1. For Military Leaders and Managers
STRESS MANAGEMENT
For Military Leaders and Managers by
Dr. Barbara Turner
A University of Phoenix Asia Military Campus Public Service Presentation

2. Agenda Stress and Adaptability – Military Mandate
Psychological Hardiness
Leadership in Uncertain Times

3. Two Primary Stressors for Military Personnel
Uncertainty
Ambiguity

4. Sr. Enlisted
Goes beyond just traditional concerns of motivation, attitudes, job performance
Matins & Lopez,2002, p. 182

5. 2011 Defense Science Board Mandate
The military force of today must be highly adaptive
Able & Willing to Anticipate/ Accept the Need for change
Competency in Preparing for change
Ability to Implement Change Effectively & Efficiently
(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014)

6. Adaptive Performance Domains
Handling crises and emergencies
Handling Work Stress
Creative Problem Solving
Working with Ambiguity & Uncertainty
Learning New Tasks, Technologies, Procedures
Demonstrating Interpersonal adaptability
Demonstrating Cultural adaptability
Demonstrating Physical Adaptability
(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014

7. Components of Behavior
Intellectual Capacity
Psychological Hardiness
Emotions, Experiences. Ethics

8. Psychological Dimensions & Coping Mechanisms
Locus of Control
Self-Efficacy
Self Esteem
Tolerance for Ambiguity
Positive Affectivity
Low Risk Aversion
Openness to Experience
Beliefs and attitudes have a direct correlation with outcomes and are predictive of intentions and consequent behaviors.
Locus of Control - Your perception of your ability to control something
Self-Efficacy Your belief in how capable you are to organize and execute
Tolerance for Ambiguity tendency to perceive ambiguous situations as desirable; willingness to change your mind;
Self- Esteem - you internal perception of self- approving or disapproving of your personal competence and worthiness
Positive Affectivity - Positive outlook on life; engaging with life and with others; inquisitive when confronted with novel situations;
Risk Aversion - How well you relate to coping with change; differential attention to various stimuli in risky situations ; seeking risk in terms of potential gains
Judge, Thoresen, Pucik, Welborne, 1999

9. Psychological Hardiness
Existential quality of perceptions of self to the world, others, and work

10. Psychological Hardiness as Predictor
Direct evidence of reducing ill effects on health and performance
Significant stress buffer/moderator
Direct positive correlation between high adaptive performance & psychological hardiness
Direct effect on mental health during and post deployment
(Bartone, Kelly, & Mathews, 2014)

11. Stress Management Initiatives
ACT – Helps People Deal with Unpleasant Thoughts & Emotions
Coping Focused
Targets undesirable thoughts & Emotions Arouse by Work Stressors
Focuses on Acceptance & Goal Commitment
Encourages Creativity & Innovation
PBI
Stressor Focused
Seeking out & Alleviation of Stressor itself
Modifying Stressors
Brainstorming & Creativity
Limited to Individual or Work Groups
(Bond & Bunce, 2000)

12. Authentic Leadership Leading in Uncertainty
Self- Constancy
Situational Awareness
Self Awareness & Self-Regulation of Behavior
Narrative Identity & Ethics
Psychological Hardiness
Organizational Commitment
Professional Development
Engage in Stress Management Initiatives
Constant sameness that is faithful to its promises through fluid and changeable selfhood Narrative recounts how values and purposes of a person change over time and events, yet remain the values and purposes of the same individual. (Ricouer, 1992)
(Sparrowe, 2006)

13. Questions or Comments

14. References
Allen, J. (2013). Emotional intelligence. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services
Bartone, P., Kelly, D., & Mathews, M. (2014). Psychooogical hardiness predicts adaptability in militaryleaders: A prospective study. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(2).
Bond, F., & Bunce, D. (2000). Mediators of chage in emotion-focused and problem-focused worksite stress management interventions. Journal of Oxcxupational Health Psychology, 5(1),
Judge, T., Thoresen, C., Pucik, V., & Welborne, T. (1999). Managerial copimg with organizational change: A dispositional perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(1),
Matins, L., Lopez. (2012) Military hierarchy, job stress, and mental health in peacetime. Occupational Medicine,62, pp doi:10.109/occmed/kqs006.
Ricouer, P. (1992). Oneself as another. Chicago: The University of Chicago.
Sparrowe , R. (2005). Authentic leadership and the narrative self. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(2005),