A stressed-out high achiever and his team reach the limit of resilience

Initial situation

In his late 20s, the stressed-out high achiever Andi has a responsible job as deputy store manager of a medium-sized grocery store. As the “go-to guy”, he is on his feet all day long. He is always on hand to help his colleagues when they are in need: he works at the checkout, taking over goods and putting them away. When home deliveries are due, he does them on his cargo bike – normally no problem for the keen amateur sportsman, who has successfully taken part in several Iron Man competitions.

He is physically fit and likes to be actively involved in all areas. Contact with his customers is particularly important to him, and Andi wants to be a good role model for his employees.

Nevertheless, the workload is constantly increasing, and Andi is noticing a change, particularly on a psychological level. Many thoughts revolve around how the work can be distributed among the existing team, especially when sick leave and vacations also have to be taken into account. Every unplanned absence makes it necessary to further challenge his already efficient team. He and his team are already doing much more, as two employees have already resigned and one apprentice position remains vacant.

The permanent staff shortage is also leaving its mark on Andi, who is slowly reaching the limits of his resilience and his team is also reproaching him for not doing enough to combat the precarious situation. Just last week, the working atmosphere was in the cellar again because employees could no longer hide their frustration, even from customers.

Problem solving through coaching

The high workload cannot be maintained in the long term. The stressful working atmosphere, the constant extra work that leads to pent-up frustration and the accusations are an alarm signal. Andi decides not to try to solve the problem alone, but to involve his team and external consultants. As a responsible manager, he sees himself in the role of shaper.

Do Andi’s sensitivities sound all too familiar to you?

The problem can be solved step by step in an effective coaching workshop:

1. Andi as a stressed-out high achiever likes to be active and registers on betterlinked.eu to requests effective workshops for himself and his team. He needs creative solutions that will have a lasting positive effect on his team and their future work.

2 Where do we start? With the glass half empty or half full. Of course it is important to address critical points openly, but our goal for the future is characterized by optimism.

3. The situation of constantly losing employees is no fun for anyone. Helplessness spreads, in which areas does Andi have options for action? Regaining self-efficacy allows him to influence the current situation himself.

4. Acceptance is the most difficult point, only when you accept to a certain extent that you only have limited influence on some decisions does the brain become active and look for solutions. Otherwise we remain stuck in the “why?

5 Andi is ready to take on his share of the responsibility. Due to the hectic pace everywhere, he has neglected to work on the team culture. But he also passes on the responsibility to each of his employees. Together, we consider what part of the responsibility for a motivating team culture each individual can bear. What is your contribution?

6 In the supermarket, it is also important to act as a team. So you need a network to be able to rely on others and support each other. Small groups relieve each other. At the same time, Andi regularly posts the results of the teamwork on betterlinked.eu and gets further valuable tips from the community.

7. Permanent stress has brought problem thinking into focus. Everyone used to be so proud of their solution orientation. They won many internal company prizes for their innovative strength. We all agree that we want to get back to that. From the community comes the suggestion to add the “yes and” question to every “yes but” objection – in other words, to allow more ideas instead of limiting yourself!

8 Parallel to the workshops, all employees use the platform betterlinked.eu free of charge to receive individual stress tips. As a sportsman, Andi mainly uses tips on exercise.

The result WIN – WIN – WIN for the stressed-out high achiever and his team

Working on resilience helps to focus on the positive side of things rather than just the unpleasant effects of stress. As a result, Andi and his team managed to reduce unpleasant feelings and develop more understanding for each other’s decisions. The positive mindset increases the chance that values in the team that were thought to have been lost, such as fairness, appreciation and recognition of work performance, work allocation and leadership, will be lived and perceived differently. The team grows closer together again, and together with Andi they ensure more room for maneuver, security and empowerment.

Conclusion

– 15% higher productivity

– Resilient employees are flexible and can adapt quickly to a changing business environment

– Resilient employees are good problem solvers, obstacles are there to be overcome

– Mistakes are learning opportunities for improvement

– Resilient employees trust in their own abilities, they proactively contribute to solving problems