At 2:30 a.m., with a winter storm intensifying faster than forecasted, the phone rings. Equipment is already rolling, crews are stretched thin, and clients are anxious. This is the moment snow and ice professionals train for...and the moment when leadership matters most.
High performance under pressure does not happen by accident. It is not the result of heroics, adrenaline, or sheer grit. It is built long before the storm hits, reinforced during the event, and reflected on afterward. The best operators understand a simple truth: pressure does not create problems, it reveals them. And it reveals leadership habits, good and bad, at full volume.
In snow and ice management, pressure is not episodic. It is structural. Weather volatility, labor shortages, tight margins, equipment risk, client expectations, and safety concerns converge in real time. The organizations that thrive are not the ones that eliminate pressure, because that is impossible, but the ones that learn how to lead through it with clarity, consistency, and care.
Under pressure, even strong crews behave differently. Communication shortens. Assumptions increase. Patience erodes. Small frustrations become outsized conflicts. Leaders who misread these shifts often attribute problems to attitude or effort, when the real issue is stress overload.
Pressure also amplifies differences in experience. Operators who feel confident in their assignments tend to respond with focus and urgency, while newer or less certain team members may withdraw, freeze or overcorrect. Misalignment in experience levels becomes more noticeable, not because skill changes, but because the margin for error shrinks. In these moments, a leader's ability to level-set expectations and pair the right people matter far more than raw capability.
Fatigue adds another layer. Long hours, cold conditions, and the physical strain of operating equipment make it harder for crews to regulate emotion and concentration. Someone who is normally easygoing might snap. A usually meticulous operator may miss a detail. These changes are not signs of weakness; they are predictable human responses to cumulative stress.
High-performing crews do not need less accountability during high-pressure events. They need clearer accountability. They do not need leaders who bark louder; they need leaders who anchor the system. The most effective supervisors slow the pace of communication while keeping the pace of work moving. They translate urgency into direction rather than volume.
This starts with understanding that pressure narrows focus. When people are overwhelmed, they default to habits — good or bad. That means leadership behaviors must be practiced before the storm, not invented during it. Crews that have rehearsed routes, decision points, and handoffs in advance can operate on muscle memory when conditions deteriorate. Crews without that preparation tend to improvise, and improvisation is rarely scalable under pressure.
Most importantly, pressure exposes whether a crew feels psychologically safe. When team members believe they can ask questions, admit concerns, or flag issues without immediate judgment, they communicate earlier and more clearly. When they do not, they keep quiet until the situation forces their hand. Silence under pressure is often a symptom of fear, not defiance.
Leaders who recognize these dynamics respond with clarity and composure. They normalize stress reactions instead of shaming them. They interpret conflict as information rather than insubordination. By treating pressure as a shared challenge rather than a personal failing, they create an environment where crews can perform at a high level even when the stakes are high.
One of the most persistent myths in operational leadership is that great leaders must be constantly available, constantly decisive, and constantly in control. In reality, this approach often backfires. Leaders who attempt to monitor every decision and personally resolve every issue believe they are demonstrating commitment, but what they frequently create is dependency. Teams learn to wait rather than act, and initiative erodes.
When leaders try to be everywhere at once, they become bottlenecks. Decisions slow down. Crews hesitate. Confusion spreads. Worse, leaders unintentionally signal that they do not trust their supervisors or operators to execute. The message is subtle but unmistakable: "You cannot handle this without me." Over time, this undermines confidence and reduces resilience, particularly during long-duration events when endurance matters as much as speed.
High-performing leaders under pressure do something counterintuitive: they constrain themselves. They do not insert themselves into every communication channel or every tactical decision. Instead, they establish structure. They define who escalates what and when. They reinforce standard operating procedures so supervisors know how to proceed without pausing for permission. They empower people to make decisions at the lowest appropriate level, which keeps the operation agile.
Effective presence is not measured by how many problems a leader solves personally, but by how many problems are solved without them. This involves resisting the instinct to react instantly to every call or update. It means taking the time to think strategically rather than being consumed by tactical noise.
An effective leader defines decision rights clearly. They delegate authority explicitly. They stay visible without hovering. Their presence stabilizes rather than agitates. Crews read calm body language and steady tone as confidence, not indifference. In pressured environments, demeanor is as influential as direction.
This does not mean disengagement. It means disciplined engagement, knowing when to step in and when to step back. It means stepping in to remove obstacles, align priorities, or manage client expectations, and stepping back to let capable supervisors lead their teams. Leaders who practice this balance model self-control for their crews, which often prevents panic or reactivity from cascading through the operation.
During a storm, motivation is rarely the problem. People know the work matters. What fails is clarity. Who owns which sites? What is the priority if conditions worsen? What happens if equipment goes down? What does "good enough" look like when perfection is impossible?
The strongest operators answer these questions in advance and repeat them relentlessly. They reduce cognitive load so crews can focus on execution, not interpretation.
When clarity is present, pressure becomes manageable. When it is absent, even small disruptions feel catastrophic.
Trust is often discussed as a cultural value, but in high-pressure environments, trust is operational. It shows up in whether people share bad news early, admit mistakes, or ask for help before things spiral.
Crews do not hide problems because they are careless. They hide them because past experiences taught them it was safer to stay silent.
Leaders who want high performance under pressure must actively reward transparency, especially when the news is inconvenient. The fastest way to lose trust is to punish honesty during a crisis.
Clients experience pressure during storms, as well. Their operations, liabilities and reputations are on the line too, and they often communicate that urgency to contractors. When leaders do not proactively manage expectations, client anxiety can quickly translate into crew stress.
The strongest operators set expectations before the first flake falls. They explain service level agreements in practical terms, clarify trigger thresholds, and outline realistic timelines based on weather and resource availability. During an event, they provide concise updates but not constant play-by-play. Clients do not need every detail. They need to know the plan, the status, and any adjustments being made.
By staying ahead of client communication, leaders protect crews from unnecessary or misdirected pressure. This also reinforces professionalism. When clients see that their contractor remains calm, focused and transparent, they mirror that stability rather than escalating demands.
Managing pressure externally is as important as managing it internally. When client expectations are well aligned, crews can focus on execution instead of interpretation, which strengthens performance and protects morale.
In calm conditions, many leadership styles work. Under pressure, only a few hold up. High-performing leaders are not defined by charisma or intensity. They are defined by predictability. Crews know what to expect from them in difficult moments. That consistency builds confidence.
The question every leader should ask is not, "How did we perform?" but "Who did we become under pressure?" Because crews remember that long after the snow melts.
Practical takeaways for leading under pressure
Before the storm
During the event
After the storm
Leadership habits that matter most
Strong leaders ask different questions
These questions shift the culture from blame to problem-solving, which is exactly what pressure demands.
What are you seeing that I might not be?
What's the risk we are underestimating?
What do you need right now to keep this moving?
Avi S. Olitzky is the president and principal consultant of Olitzky Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN. Contact him at avi@olitzkyconsulting.com.