You’ve probably heard the infamous phrase from Mike Tyson…
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Something we implemented years ago that is helpful for your team is to do a mini stress test with them. It’s a simple exercise. Come up with a stressful scenario and ask them what they should do in that situation.
You are testing their “stress reflexes” and seeing how good your training has been.
Notice I didn’t say you are there to judge the person, you are there to judge your training.
- If you are happy with their response to the stress test, your training is working.
- If you are NOT happy with their response, your training needs some work.
Here’s something that took me too long to realize…people don’t fail, systems fail.
That’s why this is a great system to keep your team sharp and prepare for the unexpected. The punches in the face.
Here’s some examples of stress tests you can use with your team…
- You are in the gym running a session and there’s no admin staff. In the middle of a session, an interested walk-in comes into the lobby. What should you do? What should you say?
- The sound system crashes and there’s no music. How should you handle that?
- You walk into the gym in the morning but the equipment has been setup in the wrong station. What should you do next?
- A client came to you after a session and requested to cancel. How should you respond?
- You woke up in the morning and you feel SUPER SICK. What should you do next?
You can use a combination of real scenarios that have happened in the past or unique stuff that could pop up unexpectedly.
Do you have any stress test situations you would add to my list?