As a manager we need to understand each of our team member’s motivations in order to create the right environment for them. An environment that will encourage them to perform at their best, meet their motivational needs, and one they will enjoy. Sometimes we get it wrong or outside influences prevent us from creating that ideal. Then the problems start for us, pressure builds up, people become stressed, performance goes down and our job suddenly becomes more difficult.
We know that the recognised causes of stress in the workplace include the following:
- Lack of control over work
- Excessive time pressures
- Excessive or inflexible working hours
- Poor work/life balance
- Difficult relationships at work
- Lack of support/contact with colleagues.
Sometimes it’s just not possible to reduce time pressures, allow flexible working and give people more control. Sometimes, especially in the days of 24 hour service, we have to learn to manage within an environment that isn’t ideal for us or our teams. If we simply accept that in order to reduce stress in the workplace we must focus on the above causes, then we’re missing a trick. We are all different, as managers we need to understand and work with those differences.
Let’s create a team. John is the life and soul of the party, loves to make people feel good, is motivated by the relationships he has at work, he’s the one who picks people up when they’re down, rushes to support everyone and never says ‘no’. Penny prefers to come in, get on with her work and take her time to make sure that the work the team produces is of excellent quality and meets her very high standards, she doesn’t willingly get involved with the social banter but does her best. And then there’s Meg, who has so many ideas of how things can be done differently it’s hard to stop her creativity, is great at delivering the results, takes quick decisions and likes plenty of variety. All of these people are very different and as their manager how can you create an environment to suit them all, where they are able to work at their best and where they don’t get stressed?
On top of the individuals you’ve got the environment you work in. A fast paced, service driven organisation where the customer is always right and the customers demands are for quality delivered with a smile.
Take Penny first, her self-esteem is built on being able to do a great job and deliver to those high standards she sets herself. For her you need to make sure you have a clear goal, great plans in place and let her know as soon as you can when plans change. For Penny you need to slow down, make sure you spend quality time with her outlining deliverables – don’t tell her how to do her job – and pushing back when you’re asked to deliver something you know is unacceptable in terms of quality.
John you need to watch. He’s going to continue to help everyone and that sometimes means he’s taking on too much work and will feel the pressure at some point. His self esteem is built upon the relationships he has and these need to be good. So it’s your job to ensure that time is allowed to build relationships, to make sure that work is not all about work. Get those team building events planned, take work away from the office, mix it with building up a real understanding of each other, make sure there is time each day for some relaxation, something you can do together where possible. And encourage the rest of the team to say ‘no’ to John so that you manage his workload too.
Meg is your driver, she’s getting the results but can sometimes put pressure on herself and the rest of the team. You need Meg to see that quality and quantity can be delivered together. You need the ideas, and Meg also needs to see that the ideas she has get acted upon. She needs a challenge and she wants to see some reward for her efforts so put things in place that give recognition, that she can work towards. Meg’s self esteem is built on achievement, of developing herself, as a Manager you need to have a clear career path in place for the Meg’s of this world so that they have a goal to reach.
And then there is you of course. You are the role model so you should also be doing all the good things we know are important in keeping stress at bay. Important things – taking a lunch break away from your desk. Even a walk in the fresh air just to take a breather. Planning as much as you can so that you are not in that reactive, fire-fighting mode. Blocking time out in your diary for thinking/strategic time. These are all sensible suggestions that we know work but as Managers we don’t put them into practice. If we want to be role models for our teams and create a team where we are working at just the right amount of pressure, we need to take control of ourselves and show how it’s done.
If you would like individual coaching in managing stress, please contact Margaret via Margaret.Kendle@adaptis.co.uk.