DIAMONDS, VOLCANO, OR PULP

This is a blog about pressure and pollies.

Diamonds are forged under pressure, volcanos can blow under pressure, and delicate and brittle things can also get crushed to pulp under pressure.

What happens for you?

As politicians are put under more and more pressure on their way to the election it is interesting to see which ones become diamonds, which ones explode, and which ones are crushed.

What makes a diamond politician? A good communicator who is able to articulate how their vision/strategy can benefit the electorate, despite the slings and arrows that may come their way.

As a cultural psychologist who teaches leadership and communication strategies, I am fascinated at who gets to shine and who gets crushed. Not many are shining!

Many are making gaffs. Some are playing it safe but are uninspiring. One was controlling and demeaning to the other candidate in a debate. He damaged his reputation rather than won the points in the debate. And I saw one candidate running away from a journalist earlier this week.

Of late, I have been examining how many politicians know elements from my Emotional Judo® programs: Difficult and Vital Conversations, or DEAL don’t LEAD – Influence skills. Invisible structures to use when politicians get the heat turned up on them by journalists and opponents. The ones that shine have obviously had training or have been coached by someone with knowledge in the area.

So what about you? What happens for you under pressure?

Do you take people on head on and find your reputation, and your capacity to get people on board, damaged? Or do you avoid having vital conversations only to find they blow up like a volcano later?

Understanding good communication structures, positioning techniques and context shifting is not just for politicians.

Anyone who is in a position of authority who needs to have difficult but vital conversations and influence various stakeholders to achieve outcomes, can benefit. Leaders, managers, salespeople, negotiators, change-agents (and that should be every leader), presenters, trainers, business owners. If you need the capacity to influence to get results and deal with challenging situations you can benefit too.

How will you benefit?

By knowing which structures to use, in what circumstances and understanding significance positioning you gain greater ability to get results. This means when the pressure to perform arrives, you feel greater confidence, connect better with people, and make communication easier and effective. Goals are attained and issues are minimised.

It’s a great investment for your staff, especially if you have budget left before the end of the financial year.

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