Transcript Document
Achieving under Pressure – Lessons from High Performance Environments
Professor Dave Collins PhD CPsychol. CSci. FSMA P 2 E Associates
Part 1: Tuning your engine Natural Rhythms & Nutrition
Rhythms- Natural and Not So Natural!
SNAPSHOT 1
TLX Total=101 Cortisol=380 Hydration OK
SNAPSHOT 2
TLX Total=167 Cortisol=585 Hydration OK
SNAPSHOT 3
TLX Total=103 Cortisol=350 Hydration OK
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
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
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
GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS) STRESSOR RESISTANCE PHASE
SHOCK COUNTERSHOCK
ALARM PHASE TIME EXHAUSTION
+ THEORETICAL ASPECTS: DELAYED ADAPTATION TO AN EXERCISE STIMULUS (YAKOLEV 1965; 1977) 4 3 O 2 1 TIME 1 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE (FATIGUE?) 2 RECOVERY 3 OVERCOMPENSATION 2 + 3 DELAYED TRAINING ADAPTATION 4 DETRAINING STIMULUS
T i m e Normal periodisation of training Over-reaching
(
Overtraining Syndrome
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.
STRESS IS ADDITIVE AND NON SPECIFIC IN ITS IMPACT
So remember….
EXTRAS FOR THE BUSINESS SETTING The 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 .
The “Frazzle Factor” Daily hassles and Under-Recovery
MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN
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”
Part 2: Changing the Arena
Accentuating positives VERSUS ENSURING positives and minimising negatives
Enduring Principles What generates performance?
80 60 Actual Performance 40 20 0 Lennox Hassam Somethingorother Product losses
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
Human Assumptions on Progress
We ‘know’ that we will make it When asked to predict completion date for their honours thesis
‘if everything 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)
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)
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).
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
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
(Adapted from Foster (1998), MSSE, 30, 1164-1168)
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
WORKLOAD FACTORS
MENTAL DEMAND PHYSICAL MENTAL EFFORT
NASA TASK LOAD INDEX
TIME PRESSURE FRUSTRATION OWN PERFORMANCE
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?
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’?
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
Impact of an Over-revving Work Style EMOTIONAL : AFFECT:
My interpersonal behaviour
MENTAL WORKLOAD
How hard I’m working How I feel in the evening
SHORT TERM
(daily hassle) “tetchy, on edge” Works harder to get same result Tired, everything feels difficult
MEDIUM TERM
(nagging worry) “Distracted, moody”
LONG TERM
(is this something serious?) “damaged goods” “a martyr to XXXX” Distraction – starting to be less able to concentrate on normally easy tasks, drives self harder Starting to use coping resources e.g. eat less, low or extremely variable blood sugar so fatigued at end of the day “Like walking through treacle” Unable to perform to acceptable standard Exhausted, feeling helpless, victim. Low self-efficacy.
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”