The Correct Pressure Improves the Ride

Anyone who has ever ridden a bike, driven a car, or operated anything with pneumatic tires is fully aware that you need the correct (air) pressure for optimal performance.
Over or under inflated tires wear out faster than those with the ‘proper’ pressure. At work, we also perform poorly if we have too much or too little pressure (although we are more complex than a tire). It is a fact that being under intense pressure over an extended period of time results in unproductive stress behavior.

We can help prevent those nasty ‘blowouts.’

Using imapMyTeam® helps you recognize and understand your reactions to pressure. When you are completely self-aware of what signals the transition from being “in control” of your actions to “out of control” you can begin to limit the negative impact of pressure on your relationships.

One of the most important, if not the most important, relationships you have at work is the one with your manager. Use the drop-down window in the center pane at www.imapmyteam.com and run the report titled: Your Style With Your Manager. Focus on the second section of the report ‘If you are not at your best with your manager’.


Set up a quick 10 minute meeting with your manager to share and discuss the report. Chances are good that the ride from here on out, while at times still tough, will get smoother in many ways. 

How Do You Define Pressure?

Regardless of the type of work you are doing, encountering pressure along the way is to be expected. 

So is pressure a good thing?

In a recent article, Right Management sites the parallel between organizational and individual pressure using the “Stretch and Strain” curve (depicted below this post). The model measures the correlation of low to high performance with low to high pressure. 

The two extremes represent low performance/pressure, producing boredom; and high performance/pressure, producing panic. Productivity suffers at the extremes. 

However, the zone noting a steady increase in pressure to slightly above the midpoint also represents an increase in performance and the “comfort zone”. The next more tightly placed zones are the “stretch and strain” phases where productivity peaks briefly at their intersection and trails off steeply into the final zone of panic.

   

This model is a good illustration of how pressure can be a positive influence on individual and organizational performance as well as individual engagement and satisfaction.  It also serves as a warning of the danger of the unchecked extremes. 

It Takes Pressure to Make Diamonds

In today’s work environment it is not a question of whether you will be under pressure, but how often and how intense. If you can't learn to perform well under when you are under some measure of pressure, then you probably can't perform well... at all.

One obstacle in dealing effectively with workplace pressure and the stress it creates is that it is often hard for people to identify the precisely what is happening to them- other than knowing they have a general feeling of ‘being stressed’. 

To accurately identify the root cause of your stress and what triggers it means you can take steps to course-correct to manage your way out of this counterproductive behavior.

Introducing the ‘Perform Under Pressure’ Report

A new report has been added to IMT to help you understand how your behavior changes when there is a clash of your expectations and the interaction you experience with another coworker or the conditions you experience in the work environment.  

People who are great performers under pressure put a lot of work into it. Use this report effectively and you too will become great under pressure.

Product Enhancement Announcement

imapMyTeam® is pleased to introduce a new report..

“How to Succeed Under Pressure”

This report is designed to assist you in understanding behaviors that may impact your ability to succeed and what to do about it.

It is available in the center pane section under the 'reports about you' drop down menu.