Coping with Stress

We all know that stress is a part of our lives – it seems inevitable. Leaders, because of our positions and roles in organizational life, likely encounter more than the average number of situations that could agitate or frustrate us. Wouldn’t it be nice if some magical Monday morning we arrived at work and all of our stress producing circumstances were gone? Since that won’t happen we need to learn how to effectively cope with the stress, not just minimize it but also actually find new ways to deal with it.

I recently completed a Coping & Stress Profile® in preparation for a training event. It helped me examine four coping resources that affect the relationship between stress and satisfaction: problem solving, communication, closeness, and flexibility. Research has found that the greater the level of each coping resource, the greater the level of satisfaction, regardless of the level of stress.

Problem solving is the ability to directly address difficult situations and make positive changes to resolve them. I scored high to moderate in my personal and work lives in this resource. This means that I tend to face issues and disappointments directly and look for ways to deal with them. My problem-solving skills actually help to reduce stress at work and at home.

Communication is the act of sharing ideas and expressing emotions to other people in order to promote mutual understanding. Here I scored high in both work and personal situations likely because I am willing to honestly share and also listen carefully to others. Stress can be reduced through effective communication.

Closeness refers to the degree of mutual support that one has with their peers. In this area my personal scores were low while my work scores were high. It’s interesting to note that in my personal life I prefer private time while at work I am more willing to engage with a team. Perhaps my chosen profession has encouraged me to learn these stress coping skills at work.

Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Here again my personal and work scores were low and high respectively. Perhaps my need to be organized has been influenced by the many challenging and ever-changing situations that I face with clients and work colleagues. Obviously being flexible is an effective stress coping resource.

I’m sharing these results because I know there is work for me to do in the area of stress management. Even if my scores are high in certain resource areas it will require intentional effort to keep them there and to increase the scores that are low in my personal life. These past few weeks have been busy and more stressful than usual. Knowing that I have these resources available to help me cope has been a blessing.

Leaders should not wish for an absence of stress. Instead we should identify these four coping resources and learn how to use them to keep stress at bay and to improve our satisfaction with life. I can assist you to access the assessment instrument when you are ready. Just give me a call or comment to this post.