Compression and tension

When thinking about stress, our natural tendency is to equate it with BAD! We often need to remember about positive or eustress. It's the kind of stress we experience when trying something new when competing or racing to meet a deadline. Sometimes it's just exciting. Other times it's a bit nerve-wracking - but manageable.

Stress acts in a couple of ways. Tensile stress is where the force pulls what it is working on - it puts it under tension. Compressive stress pushes and compresses what it's acting on (unsurprisingly). But when you bend something, both can exit - on the outside, a stretch; on the inside, it's compressed.

Leaders can give their teams the opportunity to reach beyond themselves and stretch. And sometimes they can push them to do better or faster or differently. And then there are opportunities to do a bit of both and get some bendy stress happening.

They are not better or worse, just more applicable in some situations. So ask yourself, what's the direction of the stress you are asking someone to embrace, and what does that mean for the support you need to give?

#focusonwhatmatters #stress #learning #leadership #culture