How to Help Employees Lead and Deal With Stress

What turns employees into good leaders? Is it providing them with extensive training before they take on new tasks, or is it throwing them into trial-by-fire situations in which they learn as they go? New research from Dr. Scott DeRue of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan supports the latter, as long as employees don't exceed their maximum stress level.

DeRue's forthcoming article, "Developing Leaders via Experience," posits that once employees become overwhelmed by pressure, the skills they develop in challenging situations will peak, and then tail off. The article will appear in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
In order to help employees keep their stress under control -- and therefore reap rewards from challenging tasks -- DeRue suggests that managers do the following:

1. Frame mistakes as learning opportunities
If employees think they will get fired after one slip up, the stress of the job can negate the leadership skills they could be gaining.

"The difference is between the person thinking that it's an opportunity to learn and develop or thinking, 'I'm in a tough position and I have to show the boss I can perform,'" DeRue says. "The idea of proving that you can perform and avoiding mistakes at all costs is actually harmful."

2. Implement formal feedback
"If you are in an organization that has extensive feedback mechanisms in place, so that you get feedback from your supervisor or peers on a regular basis, our data suggests you are less susceptible to this idea of too much stretch, too much challenge," DeRue states.

3. Develop opportunities for mentoring and other forms of social support
DeRue's research points to the importance of learning from colleagues and having a strong support network in order to learn from a stressful job and not become overwhelmed.

The article emphasizes that there is no uniform amount of stress that will cause employees to shut down and quit developing as leaders, so it's important for managers to gauge when pressure is helping employees develop, and when it's creating trauma.

"There is such a thing as too much stretch and too much challenge for individuals -- the key is figuring out what the optimal level of challenge is for each individual," DeRue explains.

Storefront image courtesy of Flickr user aturkus, CC 2.0