remembering that the most successful people are those who learn how to rise above stress, and even thrive within it. In fact, one study of a million people found that 90% of top performers know how to manage their emotions in times of tension.
The question is, how can you transform your habits to ensure that you stay calm and collected under pressure?
1. Take Things One Step at a Time
When there are countless projects to manage in your business, it can be tempting to tackle everything at once. Unfortunately, scientists have found that human beings are terrible at multitasking. Trying to switch from one task to another means that none of your undertakings get your full attention, and this increases the risk that you’ll make a mistake.
No matter how rushed you feel, slow down and focus on one thing at a time. This will allow you to engage fully in every activity. Even if you don’t get everything done in one day, you can rest assured that you’ve successfully completed your priority jobs, rather than leaving a collection of unfinished and confused work on your desk.
2. Focus on “Logical” Thinking
Stress has a habit of magnifying emotions and turning molehills into mountains. One of the most important skills a manufacturing leader can have is the ability to recognise when your emotions are getting the better of you, and switch to a more logical state of mind.
Ask yourself a few important questions about the challenge you’re facing. For instance, what exactly is happening, and what are the threats you face? How can you overcome any impending problems, and are there any measures you can implement to keep yourself on the track to success? If you’re struggling to find solutions yourself, you can always hold a team meeting and ask for insights.
3. Maintain a Positive Attitude with the Right People
When you concentrate on prioritising logic over emotion, you’ll be able to pinpoint negative thoughts that might hold you back. While it’s important to be aware of the risks you face in your organisation or industry, a great leader never lets fear hold them back.
Unfortunately, if you’re surrounded by anxious people in your manufacturing company then it might be harder for you to stay positive. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that you hire experts with the right attitude, and cultivate a culture of progressive thinking.
If your team is full of people willing to contribute to creative problem-solving measures, then it can be much easier to mitigate stress when something doesn’t go according to plan on your business roadmap.
4. Break Bigger Problems Down into Smaller Chunks
When stress strikes in the manufacturing industry it’s easy to be plagued by feelings of overwhelm, particularly when your issues feel too large to overcome in one go. For instance, if you have a huge project ahead of you and you’re not sure where to get started then you might be tempted to procrastinate instead of brainstorming ideas for growth.
A great way to turn panic into productivity is to break large undertakings down into smaller chunks. From there, you can prioritise each “to-do” on your list according to which elements require the most immediate attention.
Looking at tasks in smaller segments can also help you to decide where you can delegate jobs to other experts in your staff. After all, there’s always a chance that someone else in your group may have the skills to tackle a problem more easily.
5. Just Breathe
Finally, just because you’re responsible for running a high-performance manufacturing team doesn’t mean that you must be superhuman. Anyone can start to feel as though their career is getting on top of them at times, and when this happens to you it’s okay to take a moment to breathe and re-centre yourself.
The more you practice controlling your emotions and working with the other employees in your business to overcome challenges, the easier it will be for you to keep calm under pressure and continue delivering exceptional results.
We are ‘South Wales Recruitment Specialists’ based in Cardiff, Wales.
We offer a full range of permanent recruitment solutions to many of South Wales’ and the South Wests’ leading manufacturing, technical, automotive and life science organisations. This includes companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot, Bridgend and the surrounding areas in South Wales.
Sigma Recruitment has one of the largest and most comprehensive recruitment candidate databases in the area. To get in touch with our team call us now on 02920 450 100. Alternatively, contact us here.
