Many of us aim to always be in control at work – particularly when we have plenty of responsibility and have to show results. We plan, question, query, monitor, revise, resolve, assess, reassess, and it’s all part of the job. Unfortunately, we can’t be in control of everything and anyone who has ever organised an event or managed a project will know that things can go wrong and get out of hand very, very quickly. What we do in these situations will inform how we are perceived and judged, and also how burdened we get with the stress of it all.
The trick is to balance ‘control’ and ‘flow’ together in harmony – when you can control the situation, do so, and when it’s out of hand, get into the flow of it and accept everything that you can’t do anything about. It sounds quite simple, but it was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn. Earlier in my career, I would always try to remain in control and fight against anything that went wrong. In some instances, the result was me being the scapegoat for the incident as well as becoming completely stressed out about the situation.
Since then, I’ve witnessed and learnt various other ways of responding to negative or crisis situations at the office.
Where you can and can’t take control
You can always take control of processes, procedures, your own emotional state, the quality of your work and your actual work flow (unless you have a micro-manager – which is a whole new blog post!). You can’t be in control of things that go wrong; other people’s emotional states; and how others perceive you.
How getting into the ‘flow’ can help you
In circumstances where you can’t be in control, being in a ‘flow’ zone can help. I’m sure you’ve heard of the expression ‘going with the flow’, but there is true meaning behind it. If what we resist persists, then attempting to resist or control things that are going awry usually ends up badly. By getting into a ‘flow’ zone and straight away accepting the circumstances, we’re in a much better place to create a resolution and move on from it.
Something went wrong? First, take responsibility where you need to – but not where you don’t.
This is where you can take control. It’s important to take responsibility for things that go wrong if indeed you are responsible, but there’s no need to become a victim or a martyr. Where possible, always control and plan in advance – have systems in place to prevent crises from emerging – but if something does happen, work out why. Develop a quick situational analysis either in your mind or on paper, if that helps. Work out what fell down and why; take responsibility where you need to; and propose a solution moving forward, as well as the revised system to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in future.
How has being in the ‘flow’ or in ‘control’ helped you at work?
