Leadership & 'Stress'

Robert Sapolsky is a brilliant and highly awarded Neuroendocrinologist at Stanford. He has contributed to our understanding of stress on our bodies and how social standing can make us more or less susceptible.

From baboon troops on the plains of Africa, to neuroscience labs at Stanford University, scientists are revealing just how lethal stress can be. Research tells us that the impact of stress can be found deep within us, shrinking our brains, adding fat to our bellies, even unraveling our chromosomes. Understanding how stress works can help us figure out ways to combat it and how to live a life free of the tyranny of this contemporary plague. In Stress: Portrait of a Killer, scientific discoveries in the field and in the lab proves that stress is not just a state of mind, but something measurable and dangerous.

Please view Stress: Portrait of a Killer (also free on Netflix) and consider the following questions for discussion. As leadership scholars, you may find gaps and strengths in his methodology and interpretation of findings, not to mention implications and generalizations of his work; however, this video also captures some simple principles and unavoidable truths that we experience in daily social and organizational contexts. Enjoy learning about these principles through this scientifically grounded, yet witty documentary. Given this context, consider the following questions for discussion not simply to answer them in order but rather to inform your creative responses:

• What can we learn from this study in the context of human social systems, organizational life, climate, culture, role of hardiness for leadership etc.?
• One of the findings in the study indicated that the amount of control is directly related to where you are at in the hierarchy. What is the prescription for individuals not at the top?
• What is your role in contributing to a work setting that allows for human flourishing from the context of this film and other readings? Discuss struggles and successes and weave in hardiness principles, coping & self-care.
• How might connection and human relationships buffer the impact of perceived stress?
• What is the role and/or responsibility of leadership in understanding indicators of stress & adversity?
• As leaders, how can we contribute to or mitigate 'healthy' versus 'chronic' stress?
• How do we create 'opportunities' for stress, adversity, and failure in order to grow?

• Anything else?

Gonzaga University, Organizational Leadership

What is the meaning of your existence?

Dear Visitors,

We are off to another great adventure this summer to learn about leadership practices that contribute to personal and organizational resilience. Students in this course accepted the challenge to learn not only in the traditional classroom context, but also to practice self care and a philosophy on life in preparation towards climbing Mt. Adams, WA. This climb represents the final simulation and capstone experience of the course. They are beginning this journey by studying Victor Frankl's story - Man's Search for Meaning and clarifying their personal search for meaning. 

Flrankl's gripping account of "life in a concentration camp as reflected in the mind of a prisoner" brings to life a story filled with realistic depictions of the experiences of camp life and how these experiences show that man does have a choice of action and in finding meaning in all forms of existence, even in the most dyer of circumstances, and thus a reason to continue living. Through readings and classroom discussions, students learn about existential analysis in the context of their life, families, organizations, and community. 

The following are ideas to keep in mind when reading Frankl's account:

Interact with the text while reading and make notes, ask questions, define terms, and mark key passages. Keep a journal while reading in order to record your reactions and responses. Make this book your singular focus to allow for deep reflection and contemplation. Ask yourself: What did I learn from Frankl's story and his life at a concentration camp that has implications for leadership, personal, and organizational resilience? What is the relevance of understanding existential analysis to explore meaning and growth in adversity? These are some pragmatic yet important questions to ask in authentic living, let alone in preparing for a class simulation that will stretch the mind, body, and spirit. Explain Frankl's theory of success. Do you agree or disagree with him? What is the "ultimate freedom" according to Frankl? According to Frankl, how do suffering and death complete life and give it meaning? According to Frankl, there are three main avenues for reaching meaning in life; what are they? Analyze and discuss these with regard to your own life.

These are questions and thoughts to stimulate but not isolate your thinking and posting.

As visitors we invite you to join our discussions or simply follow our journey throughout this summer.

(read student comments below)