Can you manage under pressure?

It's hard to imagine life without pressure, and work is certainly no different, therefore it's hard to imagine ever being a good manager if you cannot manage pressure well.  It's all around us after all.

I do not disagree with the view that a Manager must be able to handle pressure.  That said I do believe that dealing with the trading floor pressures is seldom a good managers real pinch point.  Managers are expected to deal with the long term pressures such a staffing issues and performance, business deliverables and the requirements for a team to perform when required.  In truth they should not be on the trading floor, they should have a team or developed skilled resources who are and can be trusted.  A managers role is to build this team.

Pressure is about ensuring that your team or department can deliver both when required and consistently over a long period (two distinct fields).  We are all measured on our performance and should in every possible way try to exceed those expectations.  This will increase the pressure we apply on ourselves or is applied on us by bad management.  In some cases this is due to an expectation of either longgevity within a role, bonuses expectations or in some cases fear.  Good managers tend to ignore the former and continually improve thier performance to enhance themselves and the staff around them knowing that a good performance will be rewarded.

I find the best way to handle the pressure is to continually measure yourself against peers.  That way if you are performing you will see the results and the confidence boost will alleviate the pressure applied.  Measurements also give you a great indication of what your improvement opportunities are and the next challenge to achieve.