Pressure, Stress, and Raising the Bar

It is 4th and Goal on the 3 yard line. The Offense is in “I” formation with two tight ends. They are lined up to run it off tackle, “straight up the gut.” The defense is stacked “in the box” to prevent the run. The play clock is ticking, “5…4…3…” The game clock is at 47 seconds. This is the last play of the game; three yards delivers a win, but two and a half yards hands you a loss.

You are down by one stroke walking to the 18th green. You have stormed back from being down by as much as 5 shots, and you now have a putt for birdie to force a playoff. You walk around the hole to line up your putt, which looks to be just inside the right lip. It is a makeable 5 footer, uphill and against the grain. Everybody is watching. You slowly approach the ball and take three practice strokes, just like you do every single time. Then you place the putter behind the ball, set your feet, and take one last look at the hole, imagining the ball traveling the imaginary line to the right side of the cup.

To you or me, both of these situations are not merely pressure situations, they are “stress” situations. Unless you are an NFL quarterback or a seasoned pro golfer that has “been there before”, the outside pressure of two ticking clocks, 11 men averaging 6’ 3” and 250 pounds, and an entire town (or nation) watching, or the internal pressure to keep your muscles loose and your mind from taking your putter off line would be too much to handle. We don’t have the training and tools to cope with those situations.

To the quarterback who is about to execute a naked bootleg, or the golfer that has made 4,000 five-foot putts under various amounts of pressure since he was a junior golfer, these situations are what they live for. So why is a pressure situation stressful for one person, but exhilarating for another? Understanding the difference in pressure and stress, and how each person copes with pressure is a fascinating, and I believe very useful pursuit for a leader.

Pressure is good. It may be external, internal, or both. It takes pressure to pump blood through the body. It takes pressure to fill a tire. Too much pressure can cause the heart to fail, or the tire to blow. Pressure is good; stress is bad.

The relevant question that we need to ask ourselves as business leaders is, “how do we apply the right amount of pressure, and at the same time minimize stress in order to get the best performance?” But why apply pressure at all? According to August Turak at Forbes,

“Maximum pressure combined with minimum stress produces passion, and passionate organizations full of passionate people will accomplish well-nigh anything.”

That is an interesting position, and one that can be easily debated. But think about it another way – think about what happens with a lack of pressure. Other than the obvious flat tire, a lack of pressure can create as much or more stress than too much pressure.

Consider again the football analogy; how many times have you heard it discussed by the analysts that a team is floundering because there is no “vocal leader” in the huddle? They say the team is undisciplined and there is strife in the locker room. They show clips of individual players blaming others for their own lack of production. They show repetitive “false start” penalties, and guys with sour looks on their faces moping back to the huddle. What the analysts are suggesting is that the quarterback isn’t demanding perfection from his offensive line, his receivers, or his running backs. They are suggesting that some of the best athletes in the world will not perform their best unless they have a leader getting in their face and telling them to bring their “A” game. Moreover, they are claiming that pressure can actually mold the individuals into a team and prevent chaos and discord.

But not everybody needs a “vocal leader”. Some guys perform their best whether a quarterback grabs their face mask and jerks their head around or not. In fact, some guys may respond negatively to that style of pressure.

The key is in knowing your team, and what drives each of your players to perform at peak level. Pressure becomes stress when your team member doesn’t have the freedom, authority, or tools to deal effectively with the pressure, or when expectations of performance are unreasonable.

But we need to be careful not to remove pressure as we are attempting to eliminate stress. When we try to avoid pressure or putting pressure on others, we can inadvertently lower the bar and make it OK to be mediocre.

Remember, “A” players are “A” players because they have performed under pressure time and again. If you are worried about putting pressure on your team because they may not be "A" players, then that is another problem entirely and will require many other blog posts to deal with.  However, if you know you have "A" players, and you want the best out of your team, consider the following:

• Know the capabilities of your team members. Remember that pressure becomes stress when the expectations are too high. 
• Clearly define expectations. Unstated expectations can be just as stress inducing as unreachable ones.
• Know what motivates your team. Some guys need a “vocal leader”, while others need to be left alone.
• Minimize stress. Make sure your team has the authority, tools, and freedom to manage the pressure situation.
• Give grace. Everyone makes mistakes and even “A” players jump off-sides from time to time.
• Encourage and reward. Everyone works for something, whether it be praise or prize. Know what your team members need and don’t be stingy.

So what happened? Did the quarterback successfully execute the naked bootleg and take his team to victory? Did the golfer drain the 5 foot putt to force the playoff? The more important question is how will you lead in your version of the NFL or the PGA? Harness the pressure, remove the stress, and raise the bar.