Over the last 18 months, 83% of leaders and their teams I have worked with have said they are not working at their ideal energy levels.
96% of those leaders say they are working below their ideal levels. Ouch!
If leaders want their businesses and teams to be at their best, they must know what they themselves need to be at their best and keep those things non-negotiable. By doing so, leaders can manage their stress and master it in a way that allows them to be at the top of their game more often than not.
The key to mastering stress all lies in how you see it, how you recognise it and what you do to use it.
How do you see stress?
If I asked you to write down the first word you think of when I say stress, what word comes to mind?
Anxious?
Angry?
Tight?
Tired?
Sleepless?
Scared?
Frantic?
Knackered?
When looking at this list, what is the theme of these words (besides stress)?
They are all negative.
When people think of stress, they automatically consider the negative impacts. Make no doubt that prolonged periods of high pressure can have serious adverse effects. However, stress can be a performance-enhancing tool that, when mastered, can help take leaders and their businesses to the next level.
The benefits of stress
Cortisol is well known as the stress hormone, initiating the fight or flight response. Bursts of cortisol allow us to respond appropriately to threats, dangers or times of focus when required. Too much cortisol over a prolonged period can compromise your immune, digestive, reproductive and growth systems. It can also impact mood, decrease motivation and increase fear. The scary thing is - this all happens with you realising it.
The common belief is that stress is bad for you, but the truth is, when managed appropriately, stress can help improve cognitive function, strengthen immune systems and help us perform better.
Three tips to help manage and master your stress
TIP #1: See stress as performance-enhancing
According to experts, if you think stress is bad for you, it will stall your performance. If you think it’s good for you, your success will soar.
Associate professor of neurobiology at Standford University and host of the Huberman Lab Podcast, Andrew Huberman, recently shared the work of psychologist Dr Alia Crum, the principal investigator of the Stanford Mind and Body Lab, about the difference between seeing stress as performance-enhancing vs performance-debilitating.
Crum demonstrated that people's thoughts of stress determine how it works for or against them. In her studies, she revealed that those who were educated on the benefits of stress saw it as performance-enhancing and responded better to stress. Their performance improved significantly on complex tasks. On the other hand, those educated about the adverse effects of stress believed stress had more harmful effects, and their performance did not improve. Crum refers to the two different mindsets as a performance-enhancing mindset vs a performance-debilitating mindset.
Kelly McGonigal, author of 'The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It', summed up Crum’s work perfectly.
“The researchers concluded that it wasn’t stress that was killing people”, McGonigal wrote. “It was the combination of stress and the belief that stress is harmful”.
Tip #2: Observe, acknowledge, remind and reinforce
What are the physical signs you experience when stressed? Heart rate increases? Sweaty palms? Tense in the shoulders? Sick feeling in the stomach?
If you know the answer to this question, you are well on your way to mastering your stress.
Observing what’s happening from a physiological perspective when you are stressed is the first step to being able to use that energy for good.
After taking note of what’s happening, acknowledging those feelings without any judgment can help you respond positively. “I’ve got to make an important decision about a supplier contract, my stomach doesn’t feel good, I know I’m stressed, and that’s ok, stress is a natural response”, can help regulate how you respond to that stomach feeling.
Once you realise you are stressed, remind yourself that stress is good. Reinforce the performance-enhancing aspects. If you focus on the positives, you continue to rewire your brain to use these physiological responses as reminders that what’s happening is good for you.
Finally, once you’ve observed, acknowledged and reminded yourself of what’s happening, reinforce why what you are stressed about is so important.
When your energy levels are down, it’s easy to forget why your actions are essential. Understanding why you are working hard and why it’s all worth it fuels your inner energy. Crum suggests completing this sentence to help you harness stress and help you move forward.
“I’m stressed about (getting this new deal right) because I care about (getting the best outcome for my customers, which makes me feel like I am making the difference I am capable of making)”.
Tip #3: Know your performance energy drivers
Whether it’s your physical, emotional, mental or inner energy drivers, knowing what gives you the energy to perform at your best and put those things in place is essential.
You know exercise, diet, and sleep are critical physiological constants that keep people at their best. Paul Ayton, CEO of Australia’s Master Builder Insurance Broker, recently reconnected with his past benefits of a better diet during a Performance Energy™ masterclass. Simon Taylor, CEO of Rugby WA, demonstrates a great way to exercise and balance work and home. Each morning, Simon spends the first half of his walk thinking about his priorities at home and the second half about work.
Daniel Petre, Microsoft Australia’s MD in the late 90s, shares his story about changes he made to his daily routine to ensure he spent the right amount of time with his family, contributing to his emotional energy levels and making him a better leader, husband and father.
Dolf van den Brink, president and CEO of Heineken America, reminded himself many times of his leadership purpose, leaning in on his inner energy drivers to help him through the challenging times of his career.
Stress can be an inhibitor to keeping you at your best; however, with the right mindset, understanding of your responses and performance energy needs, you can not only keep your energy levels at your ideal level, but you will also demonstrate the power of this approach to the those around you, resulting in your business being at it’s best, more often than not.
Adrian Baillargeon is a conference speaker, leadership team performance specialist and author of Teams that Swear (About Each Other, Not About Each Other). His talks and workshops spark leaders and their teams to think differently, say things sooner and enjoy their work, all in the name of winning the games that matter most to them. He recently released a new, free team dynamics assessment called the Teams That Swear Team Dynamics Assessment.
