3 tips for managing potential difficulties

Peak performers always seem to be ‘one step ahead of the game’. One reason for this is because they continually explore the potential difficulties and opportunities in their chosen field. The Strengths Toolbox contains a piece that explores managing potential successes. So here let’s consider how to tackle difficulties.

* You can anticipate the potential difficulties that may happen.

“I started by looking at my life and work,” said one 40 year-old. “Looking ahead to the next 5 years, I brainstormed the potential difficulties in my personal and professional life. Some were simply changes – with the capacity for both problems and opportunities. Some were quite predictable, others less so, which called for a bit of brainstorming. Here are the ones that I came up with:

* Getting older – so the need to take regular health checks.

* Possibility of putting on weight – so the need to begin jogging.

* Pension fund at work being closed – so the need to look at alternative funding for the future.

* Boss probably getting promoted – so the need to start looking for other good bosses.

* Company facing difficulties in the market – so the need to contact people in my network and explore other work options.

* Children leaving home – so my partner and I need to reassess what we want to put out time into doing over the next 40 years.

“It was good to get these issues out into the open – then I could pick them off one by one,” continued the person. “It felt like I had my hand on the tiller and was more able to chart the course ahead.”

People use this approach in different ways. Some focus entirely on their working lives – perhaps exploring the challenges they may face when leading a project. Some focus on all aspects of their lives. If you wish, choose an area where you want to anticipate the potential difficulties. It could be something wide-ranging, such as you getting older; or more specific, such as a project at work. Bearing in mind your goals – your picture of success - in your chosen area, brainstorm the possible difficulties that may happen on the journey. Try completing the following sentences.

The specific area where I want to explore the potential difficulties is:

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The potential difficulties that may happen in this area are:

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* You can anticipate how to prevent the potential difficulties happening.

Some people seem to take this step naturally – believing that ‘prevention is better than cure’. They ensure they have enough money to cover the bills; enough firewood for the winter; enough time to finish a project; enough potential income to cover their costs or whatever. Such people do what they can to prevent problems – yet also have a back-up plan. Some people seem to get caught by surprise. They are shocked the VAT bill arrives from the taxman; shocked their worn tyres skid on winter ice; shocked they are made redundant, even though the company was in trouble. Sometimes, of course, we have mixed ‘radar’. There are some areas where we think ahead – others we do not anticipate events.

Let’s return to the areas where you may encounter problems. Looking at the difficulties you identified, how can you prevent some of these happening? How can you ‘control the controllables’? How can you get sufficient resources? How can you get the required support and make clear contracts with any key players? How can you set things up to give yourself the greatest chance of success? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to prevent the difficulties happening are:


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* You can anticipate how to manage the difficulties if they do happen.

Bill Beswick, the sports psychologist, describes how he helped a football team to prepare for a testing trip to Eastern Europe. Before setting out, the team brainstormed all the problems that could occur. For example: fog preventing the plane landing; being searched at customs; bus transport not arriving; not enough rooms at the hotel; bedrooms overlooking a noisy street; fire-alarms being let-off during the night; poor changing rooms at the stadium; the pitch being heavily watered; not enough practice balls; etc. Bill took all the ideas and compiled them into ‘bingo cards’. He issued these to the players and, when a problem happened, the player whose card it was on shouted: “Got one.” The team reframed the problems into an opportunity to have fun – and stayed ahead of the game.

Prevention is the best medicine, but some problems may still occur. Peak performers manage these successfully. Staying calm, they will establish clarity – the real results to achieve – then consider the choices, consequences and creative solutions. Settling on the conclusions, they pursue their chosen strategy towards achieving success. How can you manage difficulties that slip under the net? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to manage the difficulties that do happen are:


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“Peak performers have a ‘memory of the future’,” says Arie de Geus, who worked as a scenario planner. Such people aim to anticipate and prevent problems. They always have a back-up plan, however, which enables them to buy time whilst gathering information about ‘dislocations’ – events that even they did not foresee. You can take this step in your own way by anticipating and managing potential difficulties.