There is no doubt that stress impacts your thinking and decision making, and it impacts how you choose to react in any given situation. As a leader, stress will impact everyone in your workplace that experiences you in a negative disruptive behaviour pattern under stress. As an enlightened leader it is important to effectively lead through the stress so that it does not negatively affect your individual performance and the performance of your team. At The Center for Influential Leadership we advocate the use of the model of E+R=O. Jack Canfield introduced this concept to behaviour management over 26 years ago. The “E” represents events; these are stressful assignments, challenging situations, or difficult workplace dynamics. “R” is the response, the conscience decision that you as a leader choose to make when confronting the stressful situation or event. “O” is the outcome, the result of the response that you consciously choose related to the events in your life.
As an enlightened leader, practicing the skill of Positive Presence and the Positive Presence behaviour competencies of self-awareness, collaboration and connection, you will choose to make the conscious decision to affect outcomes in the most optimal and productive way. These decisions are based on your individual behaviour, and these individual behaviours are guided by your core values and thinking process that translate to how you, as the individual leader, choose to behave.
What is important to note and accept is that stressful events, challenging work environments and situations, are going to happen. As leaders we cannot prevent events from occurring. We cannot re-program our organizations and departments in such a way that will prevent stressful events from happening. Understanding that disruptive events will happen, helps you to appropriately respond to them. What you can prevent and what you can control is a negative and ineffective response to these events when they happen. When you choose to behave incorrectly to an event, it will result in a negative outcome.
Individual leader behaviour is the singular most important predictor to organizational performance. When placed in stressful environments or situations, choosing to behave inappropriately to these events hinders peak performance. When faced with uncertainty, chaos and crisis, it is critical to choose the response (behaviour) that will yield the most beneficial outcome for your organization, for your people, and for yourself.
You cannot however, expect to have beneficial outcomes, if you do not manage and control your emotional energy that drives your behaviour. When we understand the importance and power of our own unique emotional energy, we can then take control of our behaviour and the outcomes of any situation. As a leader you make the choice. Choose to respond poorly and you should expect a poor outcome. How you choose to lead under stress is indicative of your individual leader energy and behaviour, and your individual leader behaviour will always impact performance.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.