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FEATURED ARTICLE
Top management high in stress tolerance
Published: May 2007
More than a third of senior executives and managers have a high degree in stress tolerance, based on a recent survey.
NFI Research of Madbury, N.H., measured the level of stress tolerance, one of 12 executive skills, in a global survey of 144 senior executives and managers.
Executive skills are brain functions or cognitive skills that neuroscientists have located in specific regions of the brain, primarily the frontal lobes. These brain functions develop starting at birth and they're hardwired into every person and fully developed by adulthood.
The executive skill of stress tolerance is the ability to thrive in stressful situations and to cope with uncertainty, change and performance demands.
Every person has a set of 12 executive skills (self-restraint, working memory, emotion control, focus, task initiation, planning/prioritization, organization, time management, defining and achieving goals, flexibility, observation and stress tolerance).
Each person has two or three that are their strongest and two or three that are their weakest, and they are not dramatically changeable for life.
Slightly more than a third (35 percent) of executives and managers were high in stress tolerance while only 4 percent were low in the skill. The remainder, just more than half, had a medium level.
"A person high in stress tolerance would tend to view unexpected obstacles as interesting challenges to be overcome," said author and NFI Research CEO Chuck Martin.
A person high in stress tolerance would have a high tolerance for ambiguity and be emotionally steady in a crisis. They would be able to handle deadlines being moved up.
"I strive on the ability to make a difference in my field," said one respondent who completed the questionnaire. "When the stress level rises in the room it indicates the time to perform if you want to make a difference."
There are more senior executives (38 percent) high in the skill than managers (34 percent) and the same percentage (4 percent) of senior executives and managers are low in the skill.
NFI Research surveys 2,000 senior executives and managers globally every two weeks.
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