Capturing Good Stress on the Leadership Battlefield: A Leader's Guide for Becoming More Resilient and Productive with Stress

By Steven C. German, PhD

How to remain fresh, focused, creative, productive, and healthy in the face of enormous stress is an important challenge facing leaders within the modern organization, regardless of the organization or the level of leadership. Providing a way to successfully address this challenge is the primary goal of this book. The book recognizes that stress can actually be a positive force for enhancing performance if it is managed effectively, offering an optimistic message for leaders facing ongoing pressures in their work. What Dr. German does in his book is to offer knowledge and practical strategies, based on solid research, to help leaders better manage the distress, or negative stress, inherent in their role. In addition, the book provides tools to develop a personal resiliency enhancement plan to allow leaders better access to the wave of positive energy that comes from experiencing good stress, also called eustress. The information offered in the book is creatively presented as part of a training program involving leaders, making the material an intriguing read as well as an invitation to be part of the learning process shared by others serving in the leadership role.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504965804

Steven C. German, PhD

Dr. Steven German has had extensive experience with both the challenges and the rewards of leadership. As an administrator for over twenty years in public school districts, he was a firm advocate for the introduction of new services to support the needs of non-traditional learners and a proponent of creatively managing budgets to ensure the quality of the educational program. His insights on remaining vibrant and productive at a high level while in leadership roles have been shaped by his training as a counseling psychologist at Boston College and his subsequent work in the field. Dr. German maintained a private practice during his career in school administration. For several years he left public education to provide training and consultation in private industry, including Fortune 500 companies. He has also served as a psychologist and captain in the Medical Service Corps of the U.S. Army Reserves. In recent years, Dr. German has taught organizational behavior courses at Bay Path University and the University of Phoenix. He has written articles for several national publications as well as for newspapers in the Greater Boston area, where he lives with his wife and son.

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© 2016 Steven C. German, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse July, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-6548-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-6580-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015920052

Dr. German’s picture on back cover provided by

Dennis Lee Events Photography of Northampton, MA

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The names, characters, places, facilities, businesses, organizations, events, and incidences used in the narrative of this book are either the creation of the author or information used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance of descriptions in the book to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual places, facilities, businesses, organizations, events, and incidences is unintentional and purely coincidental.

In

memory of

Dennis Breen

whose leadership made others around him better.

FOREWORD

Stress, good and bad, is a purveyor of personal progress. People who have achieved any position of responsibility and must to sustain it experience some kind of stress. Often this stress is augmented by a comfortable desire to look at the past rather than to think about the future. Consequently, our state of mind can become increasingly beset by doubt and loathing. Handling stress in a positive, productive way and moving beyond the trap of these negative feelings is the cornerstone of this book.

For those who have served in a leadership role, it is clear, regardless of the nature of the organization, that the position is both an exciting opportunity as well as an awesome responsibility and challenge. At times it can feel as if the role is operating on an active battlefield and at other times it seems as if it is like boating on a calm, peaceful lake. The rewards are often great but the path for achieving these is sometimes complicated by roadblocks which must be overcome. The role of leadership surely has its share of stressors, including those that can be a source of motivation to move ahead, and those which can take away from the energy needed to maintain a clear sense of vision and purpose to lead.

Despite being surrounded by people, the leadership position in any organization is also often a very lonely act which calls for constant encouragement that comes from comrades in arms. This book presents a realistic dialogue among leadership professionals as they work through, with the help of a trainer, the stress of leading. Using the metaphor of sailing, the trainer, Trey, suggests that navigation through stress can sometimes be like sailing … learning how and when to use the tools available to you to manage the situation, knowing when to accept what is happening and that it is okay to let go of the efforts to control this, and recognizing which of these paths is the most appropriate to choose. This suggestion makes eminent sense.

What this book offers is a way to abide with doubt and to understand stress as a force for personal change and a platform for problem-solving and self-learning. The individual stories presented here are realistic and accurately capture the intellectual and emotional process those in leadership positions undergo in their quest to be better leaders. These stories are shared with a wise trainer who provides encouragement and challenge that, in the end, allows them to choose what works best for them as they navigate through the challenging matrix of organizational leadership. Seeking personal strategies for managing the stress that comes with being a leader is a worthwhile process and goal for all leaders to pursue. Discovering these strategies will make it possible to experience the unique journey of leadership as the satisfying and rewarding opportunity it can be.

Engage in the process!

Ronald W. Pacy, Ph.D.

PREFACE

I have always gravitated towards leadership roles. Movement in this direction often resulted from the encouragement of peers or through my own energy and initiative to pursue leadership positions within an organization. While seeking to maintain the wonderful sense of purpose I knew leadership offered me, I also became keenly aware over time of the potential distractions produced by stress in this role. With my training and background as a psychologist, I recognized in particular that the stressful circumstances encountered on a daily basis would be debilitating if I let them be. It could also be too easy at times, I found, to get lost in non-productive thinking and unhealthy encounters which could sap one’s energy. As I learned quickly, stress did not always translate to forward movement, creative planning, or job satisfaction.

At the culmination of my journey along the leadership trail when I retired, I decided I wanted to help others who had chosen this path to stay fresh and creative despite all the inherent stressors involved in leading. During the preparation of this book, I recognized that many of the topics I included in each chapter could easily have had a full chapter or even a book dedicated to them. However, my goal in writing was to provide an overview of important concepts that might serve as a reminder to experienced leaders or as a resource of helpful tools for beginning leaders while transitioning in a new role. I believe that the ideas discussed in the present book, when considered as a total package, offer a good integrated approach to address the stressful aspects of the leadership role. Although the book involves a discussion among public school officials, the concepts and their application provide valuable tools for leaders in all forms of organizations, both in the private and public sectors. While this book has been written with the role of the leader in mind, the strategies found in the chapters could surely be of value to all individuals, regardless of their position within an organization.

The narrative format used for presenting information made for some fun and interesting writing. At times I thought I should have chosen a more traditional approach for offering the ideas included in this book. However, in the end, I recalled all of the conversations with colleagues and supervisors which contributed to my professional development and the new ideas I obtained from these discussions. As I began to write, I decided to stay with the narrative format because of the value I saw in being part of a dialogue, real or not, as a tool for learning. In addition, presenting concepts in the format of a narrative allowed me to utilize the creative spirit that has been seeking expression within me.

I want to acknowledge the sources of the inspiration which carried me forward to complete this book, adding to the motivation of wanting to share with other leaders information which I felt would be helpful. While no one in my family had ever been a performing artist, I was blessed with wonderful parents, aunts, and uncles who lived their long lives finding creative ways to express themselves within their careers and life choices. This inclination for creative expression has been passed on to their children, i.e., my cousins and my brother, as well as to me. I would also like to give recognition to those supervisors I worked for who had a unique grasp of what it means to be a leader. Their ideas and practices inspired me to learn how to be better and more creative in my leadership roles.

There are other sources contributing to the completion of this project in its present form. One of these is the wonderful experiences I had being part of a special family in Iowa. The members of the Crawley family of Bayard, Iowa opened their farm, their home, and their hearts to me over the course of many years. I am forever appreciative for what their presence in my life has meant. The other source is the importance to me of Yellowstone National Park and the area of Gardiner, Montana north of it. The chance to meet and work with so many great people in this area and to experience so much of the beauty that abounds there, has made an indelible impression on me. The influence of these sources is clearly evident in this book.

In particular, though, I wanted to give recognition to two individuals who have contributed to my capacity to complete this book. One is my wife, Corinne. She has showed me how important it is to be connected to another person as a source of sustenance in life, a perspective I have had to acquire, thankfully, with her help. In addition, her constant love and support on a daily basis have provided a unique feeling of strength and of being grounded. She has also been a perceptive critic of my various creative efforts over the years in the most helpful sense. The other individual is my son Joe. He has always had a wonderful energy and enthusiasm which has served as an inspiration for me to keep moving ahead. On an ongoing basis he has opened up my thinking to try new things that I might never have pursued and has offered me encouragement to explore these and other possibilities. Having a relationship with him has been one of the joys of my life and an ongoing source of fulfillment. I am grateful to Corinne and Joe for being such a significant part of my being and for encouraging me through their presence in my world to complete this work.

"YESTERDAY IS HISTORY.

TOMORROW IS MYSTERY.

TODAY IS A GIFT…"

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (O.1)

AGENDA

The Gartree Center Training Sessions*

(Observation notes and transcripts for each session are found on the pages noted.)

SESSION 1: MANAGE STRESS OR IT WILL MANAGE YOU

SESSION 2: COMMUNICATION, LIFE’S ILLUMINATION

SESSION 3: CONFRONTING CONFLICT CONSTRUCTIVELY

SESSION 4: KNOW WHO YOU ARE TO KEEP STRESS AFAR

SESSION 5: TRANSFORMIN’ WITH LESS STORMIN’

SESSION 6: PRACTICING CALM

SESSION 7: TO BE OR TO BECOME?

TRAINING RESOURCES AND NOTES

*GRATITUDE IS EXPRESSED TO THE COMMUNITY OF GARTREE CENTER, IOWA FOR THE USE OF ITS TRAINING FACILITY TO CONDUCT THESE SESSIONS.

SESSION 1:

MANAGE STRESS OR IT WILL MANAGE YOU

"On life’s vast ocean, diversely we sail.

Reason the card [map], but passion is the gale."

Alexander Pope (1.1)

The large red-tailed hawk flew effortlessly above the fields of swaying grain and green grass blending together on the landscape surrounding the heart of Gartree Center, Iowa. The predator, common to the fields and skies of this area, glided gently with the air currents of the sunny afternoon sky painted with an occasional wispy white cloud. Its objective was simple, to feed its young located in a nest not far from Gartree Center’s training facility. Gartree Center, located near Interstate 80 and about sixty miles west of Des Moines, Iowa has prided itself on the development of this training facility. The facility, since its construction almost twenty years ago, has provided a service to farmers, Farm Bureau trainers, bankers, state and local officials, farm equipment company representatives, educators, and other individuals committed to the growth of this once primarily agricultural area.

As with other parts of Iowa, a state where 90 percent of the land had been devoted to agriculture (1.2), change has taken over the region surrounding Gartree Center. With fields of dark soil valued for its fertile nature, the area for many years had been considered to be a major provider of food to the nation’s kitchen tables and the cattle industry’s feedlots. However, in the last two decades, instead of seeing the annual conversion of the fields from one crop to another to preserve the quality of the soil, the land has been converted to vast tracts of home and condominium communities. These communities now provide employees for the companies that have sprouted up around Des Moines and along the area’s interstate highway. Business centers and malls have risen from the ground to support this burgeoning population. The vast fields of corn, besides providing for cattle feedlots around the region, have in recent times become the source for fructose in our beverages, or ethanol for our gasoline engines, or the home of massive wind farms. Below the blue sky, now with heavier white clouds floating over the horizon, much still appears the same. However, much has also changed.

Gartree Center’s public schools have been a window for the changes in the surrounding area. There has been a dramatic increase in class size and the need to expand the building capacity to accommodate the growing population. Along with this boom in population there has been a change in the culture of the community including expanded diversity among the families served. Add to this mix the heavier demands placed on the schools from an increasingly competitive world and the result is a learning environment that has been constantly evolving, and leaders who are looking for ways to respond to the changes and move forward. In this mid-sized Iowa town, the superintendent, the principal for the centralized K-12 school and the single department head who oversees curriculum and student services, comprise the leadership team tasked with keeping the learning field thriving.

Gartree Center has had a long history of supporting the growth in its community, regardless of whether it is in the fertile fields producing rows of corn and soy bean, or in the lively classrooms of its public schools. It is this tradition of concern for growth that had led to the construction with great pride of the training facility in town. In line with this background, the school board has had a solid record of supporting its leaders and encouraging their development. As part of this ongoing effort, Char (short for Charlene) Borde, its head, has engaged the services of a highly regarded trainer to work with the leadership team to help them develop strategies to reduce the stress typically connected with managing and leading an organization. The board has recognized that in an era of diminished resources, it is important for an organization to support its leaders in their efforts to utilize approaches which increase their focus on the existing goals. In education, this goal is about helping young people develop to their fullest potential and to become productive and contributing members of the community.

On this warm summer day Trey Norman lumbered out of his dusty and road weary SUV, walked across the parking lot, and headed through the doors of the training facility, navigating down the hallway toward the A-1 Training Room off to the right. Trey, a mountain of a man, had driven his SUV, which he affectionately calls Sushi, from his ranch in Jardine, Montana, a community of under a hundred about six miles up a winding road from Gardiner, Montana at the northern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Growing up in Jardine and attending school in Gardiner, he has spent his entire life in the shadows of Montana’s splendid mountain scenery. The trip to central Iowa was a pleasant change of pace for him. Where else, he would say to the group as part of his introduction, could you see this much flat land.

A star athlete in high school on a football team that fielded only eight players on each side of the ball, typical of small town Montana sports, Trey married his high school sweetheart, Mia Culpa. Mia, the eldest daughter of two attorneys, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but had moved to the area from Seattle, Washington with her parents. Her family lived north of Gardiner in another small town, Emigrant, located in the vast Paradise Valley. After finishing high school, Trey and Mia, newly married, headed up the road to Bozeman to attend Montana State University. Having both graduated with a major in education, Trey and Mia decided to try a new world and go to Boston, where Trey ultimately completed a CAGS degree in school psychology and worked in a suburban school for eight years.

Just loved the city, he told the leadership team as he stood before them in the training room. Became quite a Red Sox fan and loved eating the fresh fish. For a guy who grew up eating trout caught in the rivers and lakes near my home in Jardine, learning the names of the variety of fish and seafood that could be ordered on menus in Boston was like learning a new language. At one point though, it got to be that I missed the family of elk or the occasional grizzly bear that would sometimes parade across our back yard in Jardine. It was then I knew it was time to head back home. When we decided to move, the family van, now with three active children in the rear, headed west. After a stop of three years in Minneapolis to complete my Ph.D. in organizational psychology, it was off to Montana for us. The chance to provide training and consultation for a school leadership team and to be in Iowa in a new setting on the Great Plains was an opportunity he could not wait to begin, Trey thought to himself as he looked around the training room table for someone else to talk. However, there was also that trepidation he recognized he always felt when starting with a new group.

Dr. Sue Perintendi began her work in Gartree Center almost ten years ago as the head of curriculum. She arrived in the midst of a period of tremendous growth in the school district and ascended quickly to the superintendent’s position. This change took place seven years ago when the previous leader decided to fulfill his lifelong dream and return to the family farm in nearby Madison County, known for all its covered bridges. Suze, as she prefers to be called by close colleagues, had a connection to the land as the child of migrant farm workers from El Salvador working in the vineyards of Livermore, California outside of San Francisco. After completing her public school education in Livermore, she headed across the country seeking a new experience. This journey ended in Buffalo, New York where she completed her graduate school education and also met her husband at the University of Buffalo. She told the group during the introductions, "We loved Buffalo. However, I also knew I wanted get out of an urban environment and find a place that felt like a city, but at the same time gave me easy access to the open farmland I knew so well as a young child. Des Moines seemed to have the balance of these elements.

When my husband, Alfredo, also an educator, and I saw two teaching opportunities in the Des Moines Public Schools, Sue continued, we said let’s go for it. It’s now been twenty four years living in the city and a decision we’ve never regretted. Sue drives about an hour every day from her home in central Des Moines to Gartree Center. Coincidentally, Gartree Center has taken on many of the faces of California with its increasing population of families from Latin America working on the farms and factory floors in the area. It’s so wonderful in the town to be able to speak Spanish again and to hear the occasional Latin beat blasting on a radio from a passing car, Sue said to the group. After concluding her thoughts, she paused and then blurted out, So that you are aware, Trey, in case you hear Latin music suddenly emanating from my bag, it may be the ring tones from my cell phone. We are expecting the birth of my first grandchild, and I’m leaving the phone on in case my husband calls with any news.

Prince Ipplefield’s path to Gartree Center was much different. He was born in Pensacola, Florida just as his dad was leaving his government position as an electronics technician at the U.S. Navy base there. Dad always wanted to be a farmer, he told the group. He always remembered and talked about his days growing up on his family’s farm in the community of Mars Hill, North Carolina. When an old Navy buddy told him about the availability of farm property in Bayard, Iowa just north of here, he took my mom and all six of us in the family station wagon on a trip here, feeding his other passion by visiting every roller coaster park along the way. Needless to say, he fell in love with the rolling contour of the land around Bayard and purchased the farm. Prince continued. When the News Gazette in Bayard announced our arrival in town, there must have been thirty families that visited the house, bringing pies and food from their gardens as part of a welcome. Not a one showed any indication of concern that we were the only African-American family ever to live in the area. Dad always said this experience was the sign of acceptance of a real community and confirmed for him that this is where we should be.

Prince continued this love of the area. He gained recognition in high school for his prowess as an athlete in several sports. After graduating from high school with honors, he received a student-athlete scholarship to Wartburg College in eastern Iowa. Once he obtained his undergraduate degree in mathematics, he went to Iowa State University for a degree in education. This training led to his being hired as a teacher and then an assistant principal in nearby Perry, Iowa. When offered the principal’s position in Gartree Center six years ago, he saw this as the opportunity of a lifetime, he confided. I can drive to work from our home in Bayard in about twenty minutes, have dinner with my wife and three kids, and get back to school for night meetings. I even have time many mornings to get out in the field to help my dad, now in his late seventies, who still farms. Being part of this community has been something special.

Providing leadership for the curriculum issues and overseeing student services in the district for the last seven years is Hedda Departmento. One of nine children growing up in an apartment in the northern section of the Bronx in New York City, Hedda spent her time after the school day helping out in her dad’s pizza parlor, one of the most popular hang-outs in the neighborhood. She loved looking at her dad twirl the pizza dough on his index finger and throw it in the air while making a new pie. Most observers thought this was done just for a show, but Hedda knew that the twirling in fact stretched the dough to make it fit the entire pan on which the pizza was cooked. Hedda even got to be pretty good at making pizza herself, though she always preferred reading her books while at the store. Hedda always felt she was a little different from other kids in the neighborhood. She reported, I knew I had to get away and learn about the world beyond 233rd Street in the Bronx. She achieved this by staying with extended family in Italy for several years upon her high school graduation and seeing all of Europe while there.

Somehow, while overseas, she learned of a small school called Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, and decided to attend there. It turned out to be an ideal and supportive place to feed her passion for learning about the world, a quality that led her to the career path of teaching, then curriculum development. Iowa seemed to be the last place this girl from the Bronx would settle, but when her partner found a job in agribusiness in West Des Moines, she decided it was time to try something new. I could not have made a better choice, she proudly stated, now having been in the area for fifteen years. This region, in particular Gartree Center, has been a real community, thoroughly accepting of individuals with all different perspectives on life and eager to engage whoever wants to contribute. It’s a little like my old neighborhood in the Bronx where we had the feeling of being one community, all located within the boundaries of several city blocks. However, here that same feeling comes from a larger geographic area, as families are spread out of over many square miles.

Having completed the introductions, Trey recognized it was time to start the training program. Making this transition to a new group was always a challenge for him. While passionate about the material and the connections he always made with a new geographic area and different people, this feeling was always tinged with a bit of sadness. Beginning these sessions also means being away from my home, my wife and my three children, he allowed himself to think for a passing moment, but I just need to move ahead and be positive as I have l learned to do over time. Wow, what a group, all with such interesting life journeys on your way to Gartree Center! Trey commented as he pushed his wire-framed spectacles up the length of his nose. Time to begin, I guess. Looking around the room at the three participants, Trey’s right hand stroked his lightly bearded chin and he began. "I know you are aware that Char Borde asked me to stop down here to talk about some ideas that could help you address the stress experienced in your position.

The board, Char tells me, is quite pleased with your collective and individual work as members of a leadership team. It wants to ensure that each of you has the tools to sustain the creativity to develop solutions for the challenges facing the school district in the years ahead. From Char’s description of these challenges, Trey continued, what you find challenging is quite similar to what leaders in a wide range of fields encounter. She thought it would be helpful if we began our sessions by identifying these challenges. Reviewing these could also serve as a good starting point for our conversations today, if you agree. In addition, it’s my feeling that it always helps to know what other leaders are facing. I have listed these challenges (1.3) on Slide #1-1. I think the information should be self-explanatory. Let me know your thoughts on these.

Slide #1-1: Universal Challenges Facing Leaders (1.3)

Sue looked briefly towards the others on the leadership team, then decided to speak first. It is interesting to see this perspective, Trey, and it does offer a framework for the challenges we face in public education. In fact, I meet with members of the business community at the Chamber of Commerce on a monthly basis and many of the problems we talk about are similar. So you’re saying there are some common concerns shared, Suze, Trey commented. Before Sue could respond, Hedda spoke affirmatively without looking her way. There are similarities in many ways with the broad categories you identified and what we experience in public education, Trey, but some of the specifics, I think, are different.

Trey thought for a moment that Hedda’s interruption of her supervisor at this point in the training seemed awkward and a bit out of the ordinary. While he pondered, Hedda continued. "For example, the global economy does impact us. I suspect we in education are less conscious of which country abroad produces our learning tools. For sure though, the pressure of competing in an international arena has been a driving force in the standards-based teaching and standardized testing which has become a large part of the school culture. In addition, to some degree the changes in the global economy have forced workers and their families to relocate into our geographic area as the economies in their countries struggle. This relocation has also led to the challenges faced with teaching and managing classrooms now that we have a more diverse student population.

And then there is the challenge of technology, though we may experience it in a different way than you described on the chart, Hedda reflected. Not only is there the need to offer lessons utilizing the latest technology in order to engage students, but it is important to ensure that students know how to use the new technologies and resources in an appropriate way. I agree on this last one, Hedda, Prince chimed in. "Besides the use of technologies in the classroom, we have learned that technology has become a factor in building and classroom management. Students texting in class … walking in the halls while absorbed with communication on their cell phones … and then we can never forget that cyber-bullying case we had last year.

Besides these technological issues, Trey, we have also been asked to conform with an increasing number of mandates from the federal and state governments, Prince continued. "For example, there are guidelines we need to follow for bullying, for physical restraint of a student, and for protecting the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth. I am glad all these regulations have been put in place. They are in the best interest of young people in