Resilience is all about change and how we manage its presence, and it’s critical to remember that change can cause stress in our lives too.
Therefore resilience and stress naturally share an interconnected relationship.
Resilience can be defined as the ability to bounce back from adversities, stresses, and changes.
Essentially, a person can withstand, recover from, and grow in the face of stressors and changing demands, which is good news considering our current environment.
So today, let’s talk about stress.
Shocking Stress Facts
Even the most grounded of us can use the phrase ‘I’m stressed’ as we handle life’s challenges.
Yet the most common cause of stress is work-related, according to a report published at the end of last year by The Health and Safety Executive in the U.K., with eight in ten U.K. workers (79%) saying they frequently felt ‘stressed’.
Though these were challenging years, an estimated 17 million working days were lost due to work-related stress and anxiety in 2021/22, half of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.
Therefore as a leader armed with this data, it’s crucial to distinguish between ‘good stress’ and ‘bad stress’.
While both can impact your team’s performance, they can do so in starkly different ways.
Understanding and managing these stress types can significantly enhance your leadership skills and team productivity.
So today, I want to talk about good and bad stress, some definitions, and how you can work with and manage both as a leader.
Defining Good Stress and Bad Stress
Let’s talk about good stress; because stress can be good.
My husband recently ran the London Marathon and constantly told me how good it was for his physical and mental state as he worked towards a specific time goal he had.
For him, this was good stress.
The impact of exercise on his body was building strength alongside clarity of thinking and how it helped him manage any anxiety he was feeling.
He was most certainly stressed, in a good and excited way, before the race started!
This is a classic example of ‘Good stress,’ also known as eustress or beneficial stress, a positive form of stress that boosts energy, enhances focus, and motivates us to handle the challenges thrown our way, especially when it comes to work.
The adrenaline rush you get before an important meeting, or the push makes you meet tight deadlines as you deliver on a specific project or learn something new.
On the other hand, ‘bad stress,’ or distress, is a negative form of stress that drains energy, reduces focus, and causes anxiety.
For leaders, there is a tipping point with our teams on using good stress as a motivator.
Giving a project to a team member who is new in a role and who you guide and support to step outside their comfort zone is a recognised way to use good stress.
Because good stress can drive creativity, productivity, and team cohesion, it can catalyse innovation, pushing your team members to go beyond their comfort zone and achieve extraordinary results for themselves and the organisation.
However, asking someone to deliver on a specific time frame with no support, resources, or help overwhelms people, and the stress becomes distress for that individual.
This can also lead to decreased productivity as people run from one thing to another without focus, leading to burnout, something that happened for many employees over the last few years.
So how can we use the power of good stress and dismiss the impact of bad stress?
Strategies to Utilise Good Stress and Minimise Bad Stress
Recognising the difference between good stress and bad stress is only the beginning. As a leader, your role also involves managing these stress types effectively within your team.
Here are several strategies you can use.
Promote a Positive Stress Mindset:
Encourage your team members to view stress as a positive challenge rather than a threat. This perspective can transform potentially harmful stress into eustress, promoting resilience and growth. Explain how stress affects the body and mind, share relevant stories, and give practical examples.
Create Clear Communication and Listen
Uncertainty can breed distress. By clearly communicating expectations, deadlines, and goals, you can stop unnecessary stress in your team. The key to making this work is consistency, and this is where some leaders drop the ball.
They communicate a goal once and expect team members to get on with ‘it.’ Have regular conversations and coaching sessions with your team, and watch how they handle stress differently.
Aligned with this, ensure your team has the necessary resources to handle their tasks. This can involve providing training, tools, or emotional support. When team members feel supported, they are less likely to experience distress.
Encourage an organisational culture where individuals can express their concerns without fear of judgment or retribution. When team members feel their voices are heard, they’re more likely to engage positively with the stress they experience.
Stress is a multifaceted concept with both beneficial and detrimental effects. As a leader, understanding and managing good and bad stress can significantly impact your team’s performance and well-being. By promoting a positive stress mindset, maintaining clear communication, encouraging work-life balance, offering support, and creating a supportive environment, you can harness the benefits of good stress and mitigate the harmful effects of bad stress.
Until next time,
Julia
About Zestfor
Zestfor delivers training coaching and development programs and resources scientifically tailored to develop leaders and their teams in technical markets – including Pharmaceutical, I.T., and Life Sciences.
We are in the process of developing several resilience training programmes. Add your name and email here to be notified when they are available.
Our blend of in-classroom, online, and virtual live-stream delivery methods will engage and assure even the most introverted team members from the first meeting. Let us arrange a brief chat; call us at 0845 548 0833.
