Managing “that Five Percent”

Jeff Ashby, Ph.D.Summit Performance Group

Law Schools Are…

“cauldrons of bubbling emotions”.

Dr. Daniel Goleman, HarvardBusiness

Review

One Plan…

Dealing with People is STRESSFUL!

You are…

Managing Stress while you’re Managing People…

STRESS EPIDEMIC?"Stress is America’s Newest Epidemic”

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company

“Stress is rampant, stress is growing, and stress hurts the bottom line”

Harvard Business Review

Stress is…

The perception that your demands exceed your resources for dealing with them.

Signs of Stressful Arousal

Pupils dilateBreathing rate increasesBlood sugar increasesHeart rate increasesBlood pressure risesMuscles tensePerspiration increasesDigestive processes slow Skin blanches

Personal Reality

The body doesn’t know the difference between fact and fantasy. It treats as REALITY whatever signals the mind gives it.

“What Workplace Assholes do and Why You Know So Many”

Chapter 1 from Robert Sutton’s (2007) book: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn’t

Behavioral Symptoms of Stress

SleeplessnessRestlessnessTremorsAvoidance of challenging situations

Performance failures

Emotional Symptoms of Stress

IrritabilityAnxiousnessDysphoriaDepressionSelf-Preoccupation

Empathy

“The number one practical competency for leaders is empathy”

Peter Drucker

“I’m not good at empathy. Will you settle for sarcasm?”

Cognitive Symptoms of Stress

Attention deficitsConcentration difficulties

Cognitive rigidityMemory failures

STRESS AFFECTS YOUR

HEALTH! Stress is a contributing factor to hypertension, coronary artery disease, cerebral vascular accidents, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, immune suppression, and mental illness.

Stress makes you ineffective, unhappy, unproductive, and then kills you…

So we COPE…

Coping is any effort, healthy or unhealthy, to eliminate or reduce the unpleasant effects of stressors.

Pursuing High-Level Wellness

EFFECTS OF DEEP SLEEP

Physiological recuperation:Hypometabolism, andIncreased vasodilation

Increased production of somatotrophic growth hormone

EFFECTS OF DREAM SLEEP

Consolidation of memories

De-emotionalizing of the previous day’s experiences

Maintenance of spatial and temporal orientation

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise Raises HDL and lowers LDL Strengthens the heart muscle and

increases the blood supply to it. Lowers blood pressure Improves immune functioning Hardens bones Increases red blood cells (oxygen

carriers) Improves efficiency of mitochondria Burns stress hormones Assists in controlling the appetite Deepens sleep

Develop a More Active Coping Style.

Stress-Reducing Perceptual Filters

ControlAnticipation (Predictability)

Desirability

Eliminate Stressful Thinking!

Negative Thoughts Trigger Stress

Negative thoughts activate the amygdala--a part of the emotional brain that causes high arousal.

Positive thoughts activate the septo-hippocampal system--a part of the emotional brain that induces a peaceful state.

Distorted Perceptions That Create Stress

Perfectionism (Holding oneself to impossibly and unrealistically high standards)

Catastrophizing (Blowing up or exaggerating the seriousness of an event all out of proportion to reality)

All-Or-Nothing Thinking. (Polarized thinking--right or wrong, good or bad, always or never, all or nothing.)

Use Your Social Support Network.

Social Support is Life-Giving

In a Stanford University Medical School study with women with advanced metastatic breast cancer, those who attended weekly group meetings that allowed them to unburden themselves lived 37 additional months whereas the controls lived only 19 months.

David Spiegel et al. (1989). Effect of Psychosocial Treatment on Survival of Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Lancet. No. 8668, ii.

Fight Stress with

Relaxation.

BREATHING….

Counted BreathsCleansing Breaths

RELAXATIONRelaxation PosturePassive StretchProgressive Muscle Relaxation

Embrace Meaning in Life.

Religious/Spiritual Coping

Recent research suggests that religious/spiritual coping can serve to insulate individuals from stress and related physical and mental health complaints.

Ashby et al., (2003). Religious Coping, Coping Resources, and Depression. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.

Not just survive – but thrive as you manage

that Five Percent ...

THANK YOU!

Jeff Ashby, Ph.D.President Summit Performance Group404-274-0558Jeff@summitperformancegroup.com