Page 129 - Bruce Ellig - The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation (2007)

Chapter 4. The Stakeholders 115

a substance can support before it collapses; executives talk in terms of the amount of pressure
to perform that can be absorbed without having a breakdown. Technological advances have
increased the speed and scope of communication. But the plethora of e-mails and voice mails
have added to executive stress, not lessened it.
In addition to the stress of the present job, there is also promotion stress, that is, worrying
about not getting promoted. This could occur at any age, but it is more likely to be present
in the early years of a career. As the individual gets older, it is more likely the individual has
accepted that it will not happen.
Some argue that a little stress is good. It elevates blood pressure and provides the
adrenaline needed to move quickly through difficult situations. The key is to thrive, not
simply survive, by improving one’s capacity to handle stress. Self-confidence, positive
thinking, and emotional contentment are key to managing stress. Additionally, recovery time,
even brief, is critical to restore the needed energy to continue. Moving back and forth
frequently and quickly between stress and recovery (and not trying to do both at the same
time) maximizes one’s effectiveness. However, stress may also impair the individual’s ability
to carefully examine alternative courses of action. In addition, stress may cause physical and
mental health problems, probably the most common being ulcers and depression.
For some executives, the absence of stress may lower mental acuity. For them, stress
is the vitamin needed to be a higher achiever. This might be the reason that a number
of corporations have their headquarters in major metropolitan areas. The hassle of the
commute gets the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. The office routine takes on an
accelerated pace—one that might not be achieved in the idyllic forest setting of the suburbs.

The Workaholic. Just as the alcoholic can no longer control the role of alcohol, the worka-
holic can no longer keep work in perspective. The workaholic is a person obsessed with the
good old American work ethic. The individual focuses on one half of the cliché, “Work hard
and play hard.” The person works hard and makes up for not playing hard by working harder!
Some suffer from career acrophobia, in other words, the fear of failing and falling from their lofty
corporate position.
Long hours of work do not make the executive a workaholic; a true workaholic does not
know how to relax. The work effort takes on a meaning of its own, rather than being simply
a means of achieving results. This lack of perspective may result in less-than-optimum
performance as well as alienating peers and superiors. Individuals who have lost sight of
the true reason for work usually are not good planners nor very creative; they don’t have
the time to devote to such activities. In addition, the workaholic is probably not a believer in
delegation, choosing instead to do the work personally.
Few companies really want workaholics. Rather, they want executives capable of expend-
ing a great amount of energy, but able to work under control and keep perspective. However,
many jealous peers maliciously label a hardworking overachiever as a workaholic in order to
minimize some of the competitive threat. Only a small percentage of those labeled workaholics
truly fit the definition.

Career Crisis. A crisis could occur early-, mid-, late-, or postcareer. When it occurs, the
executive believes that he or she has not and/or will not achieve the top rungs of management.
Early-career crisis is arguably the best of the four because there is still enough time to do
something about it. The midcareer crisis usually occurs sometime around age 40, when the
executive recognizes that about half of his or her working career is over. By now, the golden