Applying the Right “Shade” of Pressure

Years of leading businesses, training in martial arts and playing tournament golf, teaches me that:

Applying the right shade of pressure is key to unleashing top performance.

My personal goal is to make “performing under pressure” a habit. I believe that the right mix of practice, experience, sound fundamentals and solid coaching make this attainable. This is art, science and heart. I read anything I can on the subject of performance and pressure. Part of my tweet stream has become my bibliography for flow, being-in-the-zone and letting go.

So, last October, I received this email:

I’m the CEO of a software engineering company called Terem Technologies (Sydney, Australia). I recently wrote an article on leadership called, “Applying the Right Pressure to Get Results.” I was wondering if I could do a guest blog post with you?

Of course, Scott Middelton. I want to encourage this dialogue. 

Here is Scott’s post:

I often hear variations of the saying “people need to be under pressure to deliver” when talking with board members, executives and managers. My experience of being on the receiving end of this is that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I decided I needed to look into this statement to workout how pressure should be applied so that my company and the teams we come into contact with can get the best results.

For the people you lead to produce the best result they need to be in a state-of-flow as often as possible. Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, the father of flow defines this as:

Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.  Interview: Go With The Flow

Csíkszentmihályi studies also tell us that flow can increase morale, increase people’s sense of achievement, increase productivity and lead to innovation.

In order to achieve flow goals must be clear, feedback must be immediate and there must be a balance between the person’s ability and the challenge of the task at hand. If the person’s ability greatly exceeds the challenge then they will be relaxed. If the challenge greatly exceeds their skill level or the challenge is impossible then they will experience anxiety or distress. If the challenge is appropriately matched to their skill level then flow is achieved.

It then becomes apparent that, when applied appropriately, pressure will help people achieve an optimal state of operating where the pressure takes the form of a challenge that they can achieve. When pressure comes in the form of unrealistic goals or impossible challenges then people will just become stressed and nowhere near as productive as they could be. Whilst we hear tales of people doing the impossible these are situations where a leader has made people believe their skill is appropriate and made the challenge seem possible.

When pressure from a leader isn’t in the form of a challenge and it takes a form that leads directly to stress then the model of flow tells us that people will not be in the best state of performance or well-being. Most of the forms of pressure that lead directly to stress are avoidable and unnecessary.

Examples of bad pressure include anti-social behaviour, arbitrary deadlines, denying valid personal leave or getting angry at someone for making a mistake (if you’ve hired right they’re probably already angry at themselves).

Thanks, Scott.

These are also interesting reads:

1. Can Stress Actually Be Good For You? (NBC)
2. How Anxiety Can Lead Your Decisions Astray (HBR)
3. Study: Athletes Perform Better Under Pressure When They Make a Fist With Their Left Hand (The Atlantic)

How do you balance pressure and performance? When does pressure become stress? How do perform at your best?