Executive Coaching for Stress Resiliency – Calm Leadership under Pressure

Calm Leadership under Pressure

Are you working in an organization where leaders manage stress effectively? Do the leaders in your organization help others maintain their productivity under pressure? Does your company or law firm offer stress management programs for management and employees?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “How well do I manage my stress under pressure?” Stress hardy leaders have calm energy and help others become stress resilient under pressure.

Are you a leader who models a calm and supportive leadership style?  Are you able to create a high performance workplace by creating a workplace where employees are emotionally and physically healthy and fully engaged? Do you and your workforce have a healthy work-life balance? Does your organization encourage stress prevention and focus on wellness.

High Performance under Pressure

Whether out of fear of losing their jobs or a desire to turn the company around, people often display amazing abilities to work under pressure. One of my CEO executive coaching clients shared how his company is having a bad fourth quarter due to the economic downturn.  He related that he has a tendency to get complacent when things are going well, but loves to solve problems under adversity. He was transparent and shared with is senior team there would be cut backs in bonuses, raises and other compensation. The CEO’s leadership style is collaborative and emotionally open. So that rather than retreat to fear and get stressed-out, each member of the senior team became energized and engaged in how best to make the necessary cuts.

When we are asked to sustain too great a load for too long a time, there’s an undeniable detrimental outcome. Athletes and soldiers understand the impact of physical and mental strain, and they pace themselves to avoid burnout and injury. The rest of us continually expect more from the people we employ, not to mention ourselves. Most people can manage the additional stress if leaders create a climate of trust and are open and honest about current economic realities. People need to know that their leaders care and that support is available to meet difficult challenges and get through tough times.

Have you ever wondered why salmon die after spawning? When they swim upstream from the ocean to their spawning grounds, fighting currents and obstacles, their adrenal glands become hyperactive. The constant “on” cycle causes control mechanisms to fail, and the adrenals keep pumping. After spawning, salmon do not die from exhaustion; the cause is excessive stimulation when the adrenal glands fail to shut off.

Executives and leaders are particularly at risk for putting themselves in highly charged environments, where expectations of surviving successfully are high and there are few timeouts for recuperation.The greater their responsibilities, the more stress CEOs have. They harbor tremendous expectations for achieving goals over which they may actually have little control.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who displays the qualities of calm leadership and stress resiliency. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com.

 

Comments

[robertahill]

Thanks for another great post. I have referenced it in my latest post on our blog: http://1-focus.com/sustainingchange/archives/119 Our view is that resilience (ability to deal with stress amongst other things) is directly related to how grounded a person is in his or her values.