Stress Express Tip: Complete What You Start

Get Fired Up By Handling Incompletions

Right now, examine your life. How many projects are you working on simultaneously? How many books have you started and not finished? How about unfinished articles you are reading or writing? All of those are incompletions!

Incompletions drain large amounts of energy and actually create stress. Anything from half-read newspaper to cluttered closets to the classic “to do” lists that never get finished; these are all incompletions. Incompletions are a form of self-sabotage which can create anxiety, worry and tension.

At #Boss2011 this week, my friend Carrie Wilkerson, the Barefoot Executive, talked about finishing. In my book Stress Express, I have an entire chapter devoted to completion. Robert Fritz wrote extensively about it in The Path of Least Resistance.

Why? Because we all know how important it is to maximize your effectiveness. We all have a finite amount of time and energy and anything that drags us away from high productivity time needs to be addressed. So if you are constantly feeling overwhelmed and like you have way too much on your plate, try these:

• Check your desk right now. What can you handle and FINISH in the next 10 minutes? Do it. Record it as a success.

• Recycle newspapers and magazines you are no longer reading. It’s ok if you didn’t read the whole thing. Declare it done!

• Examine your to do list. What items can you delegate? What really does not need to be done? Prioritize your list in terms of high leveraged items– ones that will have greatest ROI and take action on them.

You’ll immediately observe a difference in your energy, and you will feel a greater sense of satisfaction, productivity and well-being.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting without permission and author reference.

Sick Days Are Legitimate

Why Recovery Is a Leadership Responsibility

My husband once came down with a severe cold after working long hours under sustained pressure. Like many professionals, he rarely took sick days. But this time, he tried to push through and simply could not.

Twice he went to work, came home, and went straight to bed. He had no energy left to manage anything beyond recovery. And that was exactly what his body needed.

In many work cultures, pushing through illness is treated as commitment. In reality, it often accelerates exhaustion, resentment, and long-term burnout.

Why Sick Days Matter More Than We Admit

Sick days are legitimate. When someone is ill, recovering from surgery, or deeply exhausted, stepping away is not indulgence. It is necessary recovery. Time away from constant pressure allows the nervous system and immune system to stabilize.

For leaders and employers, this matters operationally as well. Supporting appropriate recovery reduces long-term health claims, prevents burnout-driven turnover, and protects institutional knowledge. Replacing an employee is far more costly than allowing them to recover fully.

Burnout often develops because recovery is delayed too long. Recognizing the legitimacy of rest is one of the earliest and most effective ways to prevent it.

Learn how leaders can intervene before exhaustion becomes burnout at Prevent Burnout.

Taking care of people is not a perk. It is leadership.

Stress Express Tip: Eat Pistachios!

Pistachios Calm the Body When Under Stress

Who knew? A study done by Penn State documents that eating pistachio nuts calms the body while under acute stress.

“A ten-year follow-up study of young men showed that those who had larger cardiovascular responses to stress in the lab, were more likely to contract hypertension later in life,” says Dr. Sheila G. West, associate professor of biobehavioral health.

West studied the impact of pistachios on standardized stressors of young men who had high cholesterol, but normal blood pressure. When pistachios were consumed during times of acute stress, they lowered the blood pressure in these men.

Pistachios are high in unsaturated fats and antioxidants, so keep a bag on hand when you know you will be stressed.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting without permission and author reference.

Be Proactive to Reduce Pressure and Regain Control

One of the fastest ways leaders accumulate stress is by constantly reacting to other people’s timelines. Missed deadlines, last-minute requests, and repeated vendor issues create unnecessary pressure that feels out of your control.

In most cases, the problem is not other people. The problem is the absence of a proactive system.

Why Proactivity Reduces Leadership Stress

Waiting for clients, employees, or vendors to change their behavior rarely works. A more effective approach is to anticipate needs, clarify expectations early, and create structure around timelines before pressure builds.

Proactive leaders do not eliminate uncertainty, but they dramatically reduce surprise.

Practical Ways to Be Proactive with Others

Ask forward-looking questions. Talk with clients and stakeholders about their plans for the next 6 to 12 months. Identify upcoming projects, decision points, and likely deadlines before they become urgent.
Schedule follow-ups in advance. Once timelines are discussed, place check-in dates on your calendar. Regular touchpoints prevent last-minute emergencies.
Set expectations with vendors early. Let vendors know when work is likely coming and ask them to reserve capacity. Clear communication reduces repeated breakdowns.

When you work proactively, you shift from reacting under pressure to leading with intention. Your pace becomes steadier, your decisions clearer, and your energy more sustainable.

This approach is a foundational element of a structured leadership resilience practice. You can see how proactive planning fits into a broader framework in the
Leadership Resilience System.

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Fire Up! Your Business Standards

You Do Have the Power to Stop Negative Behavior

No matter what kind of professional you are, CEO, executive, business owner, doctor, lawyer, manager, you have the right and indeed, the responsibility, to set standards for your workplace. Many fields have set standards already, from healthcare to law. However you can go further. You can set standards of excellence in work, but also standards in behavior and performance.

I was recently told, when discussing negative behavior of a high level professional, that “That’s just how they are.” I simply don’t accept that.

No matter what level you’re at, you are subject to behavioral standards and employment law experts agree. It’s very easy to build an “attitude, behavior and professional conduct” clause right into your policy manual and your employment contracts. It needs to be specific and clear about what is acceptable and flexible enough to help you achieve your results. It is not acceptable for anyone at any level to come in regularly in a bad mood, yell at the rest of the staff, complain and whine and make everyone else’s day miserable. That is unprofessional conduct and should not be tolerated.

Set the standards, put it in writing with your employment attorney, inform everyone, and refuse to settle for anything less. Good employees will be grateful and bad employees will leave- which is best for everyone.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting with permission and author reference.

Fire Up Your Communications at Work

If You Don’t Know What’s Going On, Ask

One of the hardest parts of any job is feeling like you are missing critical data you need. Sometimes that data is product and service-related and other times, it is personnel-related. If you are in a situation where you don’t know the guidelines, you don’t understand the dynamics or ramifications of a decision, or you are not sure of the politics around a given issue, ask someone wise whom you trust ( preferably someone higher up.)

Explain that you sense there might me something more to a given issue, and that you would like the history of it, Ask if they could they please share their perspective. Then, make your decision from a more informed viewpoint.

There are politics in every job, in every workplace. Some are minor and insignificant, others are insidious and unfortunately, critical to your success.

Diplomacy and tact are key in every workplace, and thinking rather than reacting will serve you well. It can be time consuming to flesh out all the dimensions to a given situation, but it may well be worth it if you want to be successful, get promoted and create greater results. When in doubt, ask. This kind of communication discipline is a core element of executive presence, especially in complex workplaces.

It is far better than assuming, which can frequently get you in trouble! Knowledge is power.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication 
or reprinting with permission and author reference.

FIre Up Performance with Praise

Management Tip: Catch People in Act of Doing it Right

At a recent networking function, I hugged a business associate and praised her for her recent accomplishments. She said “I wish they treated me this way at work.”

How sad that so many workplaces don’t emphasize praise, but rather just numbers and performance. Your employees will run through walls with a little praise and your resilient leadership skills in the face of adversity. While sales are more important than ever, the people making the sales are often overlooked.

To motivate your people, you MUST praise them, find out what is important to them and reward them. A handwritten card can go a long way. Catch people in the act of doing something right and specifically praise them for a job well done. Go on an active search for success in your people.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication
without acknowledging source or author.

Fire Up! Your Employee Success

Stress Express Tip: Give Crystal Clear Expectations to Your People

Stressed Out man is overwhelmed and burntout

Welcoa leader David Hunnicutt says that only 10% of all employers have crystal clear expectations for their employees. That’s especially astonishing when you need them to perform at high levels under significant pressure. If they don’t know exactly what is expected of them, how can they succeed?

David suggested managers sit with every employee and take out two 3×5″ cards. Each one write down what they think is expected of that employee. If the two cards don’t match, management needs to clarify. Otherwise your people will burn out quickly and be unhappy. 80% of the American workforce says they are burnt-out. Help prevent it by clarifying your expectations of your people.

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Protect Your Content in Blogs and Ezines

Fire Up! Your Intellectual Property Protection

If you regularly post on your blog or newsletter, protect your material. Tammy Hawk-Bridges of the blog Social Heavy shared two free websites that allow you to check if someone is using your content without permission: Copyscape and Plagium. Using Copyscape, I found someone had taken an entire paragraph from my blog and used in her blog without giving me credit. It’s possible she didn’t know better. I have contacted her to have her either remove it or credit me with having written it. Not crediting a source is a copyright infringement, and is both unethical and unprofessional. Always put a ©symbol on all your writing. (P.S. I am thrilled when someone wants to reuse my content, if they get permission and list me as the source.)

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Let Go of Control and Relieve the Stress in Your Relationships

Ignite the Fire of Good Communication with Others

Human beings are master control freaks; we all want what we want when we want it the way we want it- myself included. The problem is that other people have their own timetables and needs, and frequently, they conflict with ours.

An important lesson I continue to learn is to let go of control- on any level. Any attempts to cajole, manipulate, demand or force your needs on friends or loved ones will most likely be met with resistance and negativity.

Consider this: how do you feel when a parent or relative demands you visit them or forbids you to do something? Like most people, you probably bristle and want to rebel. The same is true of your loved ones. No adult wants to be told what to do when by a loved one or friend. At work. we are constantly dealing with pressure and we have built in resilience to that pressure but at home, we different expectations.

The solution: let go of control.

Release expectations and demands on others. If you need something, make a request, ask them if they would be willing to do such and such at a time that works for them, and then give them complete space to say yes or no. If they say no, accept it gracefully and back off. They may opt to do it on their own time or never. Be OK with that.

No one wants to be controlled. People want to be loved, appreciated and respected. Letting go of control and demands will improve your relationships.

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 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication