MANAGING STRESS AS A MANAGER/PROFESSIONAL
John Kyriazoglou*
Consulting experience and various international studies have shown that business managers (top, middle, bottom, etc.) and professionals in all fields: IT, Internal Audit, Compliance, External Auditing, Medical Services, Educational and Academic Services, etc., have very difficult and stressful jobs, in to-day’s business environment (increased workloads and demands, downsizing, unlimited-many times- ranges of accountability, too wide span of controls, increase emphasis on performance, etc.) and volatile socio-economic conditions of doing business across the globe. When you take into full consideration the full array of duties, roles and responsibilities in leading and managing their units, departments, organizations, etc., one thing becomes clear: business managers and professionals have difficult jobs. But how can a business manager and/or a professional handle this stressful environment? The "guidelines" set forth in this short article are based on various consulting experiences and sources and may be used when necessary to stimulate us mentally and morally, as a business manager or professional, and then resolve the situation troubling us, with specific actions and activities.
Guideline 1: Make the necessary changes with harmony and balance
Put happiness in its right perspective in your life.
If you must change in order to become happy, do it with a calm attitude and patience and by respecting your limits.
You must remember to balance happiness to other things in life.
Look inside you and you shall find harmony.
Guideline 2: Make silence your useful tool
Put silence in your life.
Be silent for at least 15 minutes every day.
Use silence to envision happiness and success.
Breathe slowly and get rid of all your negative thoughts.
Disregard physical pain and functions of the body.
Allow only pleasant, happy and harmonious thoughts to fill your mind.
Guideline 3: Preserve your-self
It is absolutely necessary to take care of your-self in order to be happy.
This does not mean to buy expensive goods, clothes, go on a consumer-spending journey, and generally buy a lot of things of no value to you.
It means to eat healthy foods, rest daily, pray and exercise both body and mind.
It means to respect your limits and to take care to fulfill your dreams.
Guideline 4: Love Nature
Get up close and personal with the natural world.
Ramble through forests, mountains, seas, and fields.
Get an intensive, hands-on learning experience.
Study and photograph objects of nature like flowers, plants, rivers, trees, lakes, insects, birds, fish and other animals.
Spend a day honing your identification skills for fauna and flora and discuss ecology, natural history, and plant lore, and the meanings of species' common and scientific names with experts and members of ecology groups.
Plant a tree in your home and parched local community land-spaces.
Involve others in planting and watering plants and trees.
Feed birds and provide them with small nests and water pedestals, full of water.
Expand your understanding of the meaning and contribution of the natural world.
Guideline 5: Pray (meditate) daily
The power of praying and meditation is tremendous.
Praying guards you against angry and irresponsible acts.
It lowers your egoism and self-centeredness.
It clears you from bad and jealous thoughts and acts.
It demolishes injustice.
It makes you more respectable and pious.
It frees you to think more clearly and wisely.
It opens your soul to hope and compassion.
It enables your heart and psyche to seek friendliness and love.
Guideline 6: How to handle failure
If I feel depressed: I will sing.
If I feel sad: I will tell a joke to myself to laugh, and I will read something cheerful and optimistic.
If I feel uncertain about something: I will act in a more positive and powerful way.
If I feel poor in material possessions: I will remind myself of the mental and spiritual goods I have.
If I feel inferior: I will think something wonderful that I have done before.
If I feel insignificant: I remember how precious I am to my own people and to my colleagues.
If I feel too confident: I will remember my failures.
If I feel too great: I will remember the moments of my shame.
If I feel too proud: I will remember the times I was weak.
If I am without a useful job to do: I will find something creative to complete.
If I'm not disciplined in my thoughts and my actions: I will reduce my activities and put priorities.
If I feel anxious: I will think in a positive and optimistic way.
If I feel that people are abandoning me: I will find ways to act with love, friendship and optimism.
Guideline 7: How to handle difficult people
1. Take a short walk outside of the location where the conflict has taken place.
2. Make silence your useful tool.
3. Use silence to envision happiness and success.
4. Breathe slowly and get rid of all your negative thoughts.
5. Allow only pleasant, happy and harmonious thoughts to fill your mind.
6. Think out a solution as regards the difficult person and situation.
7. Work out a mutually-agreed solution with the person(s) involved.
*Author’s Credentials
John Kyriazoglou, CICA, B.A(Hon), is an International IT and Management Consultant, author of the book ‘IT STRATEGIC & OPERATIONAL CONTROLS’ (published in 2010 by www.itgovernance.co.uk), and co-author of the book CORPORATE CONTROLS’ ( to be published in 2012 by www.theiic.org), with Dr. F. Nasuti and Dr. C. Kyriazoglou.
