Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies

6.1. THE STRESS OF LEADING

Some leaders describe life on the leadership landscape as being similar to living every day in a blender, waiting for someone to push the puree button. Leadership is stressful and all leaders do not seem to have the same ability to make effective decisions under high levels of stress. From the 17th century until the middle of the 1900s, stress was defined as what happened when you put a load on a bridge (Lazarus, 1999). Then, Hans Selye (1978) redefined stress, and in so doing, created what some have called the "20th century disease."

Selye defined stress as the body's non-specific response to any demand made on it—whether you win a million dollars or lose a million dollars, you will experience stress. The appropriateness ...