STRESS MANAGEMENTFor Military Leaders and Managers

by

Dr. Barbara Turner

A University of Phoenix Asia Military Campus Public Service Presentation

Agenda

• Stress and Adaptability – Military Mandate

• Psychological Hardiness

• Leadership in Uncertain Times

Two Primary Stressors for Military Personnel

• UncertaintyAmbiguity

11%

40%

12%

37%

Job Stress by Rank in Peacetime

SGT Majors/Chiefs Lieutenants Senior Officers Junior Enlisted

High Effort - Low Reward

Jr Enlisted

Lieutenants

Sr. Officer

Matins & Lopez,2002, p. 182

Sr. Enlisted

2011 Defense Science Board Mandate

The military force of today must be highly adaptive

• Able & Willing to Anticipate/ Accept the Need for change

• Competency in Preparing for change

• Ability to Implement Change Effectively & Efficiently

(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014)

Adaptive Performance Domains

• Handling crises and emergencies

• Handling Work Stress

• Creative Problem Solving

• Working with Ambiguity & Uncertainty

• Learning New Tasks, Technologies, Procedures

• Demonstrating Interpersonal adaptability

• Demonstrating Cultural adaptability

• Demonstrating Physical Adaptability

(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014

Components of Behavior

Intellectual Capacity

Emotions, Experiences. Ethics

Psychological Hardiness

Psychological Dimensions & Coping Mechanisms

• Locus of Control

• Self-Efficacy

• Self Esteem

• Tolerance for Ambiguity

• Positive Affectivity

• Low Risk Aversion

• Openness to Experience

Judge, Thoresen, Pucik, Welborne, 1999

Psychological HardinessExistential quality of perceptions of self . . .

to the world, others, and work

Psychological Hardiness as Predictor

• Direct evidence of reducing ill effects on health and performance

• Significant stress buffer/moderator

• Direct positive correlation between high adaptive performance & psychological hardiness

• Direct effect on mental health during and post deployment

(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014)

Stress Management Initiatives

• ACT – Helps People Deal with Unpleasant Thoughts & Emotions

• Coping Focused

• Targets undesirable thoughts & Emotions Arouse by Work Stressors

• Focuses on Acceptance & Goal Commitment

• Encourages Creativity & Innovation

• PBI

• Stressor Focused

• Seeking out & Alleviation of Stressor itself

• Modifying Stressors

• Brainstorming & Creativity

• Limited to Individual or Work Groups

(Bond & Bunce, 2000)

Authentic Leadership Leading in Uncertainty

• Self- Constancy

• Situational Awareness

• Self Awareness & Self-Regulation of Behavior

• Narrative Identity & Ethics

• Psychological Hardiness

• Organizational Commitment

• Professional Development

• Engage in Stress Management Initiatives(Sparrowe, 2006)

Questions or Comments

References

Allen, J. (2013). Emotional intelligence. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services

Bartone, P., Kelly, D., & Mathews, M. (2014). Psychooogical hardiness predicts adaptability in militaryleaders: A prospective study. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(2).

Bond, F., & Bunce, D. (2000). Mediators of chage in emotion-focused and problem-focused worksite stress management interventions. Journal of Oxcxupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 156-164.

Judge, T., Thoresen, C., Pucik, V., & Welborne, T. (1999). Managerial copimg with organizational change: A dispositional perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(1), 107-122.

Matins, L., Lopez. (2012) Military hierarchy, job stress, and mental health in peacetime. Occupational Medicine,62, pp. 182-187. doi:10.109/occmed/kqs006.

Ricouer, P. (1992). Oneself as another. Chicago: The University of Chicago.

Sparrowe , R. (2005). Authentic leadership and the narrative self. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(2005), 419-439.