Building Frustration Tolerance

It might sound counter-intuitive, but we are not trying to take frustrations away from our staff or our athletes.

Frustration is normal.

Frustration is inevitable.

Frustration is human.

Our goal is to guide our people to be able to handle frustrations without becoming too overwhelmed and disengaged.

In this blog post, we will explore frustration tolerance and how you can apply this concept to both your staff and your athletes.

Remember, these concepts are universal and applicable to everyone.

Let's create a positive impact together!

How to nurture an environment that encourages higher frustration tolerance?:

Common sources of workplace frustration are: communication problems, lack of recognition, process problems, or lack of being heard. These are sources that you, as the management team, are responsible for. Regardless of how proficient you are at each of those, your staff will feel frustrated occasionally.

Low frustration tolerance in a staff member might look like:

• inflexibility

• loses patience quickly

• low productivity

How to nurture an environment that encourages higher frustration tolerance?:

• Have open communication channels

• When you notice a frustrated employee, do not sit on it. Handle it directly. Ask them how they are feeling, and then LISTEN.

• "Get curious, not furious"

• Validate - this might sound like "I hear you and understand why you are frustrated."

• Offer help - try "What does support look like for you in this situation."

Remember, we cannot control what other people feel or how they behave, we can only control ourselves. Be sure you are showing up for your team in a way you feel proud of.

There is nothing scarier than coaching a child who is growing more and more frustrated. With each failed attempt, they are more upset, and, very quickly, the situation becomes unsafe.

We want to help them, but how? Here are a few things to consider the next time this happens:

1.  Remember: you are not trying to take away the frustration, you are coaching them to remain calm during frustration (a huge life skill).

2.  Validate the frustration.  This might sound something like: "You are feeling so frustrated. I get it. This is a really hard skill."

3. Normalize the frustration. Tell them that it is OK to take a break, get some water, breathe, and return when they are ready. Not only is it OK to take a break, it is probably the only solution before an injury. The more frustrated they are, the more likely they are to get hurt. These are BIG life skills to learn for a child.

4. Welcome them back. When they return, stay calm, ask them if they are OK, and offer support. This might sound like: "I'm glad you are back. You look calm and regulated. Would you like me to spot you on a couple more? You've got this. "