In Depth

Stressed to Kill

Stress is a torture chamber that can't always be avoided. Tortured most are executives with high accountability but low authority. Sound like anyone you know?

By Christopher Koch

Page 6

It all came out when the new company's management asked the man to submit to a 360-degree performance review. He was stunned with the results. He was far from being appreciatedthe 12-hour workdays he was putting in and the evenings he spent sifting through the e-mail that had arrived while he was off putting out fires were viewed as a problem. "He had never gotten that kind of feedback before," says Smithson. "They said he wasn't strategic and therefore wasn't qualified for the job."

Like many hard-charging professionals, this man was in denial. He had become withdrawn. Ironically, while attempting to project strength, he was actually advertising his weakness. Alone in his office cave, he had doomed himself to become some tiger's lunch.

Fortunately, spurred by the review, he and Smithson were able to create a plan for him to distribute responsibility among his staff and become more involved in business strategy. Ultimately, he got the job he coveted.

And last spring, he took his wife and two kids to Disney Worldalong with a cell phone.

stress

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