When Pressure = Better
by Live & Inspire in Mind+Body+Spirit | No Comments Yet | Add your comment

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Do you work well under pressure? When you go for job interviews, you sometimes find interviewers asking you this question. What are they thinking? Of course, no one in their right mind will answer in the negative. So how can the interviewers really tell?

The experienced interviewers will perhaps ask you to give an example of a time where you have performed under pressure – what was the situation and what you did in the situation. If you are that real smart candidate – you will of course, offer an example that paints you as the ‘hero’. You will most likely share a story where a project was at a critical moment, all your other colleagues failed to performed or meet deadlines, there were some mess-ups by other moronic colleagues, your bosses were in a state of panic, but you, YES you, remained undaunted and unperturbed by it all. You calmly steered the project to the finishing point, achieved the results wanted and emerged as the ‘savior’ of the day.

If you used a lot of charisma to share your story, you will hold your interviewer transfixed or mesmerized. Some will buy in and be convinced. No doubts, no questions. Actually, they do not really care whether it is a true story. Although some of them ‘trained lie detectors’ would be able to tell if you are speaking the truth. They just need you to understand what performing under pressure means. Right? Wrong.

The truth of the matter is pressure is everywhere and how a person reacts to the pressure will reveal the real person behind all that fame and glory. Some people do not respond well to pressure – they crumble, get emotional and they will blame everyone and everything else but themselves. Some give up, walk away and abandon ship. Then, there are those rare breed who actually prefers to work under pressure because it is only when they are under pressure, they bring out their best. Don’t believe me? Well, see if you buy in to my story.

I have a bad habit of getting bored if things are too simple, too straightforward and too easily done. I also have a bad habit of procrastinating if there is a lot of time given to complete a certain project. I am not the 1-minute manager; I am the last minute manager!

Case in point, some years back I had to submit a thesis to complete my MBA which I undertook via distance learning with a UK university. Many of my course mates and I were working full time while pursuing the course so the university gave us several months to prepare. My other friends who had completed their MBA encouraged me to start working on my thesis early. They told me it would require at least 3 months to complete. But being the last minute person that I was, I did not do anything until the final week of the deadline.

I took a week off from work, hid myself in my room, surrounded by all the research books I have borrowed from the library and worked on my 10,000 word thesis. I worked on my thesis for 4 days and nights. I only stopped to take a quick bite of food delivered to me and get a quick shower. I did not sleep. On the fourth day, I submitted my thesis but was utterly exhausted. I shocked my friends when I told them I completed my thesis within 4 days. And I shocked them even more when I told them I had scored a distinction in my thesis.

This streak is with me throughout my work life as well. I found that the tighter the deadline was, the better I perform. The greater the challenge, the more I would push my brain to work. So if you are to ask me whether I work well under pressure, my answer would be no. I actually work better under intense pressure. At the end of the day, it makes me a better person.


~~~ About the contributor ~~~

Jeanisha Wan is the Founder and Managing Consultant of J1 Consulting. A passionate marketer, Jeanisha loves coming up with brand new, especially unconventional marketing and business ideas.

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