Under Pressure: Understanding And Managing The Pressure And Stress Of Work

This book is about learning to live and work under pressure; or more specifically, it is about managing the negative aspects of pressure, because not all pressure is negative. Some pressures can be extremely pleasurable and rewarding—marriage, relocation, outstanding achievements—and without any form of pressure we might never achieve anything. But even positive pressure, when there is too much of it, can have harmful consequences to the unknowing.

In this book we take the view that individuals—once they understand their own relationship to and capacity for handling pressure—must themselves assume responsibility for managing the challenge it presents, and have the courage to seek advice or guidance if they need to. We believe at the same time that leaders in all organizations must take responsibility for recognizing when someone is feeling overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion or paralysis, and to understand that this is only a response, and not a failing or weakness. We need to encourage a culture that views managing pressure as being as important as servicing a car—vital to keep it operating smoothly and reliably.

Looking after yourself is the key to managing pressure, and in the following pages, we hope to present you with ideas, facts and information that will make it easier for you to do so.

About the Authors

Denis Sartain is a resident of New Zealand and a great fan of the country and its people. Born in Hong Kong to an English father and Chinese mother, he uses his cultural background to work with people worldwide.

From a background as a ship-broker in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, Denis has built up the business over the past 15 years to be a favoured supplier of tailored personal-development and behavioural-change programmes for a wide range of organizations.

He is a trained in clinical hypnosis, has run training for hospital consultants and general practitioners, and is much in demand as an executive coach by senior managers. His coaching clients include Orange plc, CIPD, Anglo American, Johnson & Johnson, The Wellcome Trust, Technicolor and several top UK legal firms.

Denis is External Faculty at Henley Business School at the University of Reading, one of the world’s top business schools. He also recently co-authored Coaching Essentials: Practical, Proven Techniques for World Class Executive Coaching (September 2009).

Maria Katsarou brings a wealth of hands-on corporate experience to the areas of coaching and executive development, having been employed with several major companies. She has worked in senior roles with leading multinationals including SCA Hygiene, Johnson & Johnson and Henkel-Ecolab (Athens and Düssel dorf), where she was responsible for providing the strategic direction, development, support, coordination and control of all HR activities.

Her last full-time role was HR director of Diageo Greece and Turkey. She has led initiatives that included setting up a Human Resources Department, embedding HR process and systems, introducing and being a catalyst for organizational change, as well as leading multi-cultural leadership programmes in Greece, Germany, South Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Maria grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is now based in Athens. She has a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational behaviour, and master’s degrees in human resources management and in psychology.

Maria is certified by the British Psychology Society to deliver MBTI, FIRO-B, CPI and 16PF, among other psychometric tools. She has tutored in management at the American College of Greece and also teaches at other academic institutions. She is a practising coach, holds the Henley Certificate in Coaching, and is on the Henley Register of Coaches. Fluent in English, French, German and Greek, Maria brings her international experience to the coaching and development environment.

Maria is co-founder of Our World Group, which specializes in running tailored in-house stress-management programmes for organizations world-wide.