not fitting in well with his team. On top of that, there’s been an extended spell of poor weather.
It would be very easy for Peter to fall into APE behaviours that block progress instead of moving his team forward. The pathway ahead, though, is clear.
First, he needs to stay aware of his internal reactions, to limit any APE behaviours. It won’t help for him to go deep RED right now!
Second, he needs to be clear about the proper process for the health and safety investigation, the repair timeline for the plasterers, and his expectations of the replacement electrician.
Third, he must stay on top of his crew and make sure that each task is finished calmly and efficiently, so that they get the house built on time.
This aware–clear–task sequence – or ACT – stands in contrast to the RED-fuelled APE reactions, which are characterised by lack of self-awareness, lack of clarity, and off-task behaviours. No matter how big the moment of pressure, we are well served by an ACT approach because it leads to specific actions that create movement.
ACT needs our BLUE mind to fire strongly. Because the BLUE mind is linear, it loves short sequences, so the three ACT steps are a good fit. (As we’ll discover, the RED–BLUE tool is based on the very same sequence.)
To be aware requires us to step back and reflect, which is a core BLUE-brain activity. Once we have a good idea of our external situation and our personal reaction to it, we can ensure we’re clear about what needs to be done first, and how to do it. Plenty of people start doing things without being aware and clear, and so the impact of their actions is diluted. There’s a lot to be gained from a deliberate process of considering alternatives and consequences before deciding to act.
Once we’ve made our decision, we can carry out our task accurately. If we are aware and clear, there is no doubt or vagueness to divert us, and our actions will have impact.
BLUE-based ACT responses are based on a desire to function better in challenging situations, while RED-driven APE reactions are based on getting out of threatening situations.
When we are in the zone, we will already be in an ACT state of mind. But for the majority of our lives we need a simple set of steps to follow under pressure. The great thing is that by not concentrating on getting into the zone and just following the process, we are more likely to end up in the zone anyway.
The ACT sequence is intended for repeated use because most performances involve a series of separate challenges. Aware provides our personal overview of the situation. Clear gives us a strategy to put into action. And task gets us going.
Instead of reacting to pressure defensively with APE behaviours, we can use the ACT sequence to face the pressure, and find a way to adapt and move forward.
It wouldn’t make sense to bury ourselves in the task without constantly reviewing our context and strategy. Every time we check on the context, we can adjust our strategy. Every time we adapt our strategy, we can adjust our actions. And every time we act, the context changes slightly, so we can circle back to the top. A key mental building block for performance under pressure is flexibility.
Choose a recent moment when you had to step up under pressure, and did. Can you recognise a moment when you put a stop to your APE behaviour, and got a grip on your reaction to the context (aware), formed a strategy (clear) and went to work with conviction (task)? If so, you’ve already intuitively discovered the ACT structure and applied it successfully.
ESC-APE vs IMP-ACT
ESC-APE
Some moments are just too big for us.
Sometimes, under pressure, we hit our threshold, and it’s then that our damaging APE behaviours emerge.
Most pressure arises from our fear of possible judgment. And the key elements of judgment are expectations, scrutiny and consequences (ESC).
Before we perform, people are expecting us to reach a certain standard. During our performance, we are scrutinised, often publicly. And afterwards, the quality and outcome of our performance will have consequences.
Sometimes we will be affected by one element more than the others, but generally they work together as a tight, inescapable sequence. As the level of expectations, scrutiny and consequences rises, so does the pressure. And it works in the opposite direction: if expectations, scrutiny or consequences are reduced or taken away, pressure evaporates.
More expectations and scrutiny always mean bigger and wider-ranging consequences. These consequences extend beyond success and failure to include material outcomes such as salary increases and promotion. And these material outcomes are rocketed upwards by media reactions and – perhaps the ultimate judgment – the impact on our reputation. The higher the level we are operating at, the more we have to lose through consequences.
Not all moments are equal. Every elite performer has had moments that carried greater significance, when they failed to cope.
Most people, when they go to work or undertake an activity, are not looking for ESC. In fact, most people try to avoid judgment as much as possible. The less ESC there is, the more comfortable they are. This returns us to the idea that operating when we are uncomfortable is at the heart of performance under pressure.
The external origins of pressure – ESC – plus the most unhelpful behaviours under pressure – APE – create the ESC-APE model. There are some moments that carry too much pressure for us to bear because of the level of ESC, and this level of discomfort causes us to go APE. Rather than thinking clearly, we act impulsively out of emotional tension. We avoid the discomfort through aggressive or passive behaviours, or by escaping from the situation altogether.
Try applying the ESC-APE model to your personal performance history. If you’re honest, looking back, which behaviours are you least proud of? Which behaviours have damaged your reputation the most? Can you recognise how expectations, scrutiny and consequences created pressure that affected your behaviour? Perhaps you stepped out onto a bigger ‘performance stage’ than normal, with a larger audience watching to see whether you could cope. But instead of performing at your best, you got loud, boisterous, and belligerent; or you cried off and said you were unwell when you really could have turned up; or you performed, but you were quiet and restrained and just never got going.
IMP-ACT
Newton’s first law states that an object will remain in its current state of motion unless an external force acts on it to change its momentum. We humans are the same: we only move because of pressure. It’s all about inertia, a resistance to change.
Most people need external pressure to move them. But there’s a smaller group driven by pressure from within – and they’re the ones who inevitably go further.
If externally driven people respond to pressure, it’s because they’re moved by expectations, scrutiny and consequences (ESC) from their employers and others. But what if we’re internally driven?
Instead of someone else’s expectations, we’re driven by our own intention. Instead of being affected by someone else’s scrutiny, we have a clear sense of where we are right now, in this moment. And instead of someone else’s consequences, we are focused on our current priority. The mental recipe for internally driven people is intention, moment, priority, or IMP.
Start with the context: think of a current situation that’s challenging you. First,