With all the challenges in the operation of a business in today’s environment, we need to handle our stress levels.
In physics, stress is the strain that a force exerts on a body so as to deform, stretch or distort that body. The psychological meaning is essentially the same, except that here the “body” is the human psyche.
Working in procurement, or any other management position can be very stressful at times. Minor stress is a natural part of life and an inherent aspect of the growing process.
However, if stress increases beyond a certain level, individuals begin to buckle under the resulting pressure. Senior management positions in any company can be generally perceived as stressful, and thus the ability to handle stress is therefore relevant to both the selection of a leader and the decision by an individual as to whether to seek or accept a leadership role.
Unfortunately, the level of stress that people can handle varies significantly by individual and in consequence it is difficult to predict whether a stranger will be able to handle the stress associated with a given position.
Only a select few people are able to soak up the anguish of the world like a sponge, with little effect on their visible appearance or personal well-being.
Thus, even for those leaders who are able to handle a good deal of stress, they must eventually master some method for releasing the pressure that it builds.
There is also little predictability in the stress associated with the jobs or social positions of a given sort. It cannot be assumed there is more stress associated with the job of bank president than with a job of janitor in a mall. In part, this is because there are subjective elements to stress. It is as much the product of one’s own mind as it is the product of what one is doing or the circumstances in which those things are done.
Purchasing managers are most required in critical situations, which means demands for leadership are likely to coincide with times of greatest stress. Stress affects not only the leadership, but the organization and its individual members as well.
Senior management must remain focused on the goals that have been set. They must continue to behave rationally, when all around them have given up hope. A person who is unable to handle stress is unsuited to leadership, no matter what other positive qualities that person may possess.
There is no benefit in appointing a person to a leadership position if that person will buckle under the first strains that arise on encountering a problem.
It follows that the ability to handle stress must be evidenced in all individuals who are considered for a leadership role and no person should seek out such a position without first learning how to deal with stress.
Leaders must remain cool under pressure. They must not appear to be shaken by every little upset that comes along.
The senior management of an organization should remain focused on the strategic goals that have been set and on implementing the game plan despite the periodic setbacks that occur.
Above all, they must continue to behave, and appear to behave, in a rational manner. Anyone who has been around young children will be familiar with what happens when a toddler stumbles and falls. Very often, the first reaction of the child will be to look at its mother to gauge her reaction.
When a mother jumps up and rushes over to comfort the child there is a far greater likelihood that the child will cry than if the mother takes the fall as a matter of course. Similar reactions often appear within organizations.
When times are bad it is likely that individuals in an organization will take their cue from the leadership of that organization.
Stephen Bauld is a government procurement expert and can be reached at swbauld@purchasingci.com. Some of his columns may contain excerpts from The Municipal Procurement Handbook published by Butterworths.
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