Panic Vs Choking

I picked up this term from a book that I was reading not so long ago – wanted to understand the implications of the term and how it relates to professional managers in their careers. Let me start off defining this term.

The literal dictionary defines Choking as an “object or a particle which obstructs the free flow of air to the lungs.” The meaning is fairly unrelated to the topic that I want to discuss.

Choking would mean thinking too much and about loss of instinct – when in stress we get unduly disturbed and tend to be conscious of our surrounding.
Panic is defined as the “sudden fear which dominates or replaces logical thinking.

Panic can spread from one individual to another and could soon be termed as infectious.” Panic would mean too little of thinking and a reversal of instinct. Our ability to think is marginalized and we knowingly tend to do things that are inappropriate.

There are similarities between the 2 words though

- Possibly the most striking one being the inability to think rationally in such situations.

- Lack of co-ordination, disorganized leading to physical disability and could prove fatal

We would have noticed innumerable examples in sports where an unseeded player in a tennis court had lost a game that was well within his reach. What do you describe this attribute? Choking or Panic?

In this instant case, the player had this momentary lapse of concentration, which led the player to be extra cautious with the game leading to ultimate defeat. People in such situations tend to exercise extreme caution and tend not to play their natural game that they are supposed to.

There is one another example of an amateur pilot flying in turbulent weather conditions in the dark – the pilot eventually crashed the plane. A momentary spark of lighting in the sky accentuated by the rough weather conditions and the inexperience led the pilot to lose his rationality and actions thereafter led to the crash.

Both these illustrations are examples of either thinking too little or too much - thereby leading to fatal results.

In our professional careers, we might not encounter extreme cases of either of these situations. However, there are instances of our irrational thinking

a. When in a presentation or a review we are quizzed incessantly and targeted
We tend to become either too defensive or too aggressive. We try defending our post without any reasonableness. At times we even are at a loss – our thinking skills black out

b. When the need to win / close a transaction, drives us to do something silly
The excitement to win a much awaited deal can a times bring more sorrow than joy. We might be resorting to actions which might not be well thought out and executed

c. When we want to cover a mistake or a poor performance
There are stray moments in our professional lives were we are expected to find creative solutions to cover up a mistake or indeed poor performance – we actually put on our thinking hats (without actually thinking) and start soliciting all possible options to circumvent. We are actually in a state of panic then.

d. When an incorrect judgment leads to being extra cautious or conservative in future decision making
As the tag line in any application form for a market linked investment states “ past performance should not be an indicator for future forecasts” – so also one bad day at work should not drive us to be conscious protective and conservative in our subsequent dealings. We shouldn’t be thinking too much from the past events – while it is important to learn from past mistakes, it is equally important not to panic in subsequent dealings.

e. Inability to provide sound argument or logical explanation
This observation is pretty much in the lines of serial (a) above. We tend to drop our thinking hats and get carried away – we believe we are rationale, but actually, way off our normal thinking ability.

As professional managers we are expected to behave and act rationally in such trying circumstances. But, then we are human and are prone to get emotionally involved and do at times react without being reasonable.

There have been a number of instances in my career and I have been in difficult positions as above – and each time I have possibly either choked or panicked and have made a mess of the meeting. But I guess each such situation is a learning process and it teaches you to be more careful and reasonable in future encounters.

We need to overcome such situations and avoid being in such positions – and how would you?

a. Watching some else - peers, supervisors and even subordinates. This is possibly the best way to tone ourselves and improve

b. Tutored by your immediate supervisor – in large organizations, mentoring is a formal process and during this period the supervisor trains and specifically coaches the manager

c. Or indeed self introspection – sit back, relax and ponder. Important that we regularly do so at all time and get our bearing right the next time around.

I believe I have improved my skills after learning from the many unpleasant encounters that I have been through – I am hoping this read would help me friends around as well.