Stress Management Competencies
Roadshow
----------Alan Bradshaw
Partner, Work-Life Solutions
www.the-stress-site.net
alan@work-life-solutions.co.uk
About Alan Bradshaw
 Involved in stress management field since 1996
 Founded first UK-wide stress consultancy 1998
 First management training with a stress risk
management, accounted for 80 – 90% of business
 Trained/managed many of UK’s top consultants
 Helped organizations develop stress policies and
implement HSE Management Standards
 Became a director of QoWL in 2007
 Now Partner in Work-Life Solutions
 Main aim is to promote evidence-based stress
management in UK and Europe
What’s it all about, Alan?
Well, it’s about....
STRESS ....and...
MANAGEMENT ....and of course...
COMPETENCIES!
What we’re covering today...
 Some essential background and context
 Links with HSE Management Standards
 Stress Management Competencies Research
 A look at the Framework and BEHAVIOURS
 Applications, tools and interventions
 Case Study Video: Northumbria NHS
 Next steps if you want to use this approach
 Questions
A quick look back...
 Statutory legal aspects : Health & Safety Law and
Regulations
 Common Law Stress Cases
 HSE Management Standards (2oo4)
 A framework, standards, tools and a process to follow to
manage stress risks
 The problem is that the Management Standards’
approach hasn’t been as effective as hoped for...
Limitations of Management Standards?
 Seen as the province of ‘Health & Safety’
 Implementation largely down to HR and managers
 Ignored by senior/operational Managers “not our
problem”
 Seen as bureaucratic and time consuming
 Survey fatigue (and fears about the results!)
 Not day-to-day people management
 Led to Stress Management Competencies research....
1. Interviews with nearly 400
managers and employees +
workshops with HR/OH/H&S
Produced framework with 19
behavioural themes
Rigorous
research
process
2. Questionnaire survey with over
800 managers and employees +
further workshops
Refined framework to 4 broad
themes, with 12 sub-themes
3. Testing whether we can help managers use
and develop the behaviours identified
We can help managers change behaviour
A closer look at manager behaviour
Brief Critical Incident Exercise:
 Reflect on a stressful situation where your manager’s
behaviour:
 Made the situation better (prevented or reduced stress), or;
 Worse (caused more stress, created new stress)
 Discuss this with the person sitting next to you…
 What manager behaviours made it better or worse?
 Will the research findings agree with you? Let’s see…
Management competencies (skills/behaviours) for
preventing and reducing stress
Competency
Sub-Competency
Respectful and responsible:
Managing emotions and
having integrity
Integrity
Managing and communicating
existing and future work
Proactive work management
Managing emotions
Considerate approach
Problem solving
Participative/empowering
Managing the individual within
the team
Personally accessible
Sociable
Empathetic engagement
Reasoning/Managing difficult
situations
Managing conflict
Use of organisational resources
Taking responsibility for resolving
issues
Managing with Respect

Managing with Respect is about managing emotions,
having integrity and taking responsibility.

Specific behaviours:
Integrity – this is about being a good role model, treating team
members with respect and being honest; not saying one thing and
doing something different
2. Managing emotions – this is about staying calm in a crisis and
being consistent, and not passing stress on to your team
3. Considerate approach – this is about showing respect and
consideration for others, providing positive rather than negative
feedback and not making unrealistic deadlines
1.
Managing Workload

Managing Workload is about managing and
communicating existing and future work.

Specific behaviours:
Proactive work management – this is about managing workloads
proactively; communicating objectives effectively, prioritizing,
planning and reviewing work so that stress is prevented
2. Problem solving – this is being decisive and about how you deal
with and follow-up on work problems that do occur.
3. Participative/empowering – this is about how you involve people,
consult them and delegate work; the extent to which you enable
control, empower your team and encourage participation
1.
Managing Indviduals

Managing Individuals is about the way you manage and
relate to individuals within the team.

Specific behaviours:
Personally accessible – this is about being accessible and
providing opportunities for face-to-face communication, for
example speaking personally rather than using email
2. Sociable – this is about being friendly, sociable and willing to have
a laugh at work
3. Empathetic engagement – this is about being a good listener,
taking an interest in others and understanding their motivations
1.
Managing Relationships

Managing Relationships is about reasoning and
managing difficult situations at work, including conflict.

Specific behaviours:
Managing conflict – this is about intervening early and acting as a
mediator; also being objective and dealing with issues head on
rather than merely acting to keep the peace
2. Use of organisational resources – getting advice and support from
others when needed to resolve relationship issues and conflicts
3. Taking responsibility for resolving issues – following up,
supporting employees and making it clear you are taking
responsibility for resolving issues
1.
So, we know now what the stress
management behaviours are...
 But how are we going to change manager behaviour?
 Exercise: Reflecting on your own experience, what’s
likely to lead to you actually changing your behaviour?
(you can consider any behaviour such as weight loss,
giving up smoking, fitness/exercise)
 Discuss with a partner – what factors are most likely to
help you make real and lasting changes?
Behaviour change theories
Theories and models of behaviour change:
 Stage Theories e.g. Prochaska and DiClemente (1986)
 Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action,
Maintenance
 Social Cognitive Theories e.g. Bandura (1986)
 Importance of role models and self-efficacy
 Theory of Reasoned Action / Planned Behaviour
 Importance of behavioural intentions, attitudes, beliefs
and subjective norms; later revised to take account of
importance of ‘perceived behavioural control’
Behaviour change: what helps?





A manager displaying positive behaviours – ROLE MODEL
A Positive Organizational Culture - CULTURE
Feedback on your behaviour – FEEDBACK, AWARENESS
A desire to change – DESIRE, INTENTION, MOTIVATION
A feeling that you can change and have the skills to change
– CONTROL, TRAINING/COACHING, SELF EFFICACY
 Moral support when you need it – ENCOURAGEMENT,
PRAISE, SOCIAL SUPPORT
 Practical help when you need it – RESOURCES
 Ongoing help and support – FOLLOW-UP,
REINFORCEMENT
Changing manager behaviour:
Research (phase 3) intervention
3mths later
Upward
feedback
Interactive
workshop
Follow-up
upward
feedback
Intervention and tools
 Most effective process is: Assessment + Upward
feedback + workshop (+ follow-up)
 Assessment uses SMCIT – If 360, can include manager,
direct reports, peers, own manager
 Feedback is one-to-one using 360 report (may require
training/coach to deliver)
 Interactive Workshop (“Preventing Stress: Promoting
Positive Manager Behaviour”)
 Explores importance; raises awareness; equips with tools;
enables discussion of issues, development planning; mutual
support
Additional applications?
 Stress / well-being policies
 As a guide to specific development interventions e.g.
conflict management training
 Integrate into manager induction programmes
 Framework and tools for management coaching
Implementing Stress Management
Competencies at Northumbria
Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
What’s next...
 Extensive follow-up information by email
 Research, info booklets, audio/video, web-links, 360 etc
 If YOU want to deliver the intervention (either in-house or
as a consultant/practitioner)...
 Preventing Stress: Promoting Positive Manager Behaviour
train-the-trainer courses 29th and 30th November in NW
(separate courses) facilitated by Emma Donaldson-Feilder
 Enables delivery of workshop intervention in-house
 Access to all training materials
 Upward feedback / 360 training and coaching available
What’s next...
 If you want to implement this approach, but DON’T
want to deliver it, Work-Life Solutions can organise /
provide:
 In-house training for your managers
 A commercial 360 service (managed service, automated
report generation)
 One-to-one 360 feedback (on-site or remotely)
 Coaching
Any questions about the research,
framework, tools, intervention case
study, training or anything related to
the stress management competencies?
Some final comments
 Stress Management Competencies are the skills
and behaviours line managers need to prevent and
reduce stress at work
 A framework, tools and interventions are available
to anyone wishing to use this powerful approach
 Training is being provided for interested
organisations, consultants and practitioners
 We will follow-up with resources, links and train-
the-trainer information
Thanks for listening!
 Please leave evaluation slips on your seats
 We’ll be in touch very soon with links and
resources, and information about the train-thetrainer events on November 29th and 30th
Alan Bradshaw
Partner, Work-Life Solutions
alan@work-life-solutions.co.uk
www.the-stress-site.net