A confident leader is like a duck. Above the water he is calm and poised, while below the water he is driven by a flurry of focused activity. – Todd Stocker
Have you ever been near a person going through a panic attack? It’s a pretty scary situation even though you are not in danger you can still feel your pulse going up. And you know that a panic attack is not of itself life threatening.
Have you ever been at a table with someone who was eating, and even though you yourself are not particularly hungry, the more you watch them eat, the more hungry you feel yourself getting.
Do I still sound cryptic? How about yawning. Have you ever seen a yawn chain reaction in the workspace. One person in the room yawns and in the next 30 seconds one to two thirds of the room yawns.
What I’m getting at is that what you do is contagious, to one degree or another. You influence the frame of mind and behavior of the people around you wether you want to or not. So take a small breath and think about that. Is the behavior you are having something that you want to rub off on other people. If the answer is no, hide it.
If what you are doing and how you feel about it is essential for your growth, then do it. But if it is something that you do not want your people to do, or feel the same way about it as you, then mask it.
A first time surgeon is as nervous about his first operation as you’d imagine, yet his hand is steady, his brow doesn’t waiver. On the outside he is as cool as ice. In return all the other people in the operating room are cool as well.
Always keep a calm appearance. If people see you struggling in the work you do they will get the impression that “maybe the juice is not worth the squeeze”. No point in “putting them off” on something even before they have even tried it. Keep a calm surface no matter what turbulent currents lay beneath. You’ll do fine.