Stress management is critical for leaders and managers because it allows them to be more effective and less prone to making mistakes. Stress can lead to poor decision-making, burnout, health problems, communication problems, and lowered team morale.
As you’ll see, stress management isn’t just a luxury for those who have the bandwidth to take some time off, it is critical to any high-functioning leader.
Science also thoroughly backs this up. The amygdala plays a major role in emotional responses, and studies have found too much stress “turns off” the prefrontal cortex which leads to a drop in cognitive ability and an inability to control the amygdala.
To investigate this, a study was conducted which showed that under stress, leaders lose access to their emotional intelligence (and emotional intelligence is critical for leaders), resulting in scores on one assessment being more than a standard deviation lower than normal conditions.
Understanding the dynamic relationship between stress and catastrophic leadership failure is the first step in avoiding its occurrence.
Stress leads to poor decision making
When we’re under stress, our decision making skills tend to go out the window. We’re more likely to make impulsive, rash decisions that we later regret.
This is because stress causes our brains to release the hormone cortisol, which interferes with our ability to think clearly and make rational decisions.
Stress isn’t all bad, though. When a leader encounters a stressor, the body initially responds with a burst of strength, concentration and faster reaction time.
However, if the stress is prolonged, it begins to affect the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, leading to a decrease in cognitive performance and decision-making abilities. The leader’s IQ can suffer and problems can arise if not addressed.
Studies into stress and decision making have revealed that states of elevated stress impair decision making, as well as impairing the decision maker’s ability to assess the consequences of their decisions.
This is thought to be due to the way in which stress reduces the capacity of the brain to process information and to self-regulate behaviour.
This reduction in capacity causes the decision maker to focus on more immediate and instinctive responses to the stressor, rather than the longer-term, more considered information-processing responses desired when making decisions.
Stress can lead to burnout
If leaders and managers don’t manage our stress levels, it can lead to burnout. Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can leave us feeling completely drained.
Burnout can manifest as headaches, fatigue, chest pain, and difficulty sleeping, as well as feelings of loneliness, sadness, and hopelessness. It can have a detrimental effect on an individual’s performance, leading to increased absenteeism, turnover, and risk of stress-related illnesses.
It’s often caused by prolonged or chronic stress, and it can have a serious impact on our health and well-being. If you’re struggling with burnout, it’s important to seek help from a professional so you can get back on track.
Research into work burnout has consistently identified the same causes and symptoms.
Common causes of work burnout include high stress over long periods of time, working long hours with limited resources, feeling a lack of control over job demands, working in a hostile work environment, and having unclear job expectations.
Symptoms of burnout generally include exhaustion, increased cynicism and detachment, reduced job performance, and feelings of uselessness or worthlessness.
Professional leadership coaches can help address current burnout and develop strategies to prevent future issues. If you’d like to explore this option, you can set up an initial assessment with one of Leadership Coaching Network’s trained coaches.
Chronic stress leads to health problems
Chronic stress can take a toll on our physical health. It’s been linked to a wide range of health problems in all parts of the body.
Our bodies are capable of coping with short-term stress, but when that stress turns into long-term or chronic stress, it can have detrimental effects on our bodies.
Major studies have found stress can lead to:
- A weakened immune system
- Insomnia
- High blood sugar
- Risk of heart attack
- High blood pressure
- Fertility problems
- Low sex drive and other reproductive issues
- Tense muscles
- Headache and stomach ache
There are even more severe impacts across all bodily systems. Chronic stress has so many wide ranging negative impacts that many consider it a modern plague, especially for people in high-pressure, high-performance work environments.
Stress can lead to communication problems
When we’re under stress, we’re more likely to communicate in a negative way. We may snap at others or withdraw from them altogether.
This can damage our relationships and make it difficult to resolve conflict using healthy workplace conflict resolution strategies.
Studies have demonstrated that stress can have a negative impact on communication both in terms of the quality of the interactions between people as well as the effectiveness of the communication.
This can manifest in a variety of ways including increased negative moods and emotions, decreased ability to understand conversations, increased conflict, and a lack of emotional connection.
Stress can also lead to people disengaging from conversations, further exacerbating misunderstandings and communication breakdowns.
Some research has shown, “Stress and mental noise can reduce the ability to process information by up to 80%.”
Another study found that workplace stress has a significant effect on both businesses and employees. It can lead to lost productivity, health issues, and an increase in absenteeism, costing companies an average of $602 per employee each year.
Not only that, but chronic stress can also diminish an employee’s concentration, motivation, memory, and decision-making skills (as mentioned above).
Stress can negatively impact team morale
Stress can negatively impact team morale, causing people to feel disconnected, frustration, and resentment towards their colleagues.
When people are stressed out, they often respond by lashing out, withdrawing, or becoming extremely critical, which can further erode the relationships between leaders and their team members.
These eroded relationships in turn lead to decreased productivity, team conflicts, and increased absenteeism.
A lack of motivation or enthusiasm on the part of a leader can lead to low team morale and an atmosphere of distrust. If a leader seems unenthused about the job in general, it’s not a shock if teams likewise don’t care all that much about the job.
Since morale is closely related to job performance and productivity, it is important to address stress as soon as possible.
Conclusion
High levels of stress in the lives of leaders can have serious impacts on the decision-making abilities, physical health, communication, and team morale.
Leaders should be aware of the signs of stress in themselves and their team and take proactive steps to manage it, such as seeking out professional help from a coach or counselor and taking steps to reduce the source of the stress.
By taking the time to manage stress, leaders can protect their teams from the negative impacts of stress and promote an environment of mutual support and transparency.
Keep your eyes out for our future blog post about practical strategies to manage workplace stress as a leader or manager.