TLD Consultants

On July 2nd I got off the Colorado River after traveling 16 days and 225.5 miles through the Grand Canyon.  It was not my first trip.  It may not be my last trip. But, it was by far the most eventful.  One of the highlights was the way a group of seven people came together, used all of their skills and talents to solve problems that arose, and ultimately, found that laughter could help in all but the most serious of situations.  Of course, I couldn’t help but think about the business applications.  

Team composition is crucial for any team’s success. Unfortunately you don’t always have the luxury of hand selecting your team members.  In our case, the permit was in my name and I called on two old friends to help me fill in my vacant slots.  In the end everyone knew at least one other person on the seven-person trip.

If, as a manager or even trip leader, you take the time to interview and hire people who you believe can handle the work, then step aside and them get it done.  More often than not they will rise to the challenges as they present themselves.  We were tested in a wide variety of ways, but each time we drew on the expertise of one or more members of the team.  People tend to gravitate to their areas of strengths and the other members of the team step aside and wait for instructions.

 I believe that flexibility is almost as important as crisis management.  When you are on the river learn how to utilize existing resources and make adjustments for different circumstances.  In our case it meant that we had to adjust our time on the river in order to make our final destination.  As a result we didn’t have the opportunity to do as much “off river” activities and that’s a disappointment.  However, being disappointed in the Grand Canyon beats being disappointed anywhere else.  Just like in business, it’s important to roll with the punches and not to take every set back personally.

Humor is a great way to relieve tension and keep the team’s spirit up.  We laughed a lot on our trip and it’s one of the treasures that will stay with me.  I also witnessed that our team had no shortage of opinions and everyone felt comfortable enough with each other to share.  There were no “Survivor-type” factions.  We truly were all in it together.  A team that struggles together also succeeds together.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of a positive attitude.   Even the midst of chaos our team was vigilant in our pursuit of a silver lining.  After spending almost 2.5 hours and finally getting one of the rafts back upright after it flipped in a rapid and floated for about a mile upside down, one of the team members quipped, “Well at least it happened to the boat that whose gear was meticulously packed and strapped.  The boatman was the only thing to fall out of the raft!

I’ve been doing research for a class on stress management and even though there are legitimate inescapable life issues that can cause emotional upheavals, there are a few habits that you can adopt to improve your quality of life.

First, the experts say that people who have a sense of being in control of most of the events in their life have a better chance of positively dealing with negative events.  When I was younger and received Senior Life Saving aquatic training, the first rule you learn which is drilled into you throughout the process is that when faced with an emergency situation, the worse thing you can do is panic.  “Panic kills!” the instructor would say.  She taught us mantra: tow, throw, row, go.  When someone is drowning, the worse thing you can do is go into the water.  The same thing is true in life.  When something bad happens, the last thing you should do is throw yourself into a frenzy.  You need your wits about you in order to logically look at your options and figure out how to handle what “life” throws at you.

Second, If, let’s say, you were to look back at your life through the aging eyes of a senior citizen, you would probably see that your life was not all doom and gloom.  Therefore, its important to take stock once in awhile of the true measure of your life.  How many actual calamities have there been?  I am fifty-three and the number my actual “turn my world upside down events probably total less than 10.  Mind you, I could, if I was “picky” count the major annoyances in the hundreds.  But I really try not to sweat the small stuff and I sleep pretty well at night.  In addition, when I look back, I find that I rebound fairly well.  I have lived through 3 layoffs due to “downsizing”, 3 recessions, 1 failed marriage, 1 spouse’s terminal illness, the death of a parent, and a move that took me from one end of the country to another.

Third, all of the literature I’ve looked at cites failure to effectively manage time as a contributing factor to stress.  I’ve written about this before, so I won’t get on my soapbox now.  However, one thing that I haven’t written about is the importance of personal time.  Whether you are a single mom or a married mother of three with a full time job.  It is critical that you find time for yourself.  Perhaps it’s a bubble bath 3 times a week or  maybe a pedicure twice per month.  Even during these when there aren’t a lot of extra spending dollars, a couple can find the time to rent a DVD, make some popcorn, put the kids to bed and enjoy each other’s company for two hours once a week.  Establish ground rules:  No doom, no gloom.  Take time to appreciate your blessings.  Complement each other on your ability to endure and remember why and how you were brought together. 

Finally, take a look at history. For that matter take a look around.  No matter how bad things may be for you.  I can almost guarantee that they are probably worse for someone else. When people would say this to me when I was in the middle of a personal crisis it never made much sense.  But it was about the same time that I started working with Habitat for Humanity and I found that I would momentarily forget about my troubles when faced with another person’s reality. So, if you are out of work, besides working on your resume and searching the Internet for jobs, use your time to volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Transfer your knowledge to others by teaching a class at Goodwill, Salvation Army, or the Urban League. You’ll be amazed at how much control you can have over your own destiny.