StressFree Project Management

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Stress-Free Project Management
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Houston weve had a problem

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Hans Selye -the father of stress

• There is a difference between a stressor and the
  feeling of being stressed

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Hans Selye the father of stress

• Borrowed the term from Engineering
• Differentiated between Stressor and Stress
  Response
• Eustress vs Distress
• Identified negative effects of continuous
  unresolved stress
• Response is the same, whatever the stressor

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Early Measures of Stress

• Holmes Rahe (1967) - developed the Social
  Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to measure life
  changes.
• Some people rate going to the dentist as a 5
  some people as a 95.

__________ Fontana D. (1989). Managing Stress.
The British Society and Routledge, Ltd.
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Stress a common model
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Performance of team when under stress

• Decrease in productive thoughts, increase in
  distracting thoughts
• Decisions more risky, short term, premature
• Judgment deteriorates, perception of threat is
  distorted
• Increase in aggressive and escape behaviours
• Helweg and Sime

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Stress - another model
The more stressed we feel The less productive we
are
Productivity -----?
Stress Level ---?
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Chronic Stressprovides a hormonal milieu
conducive to the development of..

• Visceral obesity
• Insulin Resistance/Dyslipidemia Syndrome
• Hypertension
• Atherosclerosis
• Osteoporosis
• Immune Dysfunction
• Depression
• Irritable Colon
• Peptic Ulcer
• Substance abuse

__________ as cited in VanItallie, T.B. (2002).
Stress A risk factor for serious illness.
Metabolism Clinical and Experimental 51(6 Suppl
1)40-45.
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Stress and Burn out

• It only takes 3 minutes of upset thinking to
  create a biochemical dysfunction in our bodies-
  if this happens 3 or 4 times a day for a short
  time we recover and this is ok we can get
  back. But if we have a whole day of upset
  thinking this creates chronic stress
• Dr William Petit
• Medical Director of the Initiative for Innate
  Health and Head of Behavioral Medicine and
  Psychiatry West Virginia Medical school

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How the brain works

• A pattern-recognition machine
• Repeated thoughts create hard-wired pathways
• Subconsciously reacts before we are aware

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A Model of Human Functioning
Results
Behaviour
Feelings
Thought
Aware of
Not aware of
Personal Thought Memory
Human Functioning
Thought
Consciousness
Mind
Prescient Leaders 2004
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The thought is creating the feeling

Thought
Feeling
Feelings provide feedback on the quality of your
thinking
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Managing Stress
Can I change the situation?
Results
Behaviour
Can I change my behaviour?
Feelings
Can I change how I think about the situation?
Thought
Aware of
Not aware of
Personal Thought Memory
Human Functioning
Thought
Consciousness
Mind
Prescient Leaders 2004
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How can I find out more?

• A really good basic introduction can also be had
  by reading Slowing Down to the Speed of Life by
  Joe Bailey and Richard Carlson. You can get this
  at Amazon.com or most bookstores.
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell a great book and best
  seller - into insight the power of thinking
  without thinking. Available in most bookshops
• Books by Sydney Banks you might want to check
  out
• The Missing Link
• The Enlightened Gardener
• Available at Lone Pine Publishing
  www.lonepinepublishing.com  
• Robert Kausen - Weve Got To Start Meeting Like
  This! Great little book and so wise.
• On the High Wire by Robert Gunn and Betsy Raskin
  Gullickson a new look at how to survive being
  promoted

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Resources for Further Exploration WEBSITES

• www.sbiih.org
• The Institute for Innate Health at the Robert C.
  Byrd Health Sciences Centre (The Medical School
  of the West Virginia University).
• www.sydneybanks.org
• This website is a short and a good summary of
  some of the deeper philosophy behind these
  concepts.
• www.prescientleaders.com
• This website has some great articles on
  leadership and change that are worth downloading.
• www.3phd.com for more information and reflections
  on innate health.