Why Business Leaders Need to Stay Calm Under Pressure | Entrepreneur

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The entrepreneurial journey is filled with challenges that can test even the most resilient business owner. Throughout my years bootstrapping Marketcircle and growing our business growth tool Daylite, I’ve learned that maintaining a positive mindset isn’t just helpful — it’s essential for business survival and growth.

The leader’s mindset sets the tone

One thing I know unequivocally is that your mindset as a leader directly impacts your entire organization. According to Gallup research, 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the leader’s approach. What you project is super important. If you come across as “we’re doomed” and project panic or despair, you’ll kill any motivation that anybody had to try and solve problems.

Even though you may be doubting everything and don’t have a solution, it’s necessary to remain calm. When leaders project panic, that second layer of people around you — your inner circle — will get discouraged and panic as well. Conversely, when you stay calm and ask for ideas and input, your team remains calm and solutions will emerge.

Tools to prevent overwhelm

With studies showing that 42% of small business owners have experienced burnout monthly, having strategies to maintain perspective is crucial. I’ve developed several tools to stay positive when feeling overwhelmed:

Journaling: When feeling overwhelmed, I write things out. This might be a list or even doodles—whatever helps me organize my thoughts when I’m just spinning my wheels on one thing.
Taking walks: Going for a walk, especially with music, helps clear my mind when I’m stuck on a problem.
Watching movies: Sometimes I watch familiar movies that I’ve seen before (like The Hunt for Red October, Braveheart and Interstellar). This serves as a mental change of scenery, so to speak, allowing me to return to challenges with a fresh perspective.

While these tools work for me, the key is finding what rejuvenates you personally. I’m an introvert, so my recharging activities tend to be solitary. My wife, an extrovert, gets reenergized by being around other people. Know yourself and your recharging needs.

Don’t make assumptions — gather information

When faced with unexpected bad news, avoid making assumptions. Instead:

Stay calm and resist immediate panic.
Gather relevant information and data.
Ask questions to understand what happened.
Collect facts before deciding on next steps.

This approach isn’t about being overly data-driven. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs, including myself, operate more on probabilities than deterministic certainty. We work in a probabilistic environment, making bets on what might succeed.

I’ve experienced this firsthand. When making strategic decisions for Marketcircle, I can’t make deterministic decisions; I have to make probabilistic ones, meaning I’m going to make bets. I’ve found that some of our strategic mistakes between 2022 and 2023 came when we relied too heavily on data. While data helps back you up, it shouldn’t be the sole driver of decisions.

The point of gathering information is to avoid assumptions when facing unexpected challenges. Get the facts so you can make informed decisions.

Surrounding yourself with the right people

Your team’s mindset significantly impacts your resilience, and through years of building teams, I’ve observed how people tend to be characterized by three types of mindsets:

The negative spinners: These people dwell on problems rather than seeking solutions. They drag everybody down; they should be kept out of your inner circle and, I would argue, out of your organization entirely.
The silent types: These people don’t question or contribute — it’s just like having someone on mute. While not actively negative, they don’t help move things forward.
The solution seekers: These people ask, “What about this?” or “What if we did that?” Even if their ideas aren’t perfect, they generate possibilities and commit to thinking things through.

The third group is invaluable. Even when they don’t have immediate solutions, they’ll say, “I don’t have an answer now, but I’ll think about it and get back to you tomorrow.” They multiply your efforts rather than divide them.

In our development of Daylite, this kind of solution-oriented thinking has been essential. When facing challenges in feature development or customer needs, having team members who can see options rather than obstacles makes all the difference in how quickly we can pivot and improve.

Learn to stay calm under pressure

A leader’s response to unexpected challenges creates ripple effects throughout the entire organization. I focus on asking “What could we try next?” rather than dwelling on “Why did this happen?” This reframing has repeatedly unlocked creative solutions from my team when they might otherwise have felt stuck or demoralized. The most innovative breakthroughs in our business often emerged directly after our most difficult challenges, not despite them, but because of how we collectively approached them.

Remember: there’s a critical difference between urgency and panic. Urgency has a next step; panic doesn’t. When people ask how I stay so calm during crises, I simply explain that I know I can’t project panic if we want to find solutions.

Cultivating a solution-oriented environment requires consistent practice, but its impact on our ability to adapt and grow is tremendous. By developing tools to stay positive and surrounding yourself with solution-oriented people, you’ll navigate challenges more effectively and build a more resilient business in the process.