Managing the Stress of Change

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Managing the Stress of Change

• Principals Executive Program
• Shirley H. Arrington, Ed.D.

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This session will prepare participants to

• Identify the various ways that a change of the
  Handwriting on the Wall may affect ones life.
• Identify new ways of coping with the stress of
  having to find new cheese.
• Recognize the symptoms of stress.
• Identify a number of ways to find new cheese
  and reduce stress.
• View change as a leadership issue.

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People
Technology
STRESS
Information
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The Dragon That Threatens Us!
STRESS!
STRESS!
STRESS!
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What is Stress?

• Stress may be considered the wear and tear on
  our bodies as we adjust to a continually changing
  organizational environment.

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Fifty Years Ago, Only Bridges Were Stressed.

• Humans were nervous, worried or fearful.
• Since the 1950s, stress has evolved from an
  engineering term to a cultural construct.

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Doctors first prescribed Valium in 1963.
Calgon took us away in 1985.
Now we spend 9.4 billion a year to cope with
Stress!
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20th Century Changes

• The 50s
• 1956 Hans Selye publishes The Stress of Life.
• 1956 Bufferin Anacin use tension to sell
  headache relief.
• 1957 The National Guard are deployed to Central
  High School in Little Rock, Ak.

• The 60s
• 1963 JFK assassinated
• 1963 Valium is introduced
• 1963 March on Washington
• 1969 Man walks on the moon
• 1969 Woodstock

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20th Century Changes

• The 80s
• The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes.
• Cable TV is born.
• MTV grows and grows.
• Sneakers grow in popularity and cost.
• Teacher exams and student exit exams emerge.

• The 70s
• Terrorist siege at Munich Olympics
• Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision
• Nixon resigns
• South Vietnam falls
• Jonestown Massacre
• Prozac introduced

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20th Century Changes

• The 90s
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is
  passed.
• The World Wide Web is born.
• Ritalin becomes the drug of choice for ADD ADH
  children.

• Fourteen or more school shootings in the US.
• Terrorism on US soil
• World Trade Center Bombing
• Oklahoma City Bombing

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21st Century Changes

• September 11, 2001
• Anthrax in the mail.
• Changing Economy
• High Stakes Accountability Test (ABCS)

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Stress Pays!

• Americans spend
• 42.7 million on Publishing
• 4.4 million on Fitness
• 329 million on Pharmaceuticals

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Afraid? Buy Soap!

• Television, newspaper, radio, and magazine
  advertisements constantly remind us that life is
  full of potential anxieties and dangers.

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Feel Better?
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Time on the JOB!

• The average worker spends
• 8 hours daily
• 5 days a week
• 50 weeks a year
• or approximately 2,000 hours a year on the JOB

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How stressed are you?
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The Big S

• Draw the letter S in the center of a sheet of
  paper.
• Imagine that there was no such word as stress.
  What other word(s) could you use to express it?

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Gender and Stress

• His Stress
• Blood pressure elevated on the job returns to
  lower levels at home .
• Men less likely to express feelings and seek
  support.

• Her Stress
• Blood pressure remains elevated even after hours.
• Score higher on anxiety test than men.
• More likely to express their feelings and seek
  support.

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Gender and Stress

• His Stress
• Less effected by whats going on in the lives of
  others around them.
• More stressed by issues related to
• Professional standing
• Financially supporting their family
• Maintaining the He Man image
• Under react to life stress events.
• Defensively repress and deny very serious
  symptoms of illness

• Her Stress
• More affected by whats going on in the lives of
  others around them.
• Assess and react to life stress events at higher
  levels than men.
• Confront symptoms of illness and seek treatment

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Wise Up!
To much of the pressure were feeling today is
self-induced stress, the result of basic mistakes
were making in how we react to change.
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Play the Hand That Life Deals Us!
To be effective in this new day and age weve got
to know when to give-up, that is, when to
surrender to change
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The only person who really enjoys change is a
wet baby.
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Change

• Change once happened over a period of time, like
  the metamorphosis of the butterfly.
• Change can be positive or it can be negative.

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Change Stress

• It is not the actual change event or non-event
  that is most critical, but the way the individual
  views the event and decides how to cope with the
  change that causes stress.

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Aspects of Change

• Change is constant.
• Change is complex.
• Change is personal.
• Change takes time.

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Stages of Change
Stage 5 Acceptance
Stage 4 Depression
Stage 3 Bargaining
Stage 2 Anger
Stage 1 Denial Isolation
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The Emotional Impact

• Feelings of disorientation.
• Insecurity, and uncertainty.
• Hostility toward the powers that be.
• Feelings of powerlessness.

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Whos In Control?

• What changes cannot be controlled by me?
• What changes can I control?

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Box Your Worries
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Box Your Worries
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Managing the Stress of Change A Leadership Issue

• What are the desired results?
• What is your current reality?
• What in your life must you change in order to
  reach the desired results?

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Change Questions

• What is going on right now (my current reality)?
• Why is my current reality so difficult?
• How do I approach people?
• How do I spend my time?
• What do I choose to continue?

Asking and answering these questions can bring
deeply buried emotions to the surface. It can
depress some people, and energize others.
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Mapping Your Support Network

• Use the map in your handout to give a visual
  representation of your support network.

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The Movie
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Who Are You In the Story?

• Sniff Who can smell change in the air.
• Scurry Who goes into action quickly.
• Hem Who does not want to change.
• Haw Who is startled by change,
• then laughs at himself, and moves on to
  enjoy New Cheese.

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The Handwriting On The Wall

• Change Happens
• Keep moving your cheese.
• Anticipate Change
• Get your Cheese Ready to Move.
• Monitor Change
• Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is
  getting old.
• Adapt to Change Quickly
• The quicker you get rid of old cheese, the sooner
  you can enjoy new cheese.
• Change
• Move with the Cheese

Enjoy Change! Savoy the Adventure and Enjoy the
Taste of New Cheese!
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