Being under pressure can help you get things done. But what happens when that pressure starts running the show? You know, pressure pushin’ down on me, pressin’ down on you.
On this episode of Quality Time with MoreSteam, licensed professional counselor and leadership coach Marilyn Rosa-Green joins host Dan Swartwout to explore how pressure, burnout, and empathetic leadership impact quality, safety, and continuous improvement. Marilyn started her career in manufacturing HR. There, she learned that leaders can respond in very different ways to similar demands. Some helped their teams succeed under pressure, while others passed that pressure along to their teams.
As an operational excellence practitioner, your instinct might be to just work harder or jump right in with an answer. Marilyn, however, asks leaders to pause and examine their own reactions first. How’s your team doing? A quiet team doesn’t always mean things are going well. And what looks like a “people problem” may call for a closer look at how the work is managed.
Dan and Marilyn also explore empathy on the job. Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean turning your office into a therapist’s couch. It means paying attention and helping people take pride in meaningful work. Marilyn even turns a question back on Dan. For once, the host gets a turn in the guest seat. How did Dan handle the pressure?
This episode is about improving quality, safety, and customer service without treating the people doing the work as an afterthought. This is ourselves under pressure.
In this episode, you will hear about:
0:29 - Marilyn’s background
3:46 - What Marilyn learned as an HR professional in manufacturing
8:05 - The next steps in Marilyn’s career
13:23 - The Pressure Paradox
17:17 - What leaders should examine before deciding the problem is the people
20:16 - Burnout and psychological safety
25:02 - Accountability without naming, blaming, and shaming
31:52 - When stress helps problem-solving and when it gets in the way
32:54 - Recognize, regulate, and redirect
34:59 - Being an empathetic leader without becoming the team’s therapist
38:02 - Marilyn turns the question back on Dan
38:57 - Lean, respect for people, and meaningful work
41:50 - Take the Pressure Paradox Assessment
Additional Resources:
Marilyn Rosa-Green on LinkedIn
Marilyn Rosa Consulting Solutions
The Pressure Paradox Assessment
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