Much Ado about Stressed Out Team Members

Its nothing short of amazing to see how certain person can crack up or freeze like a deer in the headlights when they are put under stressful situations. Not so good though when that person is on your side of the playing field.

How then, does one deal with a stress-intolerant team member? I like to try the following:

1. Slow down on purpose - We all get influenced by people around us. If there's going to be a panicky bunch of people working on something, I'm more inclined on putting my money on a bunch of monkeys randomly punching typewriters as they probably are more productive. Try influencing the others with deliberation and deep thoughtful insight instead of wasteful worrying or haste.
   
   
2. Highlight the futility of cracking up - Extending from the earlier point, sometimes one just has to show that getting all cracked or frozen up does nothing positive for the end result.
   
   
3. Chart the Baby Steps - Seeing how the perception of someone under stress is going to be different (and probably more focused on the setbacks) than otherwise, sometimes it may just be better to go manual and lay out baby steps for them to take. At the very least, you can get them to be productive in some way (coffee-making?) or just keep them out from underfoot.
   
   
4. Avoid them the third time - Life's too short to be counseling stressed-out people all the time. Probably just work with them once more to see if they stick that way and make a mental note to avoid them next time. Nothing can be worse for team morale than a panicked guy running around the room with arms flailing.

So far so good ....