Peter Drucker once said that “The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker but of the manager.” While I am not totally in agreement with this statement as I feel that everyone in an organization can be held responsible for productivity, I do see it as a valuable concept in the process of management training.
Most people go about their lives in reaction to the pressure inherent in the circumstances around them. When the pressure is on, so are they. When it is off, well, so are they. I’ve found over time that you can tell a great deal about a person’s potential as a manager by watching him or her closely during times when the pressure is off, likely for the reasons I just mentioned.
Productivity is utterly dependent on the skillful management of pressure. A manager might, for instance, need to find ways to reduce the pressure at times, so that the “heat” generated when the pressure is on doesn’t burn up the team. He might also, when business slows down or when the pressure is off for whatever reason, learn to bring his own self-generated pressure to bear on the situation to keep those for whom he is responsible from acting solely on the basis of the pressure (or the absence thereof) inherent in the circumstances.
Managers must watch the waves of pressure moving through his field of responsibility and act proactively in relation to them. The laissez-faire approach is fraught with risk, as more than once in history men and mankind have been caught unprepared for some big event because the preceding time of low pressure was poorly mismanaged.
Management is an active, dynamic responsibility that requires keeping perspective and staying conscious when others are prone to lose perspective or figuratively fall asleep. The rise and fall of pressure is a natural cycle that is inherent in everything that happens at work, at home and at play, so we might as well learn to work with it more effectively!
Gregory Hake 
I find that management is a symbiotic relationship between myself and my team. Communication, vision and trust are qualities that I’ve found to be essential. Pressure, once you stop seeing it as an enemy, is actually enjoyable when you see how necessary it is to accomplishment.
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Excellent point, Marianne.
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it is interesting to observe the high and low pressures situations in the work field. I recognize that doing what is at hand to do even during the low pressure times creates a feeling of productivity and a sense something is building that may as yet be unseen.
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Both matter!
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it is the managers responsibility to create an atmosphere that makes it easier and natural for their people to thrive during high pressure situations. That being said, it is the individuals responsibility how to respond to the pressure. The biggest potential for development occurs during times of high pressure. I for example have noted how much more efficient many are during the busiest times, while often the majority of their mistakes occur during times where there was less pressure.
We prepare to rise to the occasion of the high pressure times however during the times of less pressure. One of the things that good managers can do for the people who they work with is to provide a learning environment where one can practice, drill and rehearse
in preparation for when the high pressure situation occurs.
High pressure situation’s are actually an opportunity for the best to be done and seen by each of us.
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I love your first sentence, Chuck, and I’ve enjoyed watching you embody that very point over the years!
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Great points. An effective manager is always conscious of rhythms and pressure points, always thinking as to how those working for and with him or her can move through the pressure points with relative ease. Inspiration of example is so vital here, because the perception of pressure is quite subjective and people do need a visible point of reference as things tense up or move through pinch points.
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I agree, David. Thanks for your comment.
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As a manager I’ve noticed that my position on the various pressure situations our department was prone to was the one generally adopted by the team. It is each persons responsibility but a great manager can be like a great parent and model behavior that benefits their crew, not that creates an additional obstacle to success.
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I wish more people considered themselves models or even supermodels in this sense! The world would be a better place in short order.
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