Leader's Edge Column

The Personal Toll Corporate
Leadership Can Take

Positive thinking is the best way to cope with work pressures and stay mentally and physically fit. Here, one "recovered" executive's program.
By Don MacRae

It's said there are four stages of life:

1. You believe in Santa Claus.
2. You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3. You are Santa Claus.
4. You look like Santa Claus.

Corporate leaders go through similar stages. They start out on the lower rungs of the career ladder full of exuberance, with an "anything is possible" attitude. As they move up the ranks during the second stage, experience sharpens their skepticism about the vagaries of corporate life. Years pass with many successes and some failures. They enjoy the fruits of their labors in stage three, while sharing their knowledge and experience with those they mentor.

Then corporate leaders reach the fourth stage -- and the battles catch up with them. They start to show the scars of leadership, but the demands of the job don't let up. They must still negotiate the minefields of competition, cost-cutting, and perhaps layoffs, even as they deliver better quality, lower prices, and faster innovation. Boosting revenue and profits constantly heads the agenda -- goals that can require superhuman effort from mere humans.

STRING OF FAILURES. This is a true story of one corporate leader who survived the first three stages and recently entered the fourth. He's well-educated, well-respected, and well-off -- by any measure, quite successful. But during a three-year period, he experienced a string of setbacks that undermined his health. They were failures many of you may have suffered: an acquisition gone bad; a trusted lieutenant who tried to sabotage his leadership; a market that went sour; a bungled new-product introduction; a board that began to lose faith in him. On top of all that, his ex-wife was creating havoc for his new family.

At first, he experienced stomach problems, dizzy spells, and nausea. His doctor thought it was an ulcer and prescribed pills. The medicine initially seemed to help, but then the symptoms reappeared whenever he faced a difficult situation. When tests failed to find a physiological problem, his doctor ordered treatment for anxiety, defined as "a heightened sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of power." The prescription: mild tranquilizers.

Diminished sense of power? Anxiety disorder? How could this be? He was at the top of the heap. Yet he was apparently powerless to deal with his symptoms, short of using chemicals to calm himself down.

NEGATIVE MIND-SET. Over time, this corporate leader resolved to take control of his life without the aid of drugs. He concluded that his failures had contributed to his negative mind-set in much the same way a virus corrupts a computer -- and were manifesting themselves in ulcer-like symptoms. The solution: Develop a positive outlook that would restore his confidence, reduce his sense of vulnerability, and boost his sense of power -- attributes he enjoyed earlier in his career.

First, he sat down with paper and pen and listed his achievements, from his days as a Little League all-star to his completion of a recent corporate restructuring. Then he listed his failures, which included being there for his family, other problematic relationships, and subordinates who hadn't met his expectations. Using these lists, he crafted guidelines to steer his thinking and behavior each day. Here's his program:

-- My family comes first. If the decision is between staying late to finish a project or attending a family gathering, family here I come.

-- Do "the right thing" first time, every time. I won't mislead, lie, or make promises I don't intend to keep. I will be guided by what I know to be right rather than by what is politically correct or expedient. If "yes" is the popular answer and "no" is the correct but unpopular answer, I will say "no."

-- There is nothing to fear but fear itself (with apologies to FDR). My anxieties come from fear of the unknown or fear of loss, or both. If I'm anxious about confronting a powerful individual or raising a difficult issue because of the potential consequences, I will nonetheless choose to confront.

-- Accept people and situations the way they are rather than the way I want them to be. I will recognize that the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of others belong to them. I will practice not judging people.

-- I will remove doubt from my mind. Whenever I catch myself focusing on the negative when someone is discussing their ideas, their work, or their concerns, I will seek out the positive. -- I will treat each day as a fresh start and enjoy the rest of the journey, one day at a time. Each day when I wake up, I will have learned from the mistakes I made the day before -- and then let them go. -- I will never, ever give up on the goals in my life. I will give myself time to succeed -- to fail my way to success, if necessary. If the decision is to give up on a goal or to give it a rest, I will choose the latter.

After adopting these simple rules, this leader stopped hitting the tranquilizer bottle. His anxious feelings and other symptoms were replaced with the "anything is possible" attitude he had enjoyed as a young corporate leader. He regained his confidence, renewed his focus on moving his company forward, and most important, reconnected with the people around him. He now understands the toll that failures and criticism can take on one's psyche and health. Granted, his epiphany didn't happen overnight. A year after creating his positive program, he still reviews it now and then -- whenever he feels a relapse coming on.

For this corporate leader, developing a positive program saved his second marriage, his family, his career, and his health. Maybe you know someone who's experiencing anxiety born of negativity. Present them with this true story as a gift, and it may change their life, too.

Have a merry holiday season and a happy New Year.

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