Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy — although I’m borrowing lyrics from Eminem , I’m not about to burst into rap, don’t worry.

Instead, I want to draw your attention to the symptoms of stress or panic, two very unpleasant, yet common, states of mind experienced in times of crisis at work (or otherwise).

If this sounds familiar, here are some tips to help you navigate a work crisis and come out feeling far more relaxed and in control.

Step 1: Identify the issue

First things first: you have to identify and acknowledge the problem and tackle the source.

If you’re the source, take stock of the situation, breathe, and think about what you can do to solve the problem in the moment.

If you’re dealing with someone else’s mistake, make contact as soon as you can and explain what’s wrong. Try and remain calm — don’t raise your voice and listen to what that person has to say.

Let’s do a little experiment just to help you recognize what this might look like in action.

Scenario: You get a phone call from an angry customer complaining about a subscription to your SaaS product.

Solution: Apologize to the customer. Then ask for details about the issue they’re experiencing, that way you know who is best to speak to within your organization. Tell the customer you will look into it, give them a reference number (or direct contact information) and tell them you’ll get back to them with appropriate timelines once you’ve spoken to your team.

Step 2: Deal with it

Once you know what’s gone wrong, you need to realize that you have the tools to solve the problem — and if you don’t, ask for help.

Reach out to relevant teams and provide as much information as necessary. Relay everything you said to the client so that the support team are aware of any deadlines or timelines.

Scenario: From what the customer told you on the phone, you’ve been able to identify that the problem lies with the technology — which falls outside your remit or expertise.

Solution: Reach out to the tech team, provide the necessary information and if applicable any screenshots that will help them identify the issue with ease.

Step 3: Communicate and be timely

Communication and transparency are key throughout the problem resolution process.

You need to position yourself as a problem-solver and not a roadblock: don’t sit on information or slow down the process. If you do, you’ll risk becoming even more stressed or panicked.

Be transparent with all the parties involved and keep them in the loop — that way it will also be easier for you to keep track of all the moving parts and provide status updates.

Scenario: You’re stuck between the grumpy customer and a very busy tech team.

Solution: Make sure the client knows you’re dealing with their issue and ensure the tech team is aware of the urgency. Be courteous of everyone’s time and deal with problems in a timely manner, if you can, try and preempt any consequential issues.

How to stay calm

Now that we’ve broken down the problem resolution process, it’s important to look at how one can prepare to be better equipped and what tools are required to keep calm during a conflict or crisis situation at work.

Step 1: Be prepared

Make sure you’re organized. Keep a tab on all moving parts, try and remove as much uncertainty as possible, and find effective ways of keeping control at work.

If you want to be really proactive, you can plan ahead and establish set processes to deal with possible issues before they arise:

Put together a crisis team

Identify the key risks

Develop your crisis plan

Plan a full recovery

Step 2: Learn from every experience

The fact of the matter is that you’re likely to encounter countless crises or conflicts throughout your career, so make sure you learn from every single one as they’ll help you when it comes to dealing with future issues.

Remember we all make mistakes, and learning from these is what makes us stronger and better at our jobs.

Don’t let the voices in your head make you think you’re a failure — you’re just human — and sometimes apologizing and solving a problem is the best and only thing you can do.

Step 3: It’s all about people

It’s important to have the right people or teams in place and ensure they work well together.

It’s so easy to get carried away and talk down to people when you’re stressed or in panic mode but this isn’t going to make the problem go away. You’ll alienate people and make others around you feel more panicked and probably less able to help.

Be respectful, cooperative, and collaborative and things will be a lot easier.

Team trust and loyalty really are your best friends.

Step 4: Look after yourself

Recognize the first signs of panic or stress and learn to manage your feelings.

Don’t jump into things, give yourself time to take stock of the situation and gather your thoughts. If you’re struggling to be objective, ask others around you to help.

Breathe, relax your body, and tell yourself you can do this.

And if at any point you feel the stress becomes truly unmanageable, seeing a therapist can be the right way to go. Never shy away from seeking professional help and ensure your wellbeing.

Your team isn’t slacking off… they’re thinking

Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter!

There’s a story about one of the chief innovators at Nokia, who receives a call while walking at the beach. After a few minutes, the person calling him asks about the noise in the background, prompting the Nokia chief to explain where he is. The caller then says, “Oh, I thought you were working,” to which the innovator replies, “I AM WORKING. I’M THINKING!”

It’s a funny story that’s always stuck with me. At a lot of companies, there’s an obsession with productivity that seems to overlook human nature… or even actual results.

Basically, if you look serious and your hands are moving, you must be working hard. But if you’re staring at the ceiling with a smile on your face, well, that obviously means you’re slacking.

I feel like this outlook is based on the archaic master/servant relationship which defined work-life at the beginning of the previous century: the boss tells the manager what to do, who then makes the employee do it.

And although I’m not a fan of design by decision, or even democracy as a management form, I do think that empowering your people and allowing them to do their best work is a more enduring and scalable strategy than treating them as soldiers in your imaginary army.

Every now and again, you hear a story about a company that blocks social media or specific websites to save their staff from ‘distraction.’ The theory being that people should work at work, and only engage in distractions during their off-hours — such as social media or calling your significant other about whether there’s enough toilet paper at home.

But this doesn’t describe the reality of employees‘ lives. It isn’t binary with work and private life neatly compartmentalized.

You worry about a client while you’re preparing dinner. You think about a proposal you’re writing while the kids swim, and you might reply to a few emails or write a memo in bed when you’re finally relaxed enough to get your thoughts straight.

Sure, some people clock out at 5 pm and stop thinking about everything. But I’m guessing those people probably spend less time on personal stuff at the office. In the end, life is chaotic and fluid, and we should allow people to feel human at work.

If that means taking a call from a friend, then so be it.

Can’t get enough of Boris? Check out his older stories here , and sign up for his newsletter here .

How to force yourself to focus during virtual meetings

If you’re struggling to stay focused during an online meeting whilst working from home , believe me when I tell you that you’re not alone.

I mean, people are even skipping Zoom meetings by looping videos of themselves paying attention .

I for one applaud this creativity , but if you have work to do and actually want to be an adult about it, here are some handy tips to help you stay focused during a virtual meeting .

Make it a video call (and keep it that way)

Always make it a video call .

If you’re working from home , a video call will force you to get dressed and deter you from getting distracted because you’ll be seen by everyone else attending the meeting . Peer pressure is a wonderfully effective tool .

On a separate note , video calls make it easier to keep track of what’s going on and who’s talking and actually engaging with what they’re saying.

Before the meeting starts, make sure you’re aware of the agenda and every participant knows who’s chairing the session.

Put your phone to one side

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your smartphone or tablet have to go.

Leave them in another room, turn them off, put them on airplane mode, do whatever works for you but get rid of them.

If you don’t, you risk opening Instagram , checking your WhatsApp , going on Twitter , posting on Facebook … can you see where I’m going with this?

Cull open tabs

Before your meeting starts, make sure you close all unnecessary tabs — and yes, that includes your Inbox and WhatsApp Web .

If you don’t want to close your tabs , then open a completely different browser window while you’re in the meeting and make sure you stay put.

If you’re using more than one screen, switch off the one you don’t need to minimize potential distractions . No matter how good you think you are at multitasking, you simply can’t be productive in a meeting while reading James Blunt’s self-deprecating tweets .

Clear your desk

Tidy your workspace. The more clutter you have, the harder it will be for you to focus.

Get rid of all distractions : paper clips, pens, and every single bit of stationery that will lend itself to fidgeting.

If you can, consider joining the meeting from a different location that’s not your designated working space.

A change in scenery should help you feel a little refreshed and help you keep your attention levels up.

Use pen and paper

If you can, avoid typing on your computer whilst you are in the meeting . Taking notes on your computer means more windows open which can lead you down a distraction-filled rabbit hole. Also, there’ s nothing more annoying than the sound of someone who forgot to mute their mic clacking away.

Instead, make sure you have pen and paper to hand to make any necessary notes . Or if you’re lucky to have a whiteboard , use that instead.

Use headphones

Now this might ruin your on- camera aesthetic, but if possible, use headphones , especially if they have noise-canceling functionality.

By doing so, you’ll create your own imaginary work zone and avoid getting distracted by external noise.

Eat beforehand and grab a drink

If you want to avoid your tummy rumbling during the meeting , make sure you grab a snack beforehand.

I’d also recommend you have a drink on hand, whether that be a coffee , water, or water.

Any tips we missed? If so tweet at us or let us know via email.