Leadership Skills: Managing Ups and Downs at Work
By: Hilary Jane Grosskopf
Tags: Startup, Self, Work, Leadership, Remote Work

Who has not experienced ups and downs at work? Whether you are a leader of a team, a team member, or a solo entrepreneur, work comes with its fair share of ups and downs. Each day presents new challenges. As most of us have heard before, it’s all about how you respond to the waves of change and the challenges. So, how should you respond to ups and downs, or challenging situations in dynamic work environments?

“Ups and downs” literally refers to emotional ups and downs that consume our focus and energy. These emotional ups and downs are like internal waves; they are a reflection of a real circumstance that feels uncomfortable or unresolved. When you’re in the thick of a difficult situation, it’s often hard to come up for air and see clearly. This makes it feel impossible to act responsibly and achieve your goals.

As a leader, I found that I needed reminders from my clear-headed self in order to brave the ups and downs and resolve them. So, I wrote six reminders in my journal and I returned to them when I found myself in the thick of a challenging situation at work — when I was braving ups and downs. These reminders help me to see more clearly, respond reasonably, and emerge stronger on the other side of the difficult situation.

Here are my six reminders for how to better manage ups and downs at work!

1. Zoom Out.

The first thing to do when you find yourself experiencing frustration or resistance to a situation is to zoom out. To zoom out is to pause and take a birds-eye view of the situation, your career, and your life. This helps you return to the reality that this is just one challenging situation in the grand scheme of your career and your life. What will it look like if you make it through this successfully? Is it really something you need to stress about? How could you take the lead of the situation and handle it as a professional?

It’s useful to remember that some stress is healthy because it prompts you to resolve an issue; however, too much stress is unhealthy and it’s only hurting you and not actually solving the situation at hand. Zooming out and thinking bigger-picture about your life and goals helps relieve this unhealthy stress. Scaling the issue down to it’s realistic size is the #1 way to practice solution-centricity, more quickly resolve a challenging situation at work, and cure your inner frustration.

In addition to adjusting your perspective and thinking big-picture, zooming out can also mean taking some time to do something that you enjoy, unrelated to work and the situation, to clear your mind and detach from the situation. This helps to let go of the stress related to the situation. You will likely return to work and the situation with a fresh perspective and newfound energy.

2. Return to your own identity.

Driven leaders, entrepreneurs, and team members are high-achieving individuals because they are dedicated. Dedication to the mission and objectives of the organization is essential for productivity and progress. However, sometimes this intense dedication leads to attachment. Do you ever feel attached to your company or organization? Do you ever feel over-attached to a certain outcome at work?

Ups and downs are often a a result of intense attachment to an outcome of a particular situation or to the organization in general. Even the most dedicated people must let go of certain outcomes and detach a bit from the organization. You can still be a productive contributor without making a certain situation or company the largest part of your own identity. You are so much more than one situation, outcome, or organization. Reconnect to the other parts of your identity that you find valuable, interesting, and cool. Think about the situation in terms of the collective good and take a solution-centric approach.

3. Treat work as a Center of Applied Learning.

Another reminder that really helps when facing ups and downs at work is to think about work as a place to learn. By dropping the familiar notion that work is a place to achieve, compete, and burn through your task list, you can reignite your curiosity and focus on things that actually interest you at work. When was the last time you took an opportunity to learn something at work or reflect on what you’re learning?

The name I use to remind myself of this notion or perspective is Center of Applied Learning. Instead of a Center for Productivity, think of work as a Center of Applied Learning, Each day, write down 2 or 3 things you learned at work. Think about why these things interest you and how you could use them to improve your work contributions, your resume, or your own side project.

Doesn’t everyone want to work at a Center of Applied Learning rather than a corporation? It’s largely about your perspective. Approach work each day as a Center of Applied Learning first and foremost to let go of the pressures that often build up and lead to intense ups and downs.

4. Tune into yourself as an individual.

After practicing non-attachment to return to your own identity, it’s also important to tune into your own interests and goals. Sometimes, ups and downs happen because the organization or leadership no longer aligns with our own internal values systems or our own personal interests. Return to your interests, goals, and values. Tune into the reason why you work for your organization and how it aligns with your own interests, goals and values. This can really help to re-spark your dedication and resolve your ups and downs.

On the other hand, we change over time and so do our workplaces. New leadership can bring on a change in priorities and values at work. If you find that you no longer align with the approach of your organization or leadership, it might be time to move on to a job and company that better aligns with your interests, goals, and values. Working in alignment with your own personal compass often cures recurring ups and downs.

5. Open a dialog with your leader (or friends, or family).

Before responding by evacuating your current job or work environment, talk to other people. Having an honest conversation with your leader or manager about what is causing your ups and downs can really help to find more clarity and resolve the situation. Take time to identify the root cause and articulate your feelings clearly. Take one or two days to settle your emotions before planning a conversation. This will make for a more productive and harmonious meeting.

Talking with your leader (or friends and family, if your leader isn’t an option) is also a great way to zoom out. New perspective from other people you respect can help resolve the ups and downs by reframing your perspective or brainstorming actual solutions.

6. Practice Self-Care.

Every day is a good day to practice self-care but it’s especially essential when experiencing ups and downs at work. Self-care practices like getting adequate sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising, practicing yoga, and meditating all reset your nervous system and replenish your energy. These benefits lead to mental clarity and lower stress, which help with focus and problem-solving. Make time to do one or more of these thing daily and stick to it!

To avoid ups and downs or manage them when they do come on, you must prioritize self-care. Experiment with self-care practices that help to settle and clear your mind, strengthen your body, and unite your body, mind, and spirit. Self-care really does help with all the other reminders I mention in this article.

Spending enjoyable time with friends and family is also a form of self-care!

Which of these six reminders resonate with you the most? It’s helpful to have all of them readily available because you never know which of these reminders will come in handy when working through ups and downs at work.

Over time, as you successfully navigate through challenging situations, you can also write down your own learnings and turn them into personal reminders. Experience is the best way to learn how to avoid and manage ups and downs. Remember that ups and downs will pass with time. They will pass and resolve more easily when you zoom out, practice self-care, and reach out to others for support.