Fizz out.

I had a great call with a client about feeling the pressure, stress and exhaustion of work. I'm sure you can relate: the days when everything feels overwhelming. Each meeting, each task seems bigger & more demanding than the one before. How as leaders are we supposed to consistently stay calm, focused and progressing our teams forward when all we want to do is scream?

Compare this experience to that of a Diet Coke that was left in the trunk of your car after a long and bumpy drive home. At first observation, we see the tiny little white bubbles, "the fizz", getting smaller, dancing faster and becoming more active as they stream to the top of the bottle. This creates a clear divide between top and bottom. While the main liquid form is relatively calm and cool below.

Here the fizz represents that feeling of overwhelm- the straw that breaks the camels back, if you will. The remaining liquid while calm for now, will eventually be aversely affected by the fizz if it continues to be shaken.

Back to the bottle: The fizz looks like it is about to erupt the moment the cap is removed. Fizz overflowing everywhere- clean up on aisle 2! And yet if that cap is kept on, the fizz will slowly and uncomfortably dissipate back into liquid form.

As a leader, we are faced with this conundrum: to release the fizz or not?

Here's what I have learned about not releasing the fizz. She comes back. E-v-e-r-y t-i-m-e. And sometime with a vengeance.

If we know to be true that the fizz will return, we know it will serve us to manage it now. We also know that if we manage the fizz, we can understand the origins and course correct, shift or revise what's happening to ensure the same fizz does not return. This results in a bigger win- less fizz, fewer fizz = better leader.

How do we release the fizz gracefully?

This is subjective. Everyone has their working method for that initial release. This post is specific to the release and not the aftermath of thinking through the matter.

Some ideas for releasing: go for a run, scream in a pillow, box a pillow (pillows are a theme here...), write out everything that's on your mind, play loud music and sing & dance like no one is watching. You're catching on: Just release.

The value of releasing the fizz? Your breathing slows down, your heart slows down, your pacing thoughts slow down. All of a sudden those overwhelming demands don't seem so big anymore. Clear thinking return. Time management returns. Calm, peaceful and effective leadership returns.

If you know in that moment how good it will feel to release the fizz and get back to work, it may make this option seem more viable.

So next time you're feeling fizzed out- try the release. See what happens. You may be surprised.