A simple demonstration
There is a mean little demonstration we used to use with our Youth Group to illustrate how the mind works. We would ask someone to strike a match, hold it horizontally at one end (preferably the one that wasn’t alight) between thumb and finger, and then solve a simple maths problem before they could blow it out.
we focus on the flame
They would light it, and hold it, and then, instead of listening to the question, they would focus on the flame creeping towards their fingers. We would ask them something like ‘what is three times five, take away fourteen?’, and they had probably ten or fifteen seconds before things got uncomfortable. Their mouths would move, they would try to process the question ‘sorry, what was it again?’ but no answers came.The nature of stress
The reason is simple. Our minds can really only focus on one thing at a time. And if one of those things is perceived as a threat, then millennia of evolution decrees that the mind will focus on that first, and almost exclusively.
The signals will fast track through older, more primal, areas of our brain. It will bypass our higher order functions. Its goal is to drive a simpler, more basic solution to our distress, and the faculties we really need to access barely get a look-in.
under stress we imagine the worst of consequences
The same thing happens when we encounter elevated levels of work stress. The factors involved may appear relatively trivial to an outsider in the cold light of day. But to the person under stress, this is little consolation. Under stress we build up the consequences, and imagine worst case scenarios. We think about loss of face, or reputation. Perhaps even damage to our career or our livelihood. And those very thoughts are what rob us of our true ability to step out of it.
Stress in workplace environments
As part of our Facilitator Training course we would have what we called one minute questions. People would come to the front of the room, select a number, turn to face their fellow students, see the question for that number come up on a screen, perhaps it might be ‘Explain the benefits of facilitation’ and a huge 60 second countdown clock in bright-red (intentionally) began to count-down before their eyes.
feeling exposed before peers
Sounds easy doesn’t it. But we had deliberately contrived to create an atmosphere of tension. The preamble and explanation – warning them in advance. The sombre nature of walking up and selecting. Feeling exposed before their peers. Believing the exercise was difficult. Seeing others struggle before them, and the tangible expressions of relief they made when they sat back down. And when their own question came up, and the clock started, they had only one objective on their mind – to get through this, and get back to their seat. Basically, their objective became simply ‘to survive’.The symptoms of stress
After the exercise finished, and everybody had take their turn, we asked the group to describe what happened to them.
wanting to be anywhere else
People talked about feeling uncomfortably tense in their core. About wanting to be somewhere else – anywhere else. About how their minds went blank initially, and then a frantic scrabble for something to fill the silence. Then grabbing the first thing that occurred to them, and launching into a quick verbal release of what had just come into their minds. Then running out of words, and seeing they still had most of the time left, realising that they still had a big gap to fill, and feeling even more stressed. And then repeating this cycle three or four times, until the buzzer went and the applause* came. And then walking back to their seat. Exhausted, thankful that it was over, and totally unable to remember more than a fraction of what they said.
Capabilities that stress disables
Of course, back in their seat, they could think of lots of things to say. They could select the best. Give them a logical structure, assemble them into a flow, and deliver them cogently and with emphasis. And they could do this because their goal had become what it was originally described as: “You have a minute in the lift with the CEO to influence them in response to a question they will raise”. Now, sat down, relaxed, the objective was no longer ‘how do I get this b***** lift to go faster?’
when you feel this way, nothing useful will happen
We ran the exercise so that our facilitators (mainly rising stars and experienced leaders) could really understand what stress feels like and how it affected them. To make the point that, when you feel this way, nothing useful will happen. And to use strategies to get a bit more comfortable first.
Suffering chronic stress
The thing is, all too many of our colleagues feel something like this every day. They are overwhelmed by what is coming at them. And they can feel the physiological reactions to stress – the fight or flight mindset. Wanting to be the other side of the immediate challenge. Recognising that they are struggling and failing to marshall their best thoughts and ideas. Continuously fragmented by distractions, many of which are self-generated by a mind wanting to be somewhere else – anywhere else.
for some, this is a regular occurrence
If they (we) are lucky, we may currently feel this only occasionally or not at all. But for some people, this is a regular occurrence. Made all the worse by the fact that the discomfort they are feeling is making them less able to get through it. And the resulting inefficiency means that they are working longer hours, trying to stay on top of things, and failing to get the rest time and distance they need to recharge themselves. For some, this has fed into problems at home, which has only served to add to the stress.
creating lasting mental damage
And for an increasing number, this cycle is getting so bad it is creating lasting mental damage, illness, and having to step away from their roles.
Techniques to help people
But, like the facilitators in our one-minute questions, there are a number of things we can do to help them through this.
- We can give them structures which enable them to break things down and resolve them one at a time**
- We can create space for them to come up with new ideas
- We can ensure that they have the opportunity to work with others to develop more manageable strategies
- We can take time to coach and facilitate them – acting as a sounding board to get things in perspective
- We can take steps to develop people well before they reach these more stressful roles
- We can create a supportive culture with a healthy attitude to what others might see as failure
- We can work with people to build up their resilience and attitude to stressful situations
We imagine that you already have your own ideas about how to do these things. However, over the next few weeks, we hope to take a look at a number of strategies to augment these.
* Applause was usually more a sense of empathy and support for having got through it, than for any sense of quality. But it did help with the sense of release and relief at the end for people. And it did help bonding.
** The stress to the facilitators wouldn’t have been half as great if we showed them the question before they got to the front, or invited them to spend a few seconds to make a mental list of the bullet points to cover
Useful links:
Track your progress to ensure the efficacy of this strategy.