Stress can be triggered by a variety of situations and individuals—often without warning. Both internal and external factors play a significant role in shaping the intensity and impact of stress in our lives.

At Catalyst Leadership Dynamics, while we do not have licensed therapists or counselors on our team, we deeply respect and acknowledge the importance of those professions.

We invite you to accept this piece from an experiential and common-sense approach.

Standard definitions of Stress include the body’s response to demands or challenges. Stress can manifest physically, emotionally, and cognitively. It can affect our response and outcomes; when too heavy, it creates a sense of overwhelm and inhibits our ability to cope and perform.

High-stakes goals, financial pressures, and personal relationships are common external stressors that leaders face daily. However, internal triggers like self-criticism, unrealistic expectations, and constant comparison to others often create just as much—if not more—emotional strain.

At Catalyst Leadership Dynamics, we emphasize the importance of intentionally managing your four core energies: physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. Few things demand that level of intentionality more than stress management. When you take charge of these energy sources, you don’t just reduce stress—you elevate performance, resilience, and your ability to lead others effectively.

“When you take charge of these energy sources, you don’t just reduce stress—you elevate performance, resilience, and your ability to lead others effectively.”

             – Jeff Rogers, CPMBC

To be clear, if it were easy to manage these energies to better control stress, everyone would do it, and they don’t!

Why Identifying Workplace Stress Should Be on Every Executive’s Radar

Experience shows that stress intensifies when your physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual energies are depleted or out of sync.

That’s why developing intentional awareness of your energy levels isn’t optional—it’s essential for stress management and sustainable leadership.

The next step? Make it a priority to regularly nourish and recharge these energies. Too often, leaders wear burnout like a badge of honor, putting their own well-being last in the name of productivity. That mindset isn’t heroic—it’s harmful. It’s time to shift the narrative: taking care of yourself is not selfish; it’s strategic.

Many studies suggest that effective leaders schedule time on their calendars to intentionally elevate their four energy levels daily. What are you currently doing to manage your daily energies? We tend to make matters complicated, simplify, and begin to manage these critical energies immediately.

Catalyst Leadership Dynamics: 5 Key Stress Indicators Every Leader Should Recognize

1. Irritability Getting frustrated and short-tempered quickly and inappropriately.

2. Lacking Energy Lacking sufficient energy levels prevents required normal function.

3. Worry Anxious about upcoming events and feeling overwhelmed and hostile for no reason.

4. Lacking Concentration Inability to focus, find flow, and make decisions.

5. Avoidance Pulling away from relationships, responsibilities, and fun times.

When reviewing this speedy list, there are many more Stress behavior analytics you can use. We feel these are simple and reasonably comprehensive.

Usually, when these behaviors become noticeable, we disregard them and push through. What would happen if you took a moment to listen to your body, identify the origin of this Stress, shore up your energy levels, and then went about your business? We bet you would earn better results.

But you say, “I don’t have enough time to pause!” We say you don’t have enough time not to. You will begin to stop chasing your tail and get out of your own way doing this

Shifting Your Stress Response

For each of us, stressors, triggers, and internal and external tolerances are unique. However, there are everyday situations and factors which remain common. Start there, and intentionally remove them from your world. We do not mean to avoid them, but how can you proactively prevent eighty percent of them and manage the twenty percent variables?

The idea is to control the controllables, remove the items you cannot prevent from the equation, or determine how to handle them differently. Avoidance is not an option. Avoiding them allows them to get worse. We all understand that, but in moments of Stress, we sometimes break that rule as human beings. Lean into discipline and do the work on this one. You will be glad you did!

Identifying Stress is critical for earning results and success personally, professionally, and organizationally. What you do with this information once identified separates the great leaders from the adequate ones. There are many factors which align to elevate great leaders – managing Stress is high on the list.

Identifying Workplace Stress

At Catalyst, we discuss proactive behaviors and the secret weapon of leadership. You first must lead yourself effectively, to lead others better. What shifts can you make today to better identify stressors in your environment. What will you do about it?

Procrastination is an alley to Stress. The longer one waits or allows delay, the more internal and external demands and pressure grow. Procrastinate no more. That almost sounds like a title to another piece!

We hope this sparked some fresh thinking and encouraged you to take meaningful action in managing stress within your space. At Catalyst, our core message is simple: recognize the presence of stress, understand its root causes—and then do something about it.

Too many leaders hope stress will just fade with time. But here’s the truth: hope is not a strategy. Ignoring stress only allows it to grow louder and more disruptive. Proactive leadership means confronting stress head-on—with awareness, intention, and action.

As a leader, you can implement many strategies and actions to better mitigate Stress in your environment. It is time to get out in front of Stress and overcome it before it overcomes you and your teams in today’s changing world.