Stress is like spice. When used in the right amount, it can enhance the flavor of a dish. Too much can make a meal bland and boring. Too little can lead to a dull, uninteresting meal.
You can have a little stress. Stress can actually improve your performance and productivity. You can think about studying for an exam, or training for a 5K. This is good stress. You push yourself to achieve a difficult but achievable goal. Think about the presentations you make to your executive team or to your project steering group. Presenting to such an important group may make you nervous or stress. This stress can help you prepare your best presentation. Eustress can be described as productive stress. Eustress actually refers to good stress.
The right amount of spice is what makes eustress, as the quote above demonstrates. Too much can cause distress. Negative stress is distress. Distress is not productive stress. Distress can be destructive and demotivating. It can lead to suffering.
You could be in distress if you have only five minutes to prepare for the presentation to your project steering committee. You might not have started until the presentation if you only had five days to prepare. This could be the right amount of stress for you. You might even wait until the night before to start. This can increase your stress level but it could be the right level for you.
You might order extra chili peppers to continue the analogy of stress being like spice. You might have a colleague sitting next to you who says, “Hold on to the chili peppers, don’t put them on my plate, I don’t want them on there.” This makes it difficult to order shared dishes.
Stress is like a spice that is needed in the right amounts to make a dish taste good. However, not everyone can handle stress the same way. Some people are stress addicts and thrive on it. They will tell you they perform better when under pressure. Others will tell you that mentioning a deadline in two months is enough to make them lose their sleep.
Your distress could be someone else’s eustress, and vice versa. We all have different tolerance levels, just like spice.
As a leader, the challenge is to learn how to manage stress. First, you must understand your tolerance for stress. Next, you must understand the tolerance levels within your team. Next, you will need to determine the best ways to stress-avoid. To reduce stress, you’ll need to control your stress levels and teach your stress-averse friends how to manage it.
This can be achieved by rewarding and recognizing the right stress-related behavior. Encourage stress-prone people to stick to their deadlines and avoid last-minute firefighting. If a stress-crazy person brags about being up all night to meet a deadline, remind them that this was not necessary and that they are not responsible for it. It also introduces unnecessary risk to the project.
If your stress-averse team member refuses to work within a deadline, be firm and encourage them. Show your support and let them be confident.
It will take many iterations and fine-tuning. One day, you’ll all be able to see that everyone is eating the same dish with roughly the same amount of spice.
We wish you a productive stress.
