“Keep your nose to the grindstone.” Coined in 1532, this platitude tells us that no matter what obstacles stand in the way of achieving our objectives, we must power through the muck and stay the course.
If it evokes even the tiniest bit of resentment, you’re in good company. I mean, I just want to smash it to smithereens for trivializing our current travails.

Sure, every generation deals with some form of adversity, but we have been dealing with forces beyond our control that have continued to mount at an oppressive pace. Since 2019, a polarizing election, COVID, geopolitical upheavals, wars, yo-yoing tariffs, and AI “brain fry” (dubbed by the Harvard Business Review) have undeniably pressured every function and level of our organizations as well as our personal lives.

Weighted Down
We recently surveyed our clients, who characterized their people as “worn down,” “tired”, “overwhelmed”, and “distracted” by their soul-crushing personal and professional pressures. They explained that, as a result, they’re sacrificing deadlines and expectations.

Certainly, simple cheerleading while waiting for the turmoil to pass isn’t an effective leadership strategy; life will continue in the fast lane whether we’re ready or not. So what actually works? How do we move people from the dejection and fatigue of years of instability to feeling energized by what’s ahead? How do we shift a fixed mindset into a flexible one, and turn private negativity into shared support instead? These aren’t easy questions, and there’s no quick answer sitting at the bottom of a memo. We must help alleviate psychological burdens by:

• moving from feelings of dejection and fatigue caused by years of instability to feeling energized by new opportunities;
• moving from a fixed to a flexible mindset; and
• converting individuals’ negative energy into an exchange of positivity and support for each other.

Example: Shepherd Leadership
Some may find “return to office” (RTO) an unsavory management decision that robs employees of the flexibility they’ve become accustomed to since COVID. But shouldn’t we see this as a huge opportunity to counter the wear and tear we’re experiencing from unrelenting, negative news cycles?

Shepherding people back to the office gives us the environment to foster camaraderie and support for each other (bullet point 3 above). It’s the perfect time to re-establish a culture of engagement and excitement as we tackle uncontrollable forces together.

Comfort vs. Challenge
When you think about it, it’s natural that a comfortable environment tends to breed stagnant performance, relying on the same old processes that got us this far. In contrast, a high-pressure environment presents an opportunity to work harder to achieve objectives; the question is whether we take it.

The trick here is naming the fear that’s quietly driving an isolated culture, some WFH, some WFO, a mélange of hybrid models; fear that prompts people to stay silent, avoid accountability, and hesitate to make decisions. In other words, fear breeds a lack of confidence to pursue opportunities, have difficult conversations, make changes, and take risks.

So how do we overcome a barrier that fear built? Most of us are waiting to feel confident before we act; as if confidence shows up first and courage follows. Our October Business Leaders Breakfast Forum speaker is going to make the case that we’ve got that backward.

The Bravery Effect^TM
Jill Schulman (bio, learn more) believes in what she has dubbed The Bravery Effect ^TM. It makes sense, working like this: Every time we take a step towards something that scares us, we gather evidence that we are capable of more than we thought. With each action, confidence grows as fear-induced, self-limiting thoughts evaporate. And as confidence grows, so does courage. The more courage we have, the more we can handle.

One of her core tenets is that environment shapes bravery. The people around us shape what we believe is possible. Bravery grows stronger when we’re surrounded by people who challenge us, support us, and remind us of our potential (Are you seeing where RTO fits in?). New adages worth ascribing to: “Strength in numbers”…”No man is an island”.

Schulman bases The Bravery Effect on a research-backed framework and real-world leadership experience, not theory or wishful thinking. She has used her stint in the Marine Corps, 25-year career in business, and years of research in positive psychology to help organizations build resilient, high-performing cultures under pressure. And her work has been featured by national media outlets and trusted by organizations committed to building stronger leaders and more courageous cultures.

Whether you’re leading a team or leading yourself, learn to apply The Bravery Effect ^TM to thrive in the face of unrelenting outside forces and pressure. Instead of waiting- who knows how long, for things to calm down, build the skill to perform anyway and learn:

• Understand how sustained external pressure affects energy, focus, decision-making, and performance.
• Recognize why uncertainty often leads to hesitation, avoidance, resistance, or burnout.
• Learn a practical framework for creating clarity, capacity, connection, and courage through change.
• Build a more flexible mindset for working through ambiguity and incomplete information.
• Leave with tools to take brave action in the next hard decision, hard conversation, or high-pressure moment

O Captain! My Captain!
I’ve always loved Walt Whitman’s famous poem that eloquently honors the death of President Abraham Lincoln. And as I wrote this article, its opening stanza spoke to me:

“Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.”

I thought about the pressure and crisis Lincoln faced and overcame by taking action in declaring a civil war. But I also questioned if our prize as business leaders is ever secured, at least in terms of facing a constant stream of challenges to engage our workforce.

We’re either planning, executing, or recovering from the repercussions of forces beyond our control. If you’re looking for support from an experienced partner with the guidance and people-centered processes to keep your culture on track as you navigate the unpredictable, let’s start a conversation.
Call 800-742-6800 or email us today. For more information and tips for engaging your stakeholders, sign up for our monthly newsletter at askhillarys.com (bottom right corner of the page).

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