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Stress for success: How to optimize yourperformanceWalter H. Gmelch aa Associate professor and director of professional certification in theCollege of Education , Washington State UniversityPublished online: 05 Nov 2009.

To cite this article: Walter H. Gmelch (1983) Stress for success: How to optimize your performance, TheoryInto Practice, 22:1, 7-14

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405848309543031

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Walter H. Gmelch

Stress for Success:How to Optimize Your Performance

"Sometimes I think I'd be better off if I foundanother line of work." The words were not thoseof a principal squeezed in the middle or a teacherdepressed from pressure; they came from an ac-complished superintendent looking for a new chal-lenge. What is perhaps most surprising is that itwas too little pressure, and not too much, whichled to this reaction. Boredom can, in fact, be justas lethal as the popularized burnout syndrome,whether you are a superintendent or teacher.

Recently, both popular and professional jour-nals have blamed organizational stress for em-ployee ills ranging from hay fever to heart failure.Often, the response has been one of two extremes.At one end, the organization will embrace this con-cern about stress and immediately adopt programsfor stress reduction. Others have developed a back-lash, taking the attitude, "If the job's too soft, youlose your mental acuity." Both sides lose sight ofthe fact that performance problems in organizationscan result from either too much or too little stress.Optimum performance comes from converting ten-sion from an enemy into an ally; from a needlessStressor to a creative motivator. Therefore, stressbecomes an enemy only when too much or toolittle is produced (Levi, 1972).

This article explores the linkage between stressand effective performance. As researchers havediscovered, the effects of stress on performanceeludes precise measurement. Our goal, however, is

Walter H. Gmelch is associate professor and director ofprofessional certification in the College of Education atWashington State University.

to search for ways to generate the proper amountof stress for optimum stimulation and performance:first, to stimulate us to become effective educatorsand second, to control stress in order to maintainour effectiveness.

The Competitive Edge

The classic test of this link between stress andperformance was conducted on 60 Little Leaguebaseball players from four teams over their entireseason of 36 games (McGrath, 1976). The research-ers studied the stress of being up at the plate andhow well the players performed. Each time theystepped up to bat, measures were taken of theirlevel of excitement or arousal (pulse rate, breathingrate, and behavior while in the on-deck circle); bat-ting performance (how well they hit the ball); suc-cess at the plate (runners being advanced, runsscored); pressure on the batter (the degree thebatter's performance would affect the game); crit-icalness (the potential effect of the game on theteam's season success); and the ability of the op-posing pitcher (task difficulty).

Two relationships were observed. First, whenthe batter's performance was measured against hisarousal level, the Little Leaguer's batting perform-ance increased in a positive linear fashion as hisarousal level increased (holding the ability of theopponent constant). The second relationship meas-ured the performance of the batter against theability of the opposing pitcher—task diffi-culty—while holding the batter's arousal constant.As might be expected, the batter's performance

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(5.0)Corrective/Maintenance for High Performance

(2.0)Nature of

Work

Quality &Quantityof Work

Perceived Ability( i .Ojto Successfully

Accomplish Work

(3.0)Work-Individual

Suitability

(4.0)State of

Performance

Assignments> Capacity of Indiv. Burnout

Assignments= Capacity of Indiv.

PeakPerformance

Assignments< Capacity of Indiv.

Rustout

Figure 1. From disability to ability.

Burnout

Break up Continuous People Contacts

Know What Stress Your Job Entails

Say No

Delegate Responsibility

Break Large Projects into Smaller Parts

•Peak Performance

Establish Goals

Take Control of Your Time

Maintain Sound Health

Know Your Stress Points

•Rustout

©

Stay Alert

Take Risks

Avoid Isolation

Stretch for Success

Overcome Obsolescence

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decreased in a negative linear manner as the op-posing pitcher's ability increased.

When we combine the effects of arousal andtask difficulty on the batter's performance, we finda much different relationship between stress andperformance—not ,a linear one, but one that re-sembles an inverted U-shape. That is, at low levelsof stress or demand, performance is low becausearousal is low. There is not enough stimulation topeak one's performance. At the high levels of stressabsolute performance is also low, not becausearousal is high, but in spite of it, because the taskdifficulty is so high. At moderate amounts of stresswe find the optimum levels of performance.

Relating the implications of the Little Leaguerstudy to our jobs, we can postulate that the ef-fectiveness of job performance depends on threeconditions: (1) our state of arousal or stimulation;(2) our talents and capabilities to meet the chal-lenges of management; and (3) the difficulty ornature of the workload we have to achieve. Let'selaborate on each of these conditions influencingthe relationship between stress and performance.

1. Level of arousal/stimulation. What is therelationship between stimulation and stress? Inter-estingly, researchers have found stress is high un-der low as well as high levels of stimulation—underconditions of both distress and eustress (Levi, 1972).Proper levels of moderate stimulation, therefore,become important in providing productive levels ofstress.

2. Perception of managerial ability. The stateof arousal or stimulation you experience dependsa great deal on your perception of whether or notyou can perform the job well. Can you meet thechallenge of the task at hand? This perceptiondepends both on past experiences (successes andfailures) as well as the talents you bring to yourjob.

3. Nature of workload. The third condition inthe formula for effective performance is the difficultyof the workload you are required to perform, bothin terms of the number of tasks to be done andthe difficulty of each task. These measures of quan-titative and qualitative workload largely depend onhow accurate your perception is of the task difficultyas opposed to your perceived ability to achieve thetask. The key to optimum job performance restsin the balance of difficulty and ability.

Definite implications can be drawn from thethree conditions outlined in the Little League study.Take a few minutes to refine and more completelyinvestigate the relationship between stress and yourjob performance. First, a flow chart is developed

to explain the relationship among the three con-ditions. This chart is then converted into a stressand performance curve. Next, discover how to op-timize, maintain, and stabilize your performance inthe most productive manner.

Figure 1 represents a flow chart on the natureof stress and performance. As was the case withthe Little Leaguers, several conditions are importantin the performance process. Condition one (1.0)represents your perceived ability to successfullycomplete your work. In other words, do you feelyou have the skills and talents to meet the chal-lenges ahead of you? Your workload, condition two(2.0), can be thought of as both the quality andquantity of work. Quality refers to the difficulty orcomplexity of the tasks you have to perform,whereas quantity represents the number of assign-ments, projects, tasks, and so on that must becompleted.

Condition three (3.0) assesses the fit betweenyour work and your ability. How well does your jobmatch your skills? You may perceive that the num-ber or complexity of your assignments is (a) beyond,(b) equal to, or (c) below your present capabilities.

Condition four (4.0) represents the state ofperformance which results from the match or mis-match between your capabilities and workload. Ifyou feel your job is over your head, beyond yourpresent abilities, you may suffer from "burnout,"being overemployed in your present job (4.a). Ifyour job does not present you with enough chal-lenge (tasks being relatively simple, routine, andunstimulating), then you may suffer from "rustout"or the underemployment of your skills (4.c). Optimalperformance results from the complexity and chal-lenges of your job equaling your capacity. Underthis condition, you neither suffer from rustout orburnout but are optimally stimulated for peak per-formance (4.b).

Depending on your state of performance, con-dition five (5.0) suggests some strategies for re-aligning yourself so your challenges equal orapproximate your capabilities, giving you optimumeffectiveness. These will be discussed in the lastsection of this article.

The Stress and Performance Curve

For now, let's translate this flow chart into astress and performance graph so you can see howwell you are doing. Twenty years ago, if we askededucators to relate how well their students per-formed under varying degrees of stress (from lowto high), their responses might resemble a positive

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and linear relationship: give them more tests,quizzes, and stress and they will perform better.However, given the evidence just reviewed, this maynot always be the case.

Note the basic orientation of the stress andperformance relationship on the curve in Figure 2;stress ranges from low to high along the horizontalaxis, performance ranges from low to high on thevertical axis, and the curve resembles a bell-shape.The curve is divided into three zones of stimulation:under, optimum, and over. Finally, notice the hor-izontal "life line" slightly up from the base of thegraph. These features suggest several propertiesof your performance curve to be explored (Gmelch,1980).

The life line. This life line connotes low to noperformance due to too little or too much stress.These are extreme points. On the left side recallsome educators who, with 15 years of experience,have only one year of experience 15 times over.They may be physically alive but are professionallydead. At the other extreme you may recognizefriends who have gone too long, too hard, and nowhave gone beyond the burnout stage to a pointwhere they either physically or professionally haveceased to exist.

Stimulation zones. The first zone, that of un-derstimulation, can be typified as the trauma ofuneventfulness. People resting here are under-challenged and suffer from boredom, fatigue, frus-tration, and dissatisfaction. Educators resting heretoo long literally rust out from sitting in the samejob without periods of variety, change, or stimu-lation to keep their motivation high. Either theirskills or jobs have become obsolete or routine,leaving them with little or nothing to do that requiresexcitement or challenge.

At the other extreme rests those who havebeen going too hard for too long and now findthemselves burned out. Here we find the ambitious,aggressive, and impatient who have not yet learnedtheir limitations and literally work themselves intoextinction. They become irrational problem solvers,exhausted from working long hours, dissatisfiedfrom working without results, and despondent fromloss of self-esteem.

Stress should not be considered, however, onlyin terms of the extremes of rustout and burnout.In itself and in the proper amounts, stress is notbad. It is much like your body's temperature; youmust have it to stay alive. You call the doctor andapply treatment only when temperatures run aboveor below normal. The prescription is logical: in-

10 Theory Into Practice

crease the stress intake (take on more heat) whenunderstimulated and decrease stress intake (get outwhen it's too hot) when overstimulated. The goalin the middle zone is to keep performance at peaklevels by creating the right amount of stress tofunction under optimum stimulation. Here is whereeducators engage in rational problem solving, crea-tivity, productive change, progress, and real jobsatisfaction.

Burnout vs. rustout. The equal size and pro-portion of the under and overstimulation zones doesnot imply equal numbers of managers can be foundin each zone, or that similar dangers exist betweenbeing rusted out and burned out. While stress un-derload afflicts significant numbers of people, theproblem of too much stress plagues an even greaternumber of educators. However, being burned outis not worse than being rusted out. The oppositeholds true. Most people feel they would rather wearout than rust out, and research evidence supportsthis notion. It is far more serious to err in thedirection of too little pressure than too much.

The dynamic curve. Don't view this curve assimplistic or static. Employees can't be classifiedas either continually burned out or rusted out.Everyone rolls up and down between zones de-pending on the type of activity and the period oftime (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly cycles). Forexample, some administrators may be just gettingwarmed up by 9 a.m., starting the ascent up thestress curve to their peak period of the day. By 4p.m., they may be sliding down the stress curveinto a state of burnout. But being burned out atthe end of the day does not necessarily mean theyhave to enter their front door at home in the samecondition. The optimum stimulation zone can andshould vary from one part of one's life to the next.Many temporarily burned out or rusted out edu-cators find revitalization in their hobbies and specialinterests (Swent & Gmelch, 1977). The trick is toknow where you are on the curve, when you areat optimum performance, and how to stay at peakperformance over long periods of time.

Let's now turn our attention to how to maintaineffectiveness. How can we prevent ourselves fromslipping off again into either "less than optimal"zone? Listed below are some techniques which canbe used for preventative maintenance and resist-ance against first rustout and then burnout (Gmelch,1982). Each nonperformance condition requires dif-ferent techniques; much as we spray Rustoleum toprevent corrosion or apply oil to reduce friction.

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STRESS AND PERFORMANCE

HIGH

ance

E

CDQ -CD

_>

U

Lu"oCDCDO)CDQ

LOW

UnderstimulationZone

Coping Strategy:Increase Stress Intake

// * boredom

/ * fatigue/ * frustration

/ * dissatisfaction/

//

/1y Life Line

• ^ ^ t ^ Death from lack of stress

OptimumStimulation

Zone

.- ^

* creativity* rational

problemsolving

* progress* change* satisfaction

OverstimulationZone

Coping Strategy:Decrease Stress Intake

\\

\\

\* irrational \

problem \solving \

* exhaustion \* illness \* low self-esteem \

\

Death f rom exs t ress < £ - l ^ ^ " * l

LOW Degree of stress HIGH

Figure 2. The stress and performance curve.Adapted from Beyond Stress to Effective Management(Gmelch, 1982), p. 29. ©1982. Printed with permission.

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Rustout Prevention

Stay alert. Participate in special interest activ-ities (hobbies and pastimes not related to your job)to promote self-confidence and competence in areasoutside your profession. Find activities that provideyou with meaning, reward, and satisfaction.

Take risks. Be bold and take enough risks soyour skills are challenged, but not so many thatyou are overwhelmed. Remember, a turtle makesprogress only when it sticks its neck out. We areall anxious to achieve security, growth, and fulfill-ment. Growth and productivity result from takingrisks. Stagnation emanates from not seeking chal-lenges. Don't fear failure. As Will Rogers astutelyput it: "Even if you are on the right track, you'llget run over if you just sit there."

Avoid isolation. Under duress, many begin towithdraw from social interaction with their staffmembers, friends, and family. Isolation can drawyou further into depression, so keep the commu-nication lines open with your associates and friends.

Stretch for success. Probably the most impor-tant relationship is the one between stress andsuccess. People are not highly motivated if theyview goals as either almost impossible or a cinch.Motivation is highest when there is a 50 percentprobability of success—it keeps you on your toes,stretching for success. Any coach knows a teamperforms best when there are even odds of winning,or that "on any given day any given team can beatanother." We always need hope, for without hopethere is no desire.

Overcome obsolescence. In times of rapidchange and technological advances, an educator'sskills acquired in preservice college training quicklybecome obsolete if not updated through inservicetraining opportunities. Probably one of the greatestfears today is that of becoming obsolete or datedin our subject matter. Avail yourself of the numerousinservice opportunities to make sure you becomeperiodically updated on the newest thinking in thefield. Keep yourself on the "cutting edge" of knowl-edge. As Robert N. Coons says, "If the job is ascomfortable as an old shoe, you're not allowing forgrowth."

Burnout Prevention

Break up continuous people contacts. Whilerustout prevention suggests avoiding isolation,burnout results from the opposite condition—toomany people taking up too much of your time. Someeducators suffer from what can be called "en-counter stress," from continuously dealing with

12 Theory Into Practice

people all day long. For them the opposite remedyprovides relief—schedule blocks of time in your daywhen you can find a quiet spot and plan, write, orread without interruption. Your productivity will in-crease and your tension decline.

Know what stress your job entails. Don't becaught off guard when you find out education isloaded with stress. Know in advance what stressyour job entails: that the demands are high, chal-lenges great, and time insufficient. Those who arenot prepared for the conflicts and risks inherent toeducating students may suffer the most.

Say no. Many educators confuse assertivenesswith aggressiveness. Assertiveness merely meansspeaking up for your personal rights as an individualin a nonthreatening, nonevaluative manner. Youdon't have to be hostile to be assertive—just firm,forthright, and, at times, repetitive. For example,when students come to you with monkeys (prob-lems) on their backs, help them think how to solvethe problem. If you don't and they leave the mon-keys with you, your room will soon be full of mon-keys!

. Delegate responsibility. Excessive responsibilitymanifests burnout. Educators fail to delegate re-sponsibility to their staff and students because theyfeel indispensable—only they can get the job doneright. Wouldn't a little bit less than perfect satisfymost job requirements? By delegating, you alsohelp others to take on more responsibility and au-thority so they, too, can feel fulfilled.

Break large projects into smaller parts. Thethought of a monumental project hanging over yourhead is enough to burn anyone out before theyhave a chance to tackle it. Most projects can bebroken into smaller, more manageable components;so break them down and treat each as a separatetask with its own timeline and set of requirements.Once divided, you can conquer each separately. Asthe old adage goes: by the mile it's a trial, by theyard it's hard, by the inch it's a cinch.

Notice that prevention strategies for rustoutand burnout sometimes suggest much differenttechniques for reaching optimum performance.Rustout prevention plans suggest techniques toincrease the intake of stress by cultivating outsideinterests, seeking companionship, avoiding isolationfrom staff members, taking risks, stretching forsuccess, and acquiring new skills. In contrast, strat-egies for preventing burnout are based on reducingthe intake of stimulation, breaking up continuouspeople contacts, recognizing how much stress yourjob entails, being assertive, delegating more re-sponsibility, and reducing large projects to smaller

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components. As you can see, the philosophy ofeach prevention program rests on different as-sumptions—to increase or reduce the amount ofstress in one's present occupation. In other words,the goal is to move from either end zone into themiddle for high performance.

Stabilizing Optimum Performance

Use the strategies for burnout and rustout pre-vention to help you increase or cut back your jobstress. Once you've maintained your position ontop of the stress and performance curve, work atstabilizing your position.

A holistic approach toward developing a stableprofile is much like a four-legged table: one of thelegs represents a strong set of goals; the secondleg, one's ability to take control of the job; thethird, a solid foundation of good health, fitness, andnutrition; and the fourth, knowledge of one's bodilyand behavioral stress warning signs. Together theybuild a stable table. If any one of these four legsis weak, broken, or fractured, it affects the utilityand effectiveness of the other three and the balanceof the entire table. All four legs must be strong andin position to keep you in the optimum performancezone.

Establish and update goals. Research empha-sizes the importance goals play in maintaining per-sonal and professional satisfaction. Yet Timemagazine reported that only 3 percent of the peoplein the United States have actually written theirgoals. Therefore, we need to first establish ourgoals. Secondly, we must recognize that goals andobjectives are not static endpoints but change aswe pass through the ages and stages of our ca-reers. Thus, our goals should be revised and up-dated seasonally, at different ages of life, and duringdifferent stages of our career. The importance ofhaving a set of guidelines as a stress filter cannotbe overemphasized.

Take control of your job. As you may havediscovered, control represents the key concept ofstress/management; it rests at the foundation ofevery effective manager. Improper amounts of stressinfiltrate our lives when we lose control; when welet others "pull our strings."

Many take-control techniques can be found un-der the rubric of effective time management: sched-ule your task, screen your telephone calls, closeyour door, set priorities, and take time to plan. Thebasic strategy for managing stress is to find thoseStressors over which you have some control, takecharge, and manage them. Thus, stress control

becomes one of the major avenues leading to abalanced life and puts you on top of the perform-ance curve.

Maintain a foundation of sound health, fitness,and nutrition. Achieving a high level of performancebegins with controlling and managing your job andyour life; but maintaining your physical and psy-chological acuity takes much more than just mentalcontrol. You should aim at maintaining high per-formance through a multiphasic attack. That is, itis not enough just to be mentally alert; your bodyand mind v/ork together. Much like weight control,it takes more than exercise to lose a few extrapounds. It takes exercising more, eating less, andeating the right foods. Much in the same manner,maintaining a positive posture toward stress beginswith a multiphasic attack which includes exercise,proper nutrition, relaxation, and self-responsibilityfor one's health and well-being. In essence, live bythe ideal of Wellness; not just a state of being freefrom illness but a way of life which goes beyondbeing healthy to self-responsibility.

Know your stress point. The surest way ofmaintaining your level of high performance is torecognize when you are under too little or too muchstress. If we are sensitive and listen to our bodies,we can detect when we're not performing at theoptimum speed; for "it's not the miles but themileage" that affects performance. Cars operatemost efficiently not at 5 or 10 miles an hour norat 70 or 80, but at moderate speeds where theyreceive optimum fuel efficiency.

Just as cars gasp, knock, or ping, we too haveearly warning signs when our bodies are not func-tioning at top efficiency. We call them "early warn-ing signs" because they let us know something isnot going well, and if we don't give ourselves thecare and repair needed we may be headed for amajor breakdown. These early warning signs comein the form of bodily and behavioral cues.

Naturally, the strategy for alleviating earlywarning signs would be to identify those attributableto rustout as contrasted to those from burnout.Paradoxically, many of the early warning signs ofstress underload are quite similar to those for stressoverload. For example, fatigue, dissatisfaction,sleeplessness, and absenteeism result from beingeither over or understimulated. Use your own per-ception. Most of us have become immune or in-sensitive to these early warning signs. We need tolisten more to our bodies and behaviors for thesesigns; for stress can be the spice of life, if wehandle it right.

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ReferencesBuck, V. Working under pressure. London: Staples Press,

1972.Cooper, C.L., & Marshall, J. Occupational sources of

stress: A review of the literature relating to coronaryheart disease. Journal of Occupational Psychology,1976, 49, 11-28.

French, J.R.P., & Caplan, R.D. Psychological factors incoronary heart disease. Industrial Medicine, 1970,39, 383-397.

Gmelch, W.H. Improve management skills by removingstress. San Jose, Calif.: Lansford Publishing, 1980.

Gmelch, W.H. Release from stress. Eugene, Oreg.: OregonSchool Study Council, 1981.

Gmelch, W.H. Beyond stress to effective management.New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1982.

Howard, J., Cunningham, D., & Rechnitzer, P. Rustingout, burning out, bowing out: Stress and survival onthe job. Toronto: Financial Post Books, 1978.

Kahn, R., Wolfe, D., Quinn, R., & Snoek, J. Organizationalstress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. NewYork: John Wiley and Sons, 1964.

Levi, L. Stress and distress in response to psychologicalstimuli. Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon Press, 1972.

McGrath, J.E. Stress and behavior in organizations. InM.D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and or-ganizational psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally Col-lege Publishing, 1976.

Swent, B., & Gmelch, W. Stress at the desk and how tocope creatively. Eugene, Oreg.: Oregon School StudyCouncil, 1977.

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