The Stress Effect: Why Smart Leaders Make Dumb Decisions--And What to Do about It - Hardcover

by Henry L. Thompson (Author)

Reveals the powerful and undermining effects of stress on good decision making-and what leaders can do about it

The ability to make sound and timely decisions is the mark of a good leader. But when leaders with otherwise strong track records suddenly begin making poor decisions-as seen in the recent corporate scandals that rocked the business world-the impact can be widespread. In The Stress Effect, leadership expert Henry L. Thompson argues that stress is often the real culprit behind this leadership failure: when leaders' stress levels become sufficiently elevated-whether in the boardroom or on the front line of a manufacturing process-their ability to effectively use their emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in tandem to make wise decisions is significantly impaired. Until now, experts have argued that increasing your emotional intelligence will help you cope with and manage stress. This book suggests that stress actually blocks access to your emotional intelligence as well as your cognitive ability, two critical components in the decision-making process. This book

• Shows how stress adversely affects the performance of even the most savvy leaders
• Reveals the truth about one of the prime factors behind the current failure of leadership
• Offers a solid prescription for building a "stress resilient system" and arms leaders with best practices for managing specific stressors that take the biggest toll on decision making
• Is written by an award-winning organizational psychologist and leadership consultant whose clients include a roster of Fortune 500 companies

A groundbreaking and insightful resource for leaders, The Stress Effect reopens the dialogue on stress, its effect on decision making, and what to do about it.

Front Jacket

The ability to make sound and timely decisions is the mark of a good leader. However, when leaders with otherwise strong track records suddenly begin making poor decisions--as seen in the recent corporate scandals that rocked the business world--the impact can be devastating.

In The Stress Effect, leadership expert Henry L. Thompson reveals that stress is often the culprit behind leadership failure. When leaders' stress levels become sufficiently elevated, their ability

to call on both emotional and cognitive intelli-gences to make wise decisions is dramatically impaired. Experts have argued that increasing your emotional intelligence will help you cope with and manage stress. But Thompson clearly shows that stress actually blocks access to

your emotional intelligence as well as your

cognitive intelligence, two critical components

in the decision-making process.

Drawing on examples from Green Berets on the battlefield to top-level executives in the boardroom, The Stress Effect explains how to make good decisions under extreme stress. The book also demonstrates how we can all develop a "stress resilient system" by focusing on three key areas--stress management capacity, cognitive resilience, and stress resilient emotional intelligence. Thompson also offers an innovative and solid prescription for managing specific stressors that have proven to take the biggest toll on the decision-making process.

The Stress Effect offers critical guidance for any leader under pressure, for those charged with selecting high-potential leaders, or for anyone who wants to understand how to manage stress in their own lives.

Back Jacket

Praise for The Stress Effect

"Henry (Dick) Thompson tackles the secrets of effective leadership and decision making--and does so with admirable insight, erudition, and authority. This is an

engaging must-read for executives, managers, and entrepreneurs aiming to

optimize their decision-making and leadership qualities."
--Elkhonon Goldberg, clinical professor of neurology, NYU School of Medicine

"The Stress Effect is an amazing integration of how to use the power of our

unconscious and emotions to make rational decisions. It can help you develop

your intuition."
--Richard E. Boyatzis, professor, Departments of Organizational Behavior,

Psychology, and Cognitive Science, Case Western Reserve University, and

coauthor, Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership

"The Stress Effect is superbly written. Every leader can grow personally and

professionally from the information it presents on how stress impacts the quality and timeliness of decisions. It should be required reading for CEOs, members of the National Security Council, all military commanders, and university leaders."
--Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, U.S. Army (Ret), former Comm-ander of First Army and Joint Task Force Katrina

"Thompson's timely book helps us better understand and improve how we think, decide, and act in severe and time-pressed situations. Stress is the ultimate testing ground of our personal values processed through our decision-making faculties."
--Aris Papadopoulos, CEO, Titan America

"Great leaders, as The Stress Effect tells us, make good decisions under bad conditions. Thompson offers original ideas and insights, honed through his rich experiences on the battlefield and as a consultant to C-level executives, which will season your decision-making judgment. Simply put, after reading The Stress Effect, you will be a much better leader who gets much better results."
--Bill Treasurer, CEO, Giant Leap Consulting

Author Biography

Henry L. Thompson, Ph.D., an award-winning organizational psychologist, leadership consultant, researcher, and author, is the founder and CEO of High Performing Systems, Inc., a leadership solutions provider. He is the creator of the Leadership Potential Equation, author of Jung's Function-Attitudes Explained and The Communication Wheel: A Resource Book, and coeditor of the Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence (Pfeiffer, 2009).