Stress, defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, is “a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life and work; something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety; physical force or pressure.” In today’s business and health care workplace environments, stress is something you confront on a daily basis, especially amid a global pandemic.
This is something that goes beyond saying, because for many leaders stress is a daily component of the workplace environment. In fact, many of you have had to continually confront stress so often on a daily basis that you have become accustomed to thinking that you actually perform quite well under stress.
As a result of extensive research in the field of neuroscience, we now know that our biological response to stress is an automatic release of the ‘stress hormones’ (the two big ones are adrenaline and cortisol) while at the same time our higher-level brain function (pre-frontal cortex) is shut down in favour of the lower brain function of the limbic brain system. The research has proven that when we are constantly working in a stress-response environment the presence of the stress hormones in our system becomes chronic and begins to feel normal. Science has also shown that the continuous presence of the stress hormones in our system has a negative impact on almost every other internal system, including our immune system and our cardiovascular system.
The Mayo Clinic identifies that stress impacts us in any number of ways – from headaches and muscle tension, to causing depression, irritability and anxiety, just to name a few. At the onset, the most tangible evidence that stress is in play is through human behaviour – a lack of motivation, engagement, clarity and focus; an inability to make sound decisions; feelings of anger, frustration, fatigue and sadness; an attitude that is distrustful, contemptuous, dismissive and critical; just to name a few.
In the work environment, the passion and motivation that we associate with employee engagement, and the focus and clarity that we associate with high performance and productivity, as well as all emotionally intelligent behaviour that we learn about – these feelings, thoughts and behaviours, only occur when we are creating positive emotional energy within us and around us. The majority of work environments today are made up of knowledge workers – employees with advanced education (often professionals in their own right) who bring their expertise and specialisms together to achieve organizational goals. Their job requires them to use their higher-level brain function. When the biological response of stress shuts down their higher-level brain function, work performance is interrupted and diminished.
It is therefore critical that you become aware of your own unique warning signs of when you are moving into the negative-energy-flow of stress. It is also critical that you know the techniques and exercises necessary to deflect the stress and move back into a state of positive emotional consciousness. The skill of Positive Presence is your ability to adjust for and create a positive and energized mind through conscious thought process. This skill is a learned skill and as with many skills, like riding a bike or doing a dance move, the more you practice, the easier and more natural it becomes.
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.