Stress and Leadership

Stress is part of any job, and being in a position of leadership can add a certain level of constant pressure. Negative external stressors like the economy and even positive stressors like rapid growth can significantly add to the stress level in a leader’s life.  And while some level of stress is normal, too much stress can cause irritability, poor decision-making and even take a toll on your health.

During stressful times in an organization, a leader’s role becomes even more important.  Some leaders are naturally calm in the face of stress. Others may withdraw. Some exhibit extreme emotion.
Everyone has a different style of leadership, and each person reacts in a different way when faced with stress.  By examining our natural reaction to stress and how it manifests itself in our leadership style, we can equip ourselves with leadership qualities that are essential in stressful situations. This ability to adapt our leadership style to exemplify stability, control, and transparency will aid in successfully leading through stress.

Being able to manage through stress is so important in today’s workplace that leadership training organizations are beginning to build programs to help people learn to more effectively deal with stress in the work environment. Corporations are  developing employee wellness programs centered around both physical and emotional health.
Most experts agree that the best ways to deal with stress include:

• First, identifying that you ARE under stress
• Becoming better at planning and managing your time
• Exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep
• Having a relaxation program that might include massage, meditation or reading

*What have you noticed about your own reaction to stress?
*How do others tend to react when you are dealing with a stressful situation?
*What tools or techniques have you found to be effective in managing stress?

Original post from http://blog.everythingdisc.com/380/stress-leadership/

Do you have trust in your company?

96% of engaged employees trust their leaders vs
46% of the disengaged employees trust their leaders

I was reading an article this past weekend where it refers to a Gallup poll that estimates that 71 percent of employees are not “engaged” on the job. This result tells me that employees have lost their motivation to give 100%. Disengaged employees believe that their time and energy is being wasted on others and they're working to fulfill the goals and dreams of others and not theirs.

It is no longer about the shareholder ROI but it is all about me, the employee. It is time for the employee to get motivated. Motivation is internal and we have to create a work environment that allows the employee to be motivated to take an action that will demonstrate his or her “all” and insure that the employer gets the ROI.

Employers and employees both have expectations, yet rarely are they on the same page.

10 Reasons Why Companies Should Invest More In Management Training

I’ll get straight to the point.  Why should companies invest more in management training?  Here are 10 simple reasons.
1) An employee’s relationship with his or her direct manager is the most important single factor in employee engagement.

2) Engaged employees are happier and more productive.  Disengaged employees are frustrated and more disruptive.

3) Because there’s no widely agreed-on skillset for management (good managers come in all shapes and sizes), there’s an assumption everyone knows how to do it.  This is akin to someone who’s never driven before being given keys to a car and told: “Drive.”  (Many many years ago, this is how I first learned to manage.  I blundered my way through it.  Trial and error.  It wasn’t pretty.)

What is a Leader's Primary Role?

When will the current leaders realize that their primary role and responsibility is to develop their people?  In other words,  developing the future leaders of the company should be the one skill set that carries the most weight with any performance evaluation.  For a People Development process to succeed, it must be totally supported by the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team.

The key to any succession planning process or high potential development tract is the fact that all involved have a complete understanding of the design for the outcome.  The goal should be a stable of future leaders that can assume a more advanced role if needed to do so tomorrow. With warmer weather around the corner a great example is Baseball Season starting; it is similar to creating all-star utility infielders.  Multi-positional players that have the talent to assume any position when needed.  That's the design of the final three positions on any major league team.

Everything DiSC Workplace Case Study

This case study focuses on two people from one company that used the Everything DiSC Workplace Profile and the companion Everything DiSC Comparison Report to make progress toward improving the quality of their workplace.. Jennie and Joe (names have been changed) worked closely together on the Marketing Team.    While pay and benefits were above average, their job satisfaction and relationship was rapidly deteriorating.  

Jennie's priorities and strengths were generating enthusiasm, taking action, and collaborating with others. She was motivated by working in a high energy environment where everyone could express themselves and build warm relationships.   Being isolated in a dull, unsocial environment and being forceful or insistent with others were stressful and sapped her energy.

What comes first, the Culture or the Strategy

Well, which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The HR professional is starting to ask themselves a
similar question; “which comes first, the development of the culture or the development of the strategy.

Culture is defined as a blend of attitudes, behaviors, actions and beliefs that flourishes with a clear set of
values and norms that actively guide the way an organization operates. I like to say that it is the taste,
smell and feel we can when we come in contact with the organization. This is the origin for the term,
“a fun place to work”. The culture does define the work environment to both the internal and external
customer. Many believe that culture is the environment in which your strategy and your brand lives
or dies. I, like many others, believe that creating the appropriate culture is one of the most important
factors in determine future success.

It has been almost a decade since we feverously created our vision and mission statements. In the
majority of organizations, you will usually find the mission and/or vision statements hanging on the
walls and they probably have not been revised in over ten years. Vision, to me, is the dream of the
organization usually provided by the leadership team. It is a view of what they would like the company
to look like in the future. The Mission Statement on the other hand should be the reason each and
every employee wants to come to work and exhibit a high achieving performance on a daily basis.

We used to break the mission down into purpose. Now, many organizations are translating the purpose
into core values or statements of excellence. This is where the organization needs to associate the
values with the culture. Make sure the values and culture reflect the same meaning to everyone that
enters the building. The culture has to be genuine.

Tips to Maximize Your Productivity

Productivity is getting the desired results by focusing on your high payoff activities
and spending little or no time on your low payoff activities. It is not rocket
science…just a commitment to excellence.

Here are some tips to help you maximize your productivity:

- Keep track and analyze your daily productivity so that you can improve right out of the gate.

- Stop wasting the first hour of your workday. Having the chat and first cup of
coffee, reading the paper, and socializing are the three costliest opening exercises
that lower productivity.

- Do one thing well at a time. It takes more time to start and stop work on each
activity. Stay with the task until it is completed.