1.5 - About University

15.7M ANAGING THE S TRESS A SSOCIATEDWITH B EING A L EADERContributed by Clem Blakeslee and inspired by Peter Hanson, David Irvine, Stephan Rechtschaffen, and Hans Selye.“What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is a dangerous maxim, because stress is pervasivethroughout today’s knowledge-based, fast-paced organizations. Further, your stress and thestress experienced by others within your workgroup or team are related. Thus, you need to besensitive to subtle stress cues within yourself, as well as from others within your organization.This tool focuses on personal stress and how to deal with it. A diagnostic checklist is providedto help you understand your personal stress and to assess stress levels within your workgroup.Suggestions are provided to help you reduce your level of stress. (Note: See ☛ 2.1 SystemsThinking to consider how systemic sources of stress can be reduced within your organization.)C AN STRESS BE GOOD FOR YOU?Hans Selye distinguishes among three kinds of stress.Distress Eustress Too little stress• Too much stress for a productivelife• The optimal amount of stress for aproductive life• Too little stress for a productivelifeWhen leaders say they thrive on stress, or that some level of stress is necessary to challengeemployees and to sustain a productive workforce, they’re referring to eustress. It’s important toacknowledge, however, that what leaders might think of as a positive stress, those around themmight think of as distress.A LEADER’ S ROLE IN CREATING STRESSMany leaders believe they must never display weakness, vulnerability, or personal inadequaciesof any sort. This creates an unfortunate condition whereby leaders downplay or deny thepervasiveness, as well as the manifestations, of their own stress. And, since stress accumulatesmonth by month and year by year, it may be possible to deny stress symptoms even long afterthere has been a considerable accumulation of physical, emotional, and relationship damage.Leaders need to struggle with these questions about their beliefs:1. Is a leader a lesser person if he or she acknowledges the symptoms of stress?2. If one learns to manage stress successfully, will that process impair performance orambition?3. Can work be challenging, yet free from stress?4. Does willpower aggravate stress? If so, what is the alternative?5. How much personal investment is required to manage stress successfully?472 SECTION 15 TOOLS FOR TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF