Management Coaching: 4 Stories to Manage Stress
4 September 2014
Read by 11214 persons
It's not easy for a manager to learn how to manage stress. To achieve this, Marc Roussel, a trainer and coach, offers four stories to remember, and above all, advice to apply!
1. Competence, always competence
On a beach, two volleyball teams are facing off. A woman arrives and asks to play. One of the teams welcomes her unenthusiastically. However, very quickly, the game turns in her favor: the ball circulates more precisely thanks to the information given by the young woman. And it is this team that wins the game easily.
What to remember:
Being a professional, that's what always makes the difference. The subjective part of management is undeniable. It remains true that it relies, like any profession, on specific values, methods, techniques, and tools. It is therefore necessary to know them and strengthen one's natural abilities until they acquire the status of skills. In other words, the more professional a manager is, the more prepared they are for the daily tension and stress.
2. Stay focused on what works
A group of people is dismayed to have lost their manager. With him, explains one of them, "when the company won, we won too." But one day, this company was bought and the new leaders changed their way of doing things: no more merit-based rewards, no more group rewards, and no more enthusiasm. Today, this company is barely worth half its purchase price.
What to remember:
Do not change the practices of a winning team. There was the implementation of a practical philosophy that consisted of rewarding what worked and not rewarding, or even sanctioning, what did not work. It was simple, fair, and it was the very expression of respect. But despite the obvious common sense of this approach, the new owners completely ignored it and they collapsed. A manager who wants to generate positive stress really needs to stay focused on what works, recognize it, model it, and then deploy it.
3. Let people do their job
The new CEO of a company enters a seminar and introduces himself: "We, the managers, are paid to solve problems, so please go ahead. Act, make decisions, solve problems, and make mistakes, but please don't hide them when you become aware of them. There is no problem with mistakes as long as they allow us to learn." It is difficult to imagine the relief that this man, in a few sentences, caused in the group. All high-ranking managers who, a few minutes earlier, were talking about going into standby mode while waiting for the new boss's guidance and strategy.
What to remember:
It is necessary to let your employees know that they not only have the freedom but also the duty to solve problems, to dare to make decisions within their sphere of influence, and that they can make mistakes and learn from them. We don't realize how much negative stress is eliminated at the root by granting self-determination to one's employees.
4. Believe in the potential of your employees
A man recounts how he came to give a presentation to 250 people. A few days earlier, he had gone to see his manager to ask him to intervene at the next technical meeting. But his manager made him understand that this type of situation would happen again and that it was time for him to manage them himself. His manager then took care to help him prepare properly. It was, in his words, "the worst but also the most wonderful moment of his life."
What to remember:
It is the manager's responsibility to help the employee learn to solve their problems independently. This involves supporting them in each step of this resolution. It is vital work that eliminates a large amount of stress on both sides, while freeing up time for the manager and increasing the added value of the employees.
Learn more:
"Simple steps to recover in 5 minutes," by Danielle Roussel, consultant and stress management trainer. (Download the e-book)
Marc Roussel.
Terrafemina.com
Posted online September 4, 2014.
1. Competence, always competence
On a beach, two volleyball teams are facing off. A woman arrives and asks to play. One of the teams welcomes her unenthusiastically. However, very quickly, the game turns in her favor: the ball circulates more precisely thanks to the information given by the young woman. And it is this team that wins the game easily.
What to remember:
Being a professional, that's what always makes the difference. The subjective part of management is undeniable. It remains true that it relies, like any profession, on specific values, methods, techniques, and tools. It is therefore necessary to know them and strengthen one's natural abilities until they acquire the status of skills. In other words, the more professional a manager is, the more prepared they are for the daily tension and stress.
2. Stay focused on what works
A group of people is dismayed to have lost their manager. With him, explains one of them, "when the company won, we won too." But one day, this company was bought and the new leaders changed their way of doing things: no more merit-based rewards, no more group rewards, and no more enthusiasm. Today, this company is barely worth half its purchase price.
What to remember:
Do not change the practices of a winning team. There was the implementation of a practical philosophy that consisted of rewarding what worked and not rewarding, or even sanctioning, what did not work. It was simple, fair, and it was the very expression of respect. But despite the obvious common sense of this approach, the new owners completely ignored it and they collapsed. A manager who wants to generate positive stress really needs to stay focused on what works, recognize it, model it, and then deploy it.
3. Let people do their job
The new CEO of a company enters a seminar and introduces himself: "We, the managers, are paid to solve problems, so please go ahead. Act, make decisions, solve problems, and make mistakes, but please don't hide them when you become aware of them. There is no problem with mistakes as long as they allow us to learn." It is difficult to imagine the relief that this man, in a few sentences, caused in the group. All high-ranking managers who, a few minutes earlier, were talking about going into standby mode while waiting for the new boss's guidance and strategy.
What to remember:
It is necessary to let your employees know that they not only have the freedom but also the duty to solve problems, to dare to make decisions within their sphere of influence, and that they can make mistakes and learn from them. We don't realize how much negative stress is eliminated at the root by granting self-determination to one's employees.
4. Believe in the potential of your employees
A man recounts how he came to give a presentation to 250 people. A few days earlier, he had gone to see his manager to ask him to intervene at the next technical meeting. But his manager made him understand that this type of situation would happen again and that it was time for him to manage them himself. His manager then took care to help him prepare properly. It was, in his words, "the worst but also the most wonderful moment of his life."
What to remember:
It is the manager's responsibility to help the employee learn to solve their problems independently. This involves supporting them in each step of this resolution. It is vital work that eliminates a large amount of stress on both sides, while freeing up time for the manager and increasing the added value of the employees.
Learn more:
"Simple steps to recover in 5 minutes," by Danielle Roussel, consultant and stress management trainer. (Download the e-book)
Marc Roussel.
Terrafemina.com
Posted online September 4, 2014.
