Articles From the Team

How do I remain calm?

Ever heard the metaphor about the swan? We see the swan moving gracefully across the lake like a picture of elegance, but what you don’t see is what’s happening beneath the water; the webbed feet furiously paddling in order to keep the swan in the graceful motion we see and admire.

I like to think of myself as a swan… a very awkward teenager sort-of-aged swan, still with some fluffy grey and black feathers and not quite grown into that snowy white noble swan as Hans Christian Andersen so sophisticatedly described. I am trying to move gracefully, but I’m still learning so there is some splashing and sometimes even a little webbed foot can be seen out of the water…

I think we all admire the very best people in each area of work because they make the difficult tasks look easy. They do the hard work behind closed doors where we can’t see it, and then display the excellence out in the open and on this basis we assume they don’t actually feel stressed.

Most job roles are in high pressured environments. You might be working to targets and/or client demands, the demands or expectations of those more senior than you, or simply putting pressure on yourself to perform at such a level in order to get a promotion or get ahead, or appear ambitious. Either way it means that there is likely to be a certain amount of stress involved in your job. This means it’s even more important to try and stay calm, or at least appear like you have it all together…..

So how is it done? Great question.

Here’s a lesson you should heed: It’s about taking the time to plan and then having the discipline to implement that plan. This is something we talk about very often here at BCL Legal. This is something which runs right through our core you might say. With our jobs being stressful, fast-paced and very quick to change we have to make sure, as consultants who wish to be successful in such a post, that we take some time each day, week and month, to plan out exactly what we want/need to achieve, and then how we are going to get there. We then must ensure that our focus remains on getting that plan done every day and trust that if we do what we said we are going to do, that the results come good in the end.

It’s easy really. Or easier said than done…

As I am writing this I am just 5 days before my two year anniversary at BCL Legal and having dealt with numerous candidates, across numerous disciplines, levels and locations, I can safely say no two people are the same. Everyone deals with stress in different ways and has different levels they can cope with – and it’s usually once it becomes too much, that we get a call.

Some people are like swans, but don’t worry, the majority of people are not!

If you are too stressed and finding you simply can’t manage it, then it sounds like you need a new job! Please contact me on either 0121 230 1020 or at emmadelli-bovi@bcllegal.com in order to discuss other opportunities further.