Business Basics

Although some anxiety can keep an organization motivated, a stressed-out staff can undermine a company. Can you repair the mood and restore productivity on your tighter budget? Nationally known organizational engineer Jeffrey A. Miller thinks so and offers six such strategies in The Anxious Organization, 2nd Edition: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things.

To see if the advice applies locally, we took his tips to Suzanne Ramey, president of Human Resource Concepts in Fort Myers, and Nanci Smaby, a life coach in Naples.

Tip 1: Strive to be predictable.

Miller, who has experience as a family therapist, management consultant and executive coach, believes that the most successful companies are run by leaders with predictable behavior who stay true to the "rational system" of the company.

Ramey agrees. "Anxiety in the workplace has hit an all-time high," she says. "Everything that was predictable in the workplace is not predictable now." Regular meetings and constant communication are ways to keep staff "resilient" and informed.

Tip 2: Map the anxiety in your situation.

You know there’s a wave of nervousness in the office but you don’t know where it’s coming from. Miller advises drawing circles that represent you and your employees and arrows to map the path of the anxiety. The source might not be at the office; it could originate with an employee’s worried spouse or someone else.

It’s a "valid idea," says Ramey, as long as the boss doesn’t dig too much into the staff’s personal issues and knows when to bring in a conflict mediator or an HR specialist. "The worst thing that leaders can do is start analyzing and going beyond their expertise," she says.

Tip 3: Learn to take an "I-position."

In this economy, supervisors are forced to make more decisions that cause hard feelings. Miller says that trying to hide the truth from employees only causes more anxiety. Leaders must take what Miller calls an "I-position" and make decisions based on principles. In other words, decisions are made based on what the leader deems best for the company, regardless of workers’ feelings or personalities.

Smaby agrees that by shielding employees from the truth, rumors and fears could develop in the workplace. "If they’re going to lose their jobs, they’re going to lose their jobs," she says. Employers should strive to be sympathetic and compassionate in the face of difficult realities, she adds.

Tip 4: Calm yourself with a six-second vacation.

If you’re feeling anxious, inhale for two seconds, directing the breath to where you feel you need it. Exhale for two seconds, releasing the tension. Then, do nothing for two seconds, writes Miller.

"I think [a breathing exercise] is a great idea, and I use it with clients all the time," Smaby says. She also suggests visualization: Imagine your favorite place, for example, as a way to escape stress.

Tip 5: "Detriangle" yourself.

Triangling means bringing in a third person to a work relationship or conflict: You and Diane don’t agree who should take on a task, so you ask Joe what he thinks. If Joe agrees with you, your anxiety level may drop, but you’ve created a hostile triangle of you and Joe against Diane, Miller explains.

As a leader, focus on the issue, not the people involved, and ensure you have a solid relationship with each person in the triangle so they don’t feel isolated at work.

Ramey says this kind of executive intervention can work when the leader is totally objective and neutral. "But usually they have their own bias," she says. Instead, she suggests bringing someone in from outside the workplace to "detriangle."

Tip 6: Correct an overfunctioning/underfunctioning relationship.

Your company doesn’t have to be struggling to have this problem. Miller writes that overfunctioners take over responsibilities that belong to another person and underfunctioners let them, causing conflict and anxiety. If you go back to the "I-position" you can break this cycle, says Miller, by being clear on your responsibilities and role in the company.

Ramey says this is where a professional "team analysis" can be crucial. Using surveys and profiling tools, a human-resources professional can find out where the gaps are in a team. The solution might be adding staff to eliminate the weaknesses. "The greatest source of stress in a workplace is lack of communication and an unbalanced team," she says.