Achieving under Pressure – Lessons from High Performance Environments

1. Achieving under Pressure – Lessons from High Performance Environments Professor Dave Collins PhD CPsychol. CSci. FSMA P2E Associates

2. Part 1: Tuning your engine Natural Rhythms & Nutrition

3. Rhythms- Natural and Not So Natural! SNAPSHOT 2 TLX Total=167 Cortisol=585 Hydration OK SNAPSHOT 3 TLX Total=103 Cortisol=350 Hydration OK SNAPSHOT 1 TLX Total=101 Cortisol=380 Hydration OK

4. Daily Peaks and Troughs • Natural peaks and troughs • 14.00 and 19.00 slumps • Engineered peaks and troughs • Change of activity • The 90 minute barrier • Meaningful breaks • The fag Break Advantage • Snacks, drinks and walks

5. Drinking for Performance • Hydration • 1.5-2 Litres per day (12 glasses of water!) • >1% Bodyweight loss impacts mood, anger control, balance and cognitive function • >2% can lead to 20% drop in performance • (Sharma et al., 1986. Ergonomics, 29(6), 791-799) • 3% is not unusual • SOME other drinks are OK • Resist the Volvic Challenge • Watch your total caffiene

6. Eating for Performance AVOID THE SUGAR RUSH Chocoholics and biscuit fiends beware GRAZING Little and often (helps weight management too) Eat early (Breakfast crucial) BALANCE Complex carbs for energy, protein to maintain ‘balance’ Avoid the “Eat and run” effect

7. GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS) STRESSOR ADAPTIVE ABILITY RESISTANCE PHASE EXHAUSTION COUNTERSHOCK SHOCK ALARM PHASE TIME

8. THEORETICAL ASPECTS: DELAYED ADAPTATION TO AN EXERCISE STIMULUS (YAKOLEV 1965; 1977) + 4 3 O PERFORMANCE 2 1 1 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE (FATIGUE?) 2 RECOVERY 3 OVERCOMPENSATION 2 + 3 DELAYED TRAINING ADAPTATION 4 DETRAINING - TIME STIMULUS

10. STRESS IMPACTS • Extreme stress can result in breakdown • Impacts immune system – frequent minor infections • Impacts motor control system – clumsiness and injury rate • Affects mood, sleep, libido, stiffness, libido, vigour, libido, appetite, libido, sweat rate, libido etc.

11. So remember…. STRESS IS ADDITIVE AND NON-SPECIFIC IN ITS IMPACT The Zulu Principle!

12. EXTRAS FOR THE BUSINESS SETTINGThe magnifying effect of a “small” problem IMAGINE ..You are a high speed computer, one of the best around. Any problem (e.g. A ‘hassle’) uses up working capacity and slows you down. You need to work harder to get the same result. BUT…You are a person, better than a computer! The problem slows you down…and (being human) you also WORRY about the problem. For every one unit that a computer would lose, the effect is often TRIPLED because of our tendency to ruminate.

13. The “Frazzle Factor”Daily hassles and Under-Recovery

14. Your OWN Support Plan • Eat, drink and be recovered! • Micro, meso and macro cycle impacts • Control the controllables • An emphasis on eliminating daily hassles • “I’m just a boy who can’t say…..” • Managing up – Negotiate time blocks • Managing down – Red Flags and ZULU adjustments • Planning and using work blocks • Proactive variation and reactive recovery • Time to recover/Time to prime Just like the athletes – “LISTEN TO YOUR BODY”

15. Part 2: Changing the Arena Accentuating positives VERSUS ENSURING positives and minimising negatives

16. Enduring PrinciplesWhat generates performance?

17. Human Assumptions on Progress • We ‘assume’ that we are in control • Denver International airport (16 months late,300% over budget) • Eurofighter jet (5 years late, $25 billion above predicted cost) • Scottish Parliament building (3 years late, projected £35million actual £414 million) • The Sydney opera house (a scaled down version completed 10 years late, with estimated costs of $7 million eventually amounting to $102 million

18. Human Assumptions on Progress • We ‘know’ that we will make it • When asked to predict completion date for their honours thesis ‘ifeverything went as poorly as it possibly could’, students significantly underestimate by up to 50% (Buehler et al 1994) • Predictions based on realistic ‘best guess’ scenarios or hoped-for ‘best case’ scenarios, produce indistinguishable results (Newby-Clark et al, 2000) • 20 year study of 284 ‘prediction experts’ suggest accuracy < 14%...”no better than dart throwing chimps” (Tetlock, 2005)

19. Because MOST of us don’t..... • Refine plans, estimates, etc. as we go • (Hedgehogs V Foxes – Tetlock, 2005) • Audit thinking in slower time – we like and are attracted to ‘decisive answer-rers’ • “our brains are made for fitness, not for truth” (Pinker 1997) • Self-critique dispassionately and in an unbiased manner • “when faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof” (Galbraith 2002)

20. We are built with..... • A strong preference for simplicity • An aversion to ambiguity and dissonance • A deep-rooted need to believe we live in an orderly world • A lack of appreciation of the laws of chance As a result, for example..... • 44,000 and 94,000 patients die each year as a result of medical error in U.S hospitals (IOM 1999) • major causes of medical decision making error identified as physician’s lack of competency in probabilistic reasoning (Patel, 2000).

21. Why is this SO relevant now? • Thinking space is decreased by acute and chronic pressure • This just accentuates our natural tendencies • Under pressure, we tend to ignore blocks and ‘focus on the wins’ • We hope for positives and “la-la” the negatives • Under pressure, working on detail makes us comfortable • We micromanage at the edge of oblivion

22. SO to stay on track... • Plan when you can • ‘Deliberate planning’ is a luxury to be exploited • Schedule and adhere to DM audits • Look at and solve what stops you achieving • Switch focus • Trees, castle, trees, swamp

24. (Adapted from Foster (1998), MSSE, 30, 1164-1168)

25. Measuring Workload • The NASA TLX • Developed to identify the sources of workload under various conditions and between individuals • Tells you where the pressure comes from • Provides a numeric value so sources can be compared and interventions evaluated • Can give surprising answers • e.g. Surgeons

26. WORKLOADFACTORS

27. Using workload – Rev-ving slower • Decrease un-useful effort • Focus your use of ‘consultants’ • The Priority Game • If everything IS urgent then….?! • Some “urgents” are more urgent than others!!! • Rules of prioritisation • Cost of a cock up • Can someone else cover it (parts of it)? • Who’s agenda?

28. Stress effects – The Take Home Messages • Stress has positive and negative effects • Effects are differential relating to nature of the task, personality, arousal level, etc. • Distractions can help and hinder • How can you use them positively? • Can you reduce mental workload for certain tasks by ‘stress innoculation’?

29. The Cumulative Effects of Worry Worry – Fatigue – Worry cycle Raised Cortisol levels Change in Focus Under-recovery Start the next day/week/month knackered Fatigue – Worry - Fatigue

30. Impact of an Over-revving Work Style

31. Your OWN Optimum Work Arena • Work on increasing potential AND eliminating product losses • “Think about balance, timing and process” • Counter ‘natural’ assumptions and styles • Plan when you can • Consider a VARIED work style • Variation is less stressful AND more efficient • Variation can be achieved with consistent TOTAL workload • It ‘feels funny’ as routine is comfortable • Measure and reduce mental workload Just like the elite team players – “ALWAYS PLAY AT HOME”