What Creates Stress?
The Hidden Drivers of Pressure and How to Lead Beyond Them
We’ve all felt it: the racing mind before a big meeting, the tension when deadlines collide, the fatigue that lingers even after the workday ends.
But here’s a truth that often gets overlooked in boardrooms and team huddles: stress is rarely caused by the workload, it’s caused by our relationship to it.
At Leadology, we blend timeless wisdom with neuroscience-backed tools to help professionals decode the hidden triggers of stress and lead with calm, clarity, and purpose; even in high-pressure environments.
The Corporate Cost of Stress
Let’s ground this in a real example. Take Lucy, a high-performing manager. But over a few months, her communication became reactive, she avoided making key decisions, and team morale declined. Her responsibilities didn’t change but her reactions did. This wasn’t burnout from overwork. It was stress from being disconnected; from herself, from the present, and from her power.
This is more common than many leaders admit.
Research from Harvard and Stanford attributes over 120,000 deaths annually in the U.S. to workplace stress underscoring it as a serious health risk, not just a leadership challenge.
In New Zealand, while stress-related death data is limited, the impact is still staggering. According to research by the NZ Institute of Economic Research and WorkSafe NZ, work-related stress and poor mental health cost the country over $1.5 billion annually in lost productivity, absenteeism, and disengagement.
The ripple effect?
Fatigue, low morale, high turnover and cultures where people survive, rather than thrive.
Stress isn’t just a personal problem. It’s an organisational one. And it’s preventable; if we know where to look.
So, What Actually Creates Stress?
Contrary to the myth that stress is caused by external pressure, neuroscience and ancient philosophy agree: stress originates from within our thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions about what’s happening.
Here are five key drivers of stress:
1. Mental Resistance: Wanting things to be different than they are.
2. Over-Identification: Believing that your role or performance defines your entire identity.
3. Lack of Recovery: Operating in ‘always-on’ mode without pausing to reset.
4. Fear of Failure or Judgment: Often disguised as high standards or ambition.
5. Disconnection from the Present: Worrying about the future or replaying the past.
Ancient wisdom, such as the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, reminds us that the root of suffering often lies not in what we’re doing or happening around us but in how we relate to it.
The deeper issue isn’t the volume of tasks, it’s the absence of awareness while executing them. When we operate on autopilot, without conscious presence or alignment, even meaningful work can become a source of burnout.
In neuroscience terms, when your amygdala perceives a threat (even a subtle one like an urgent email), it triggers a stress response. But when you train yourself to respond from the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s centre for logic and empathy, you regain clarity, presence, and composure.
Why Leaders Must Pay Attention
Stress, if left unaddressed, doesn’t just affect personal wellbeing. It shapes team culture, decision-making, and ultimately results.
From the Leadology lens, stress signals a breakdown in one or more of our three leadership domains:
Self Mastery: Understanding your emotional landscape and reactivity.
Social Mastery: Communicating with empathy and awareness under pressure.
Results Mastery: Taking aligned action without getting caught in perfectionism or control.
These aren’t just personal competencies; they are core leadership muscles. And like any skill, they grow with consistent practice.
Three Tools for Immediate Impact
Stress won’t vanish in a day. But the right tools can help you reset your system, reframe your thoughts, and re-align with your best self. Here are three to start using today:
1. The 90-Second Reset
What it is: A short, deliberate pause when you feel emotionally charged.
Why it works: Neuroscientist Dr Jill Bolte Taylor notes that it takes just 90 seconds for an emotion to pass through the body; unless we keep fuelling it with thought.
How to do it:
When tension rises, stop.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take slow, deep breaths for 90 seconds.
Let the wave pass before you speak or act.
Leadership benefit: You interrupt reactivity and step back into conscious control.
2. End-of-Day Clarity Check
What it is: A 5-minute mental review that helps close your mental loops and reset for the next day.
Why it works: In high-performing environments, unfinished tasks and thoughts linger in the subconscious, fuelling chronic stress.
How to do it:
At the end of your workday, list the top three unresolved issues.
Label each as:
Actionable tomorrow
Mental clutter - let go
Set a clear intention for how you want to show up tomorrow.
Leadership benefit: You create mental closure, reduce anxiety, and increase readiness.
3. Reflect on the Cause of Stress
What it is: A strategic self-inquiry process that uncovers what’s really fuelling your pressure.
Why it works: Most people address stress at the surface (e.g., time management), not the root (e.g., fear of judgement, need for control).
How to do it:
Ask yourself: “What story am I telling myself right now that’s creating pressure?”
Then ask: “Is it true? Or am I projecting something deeper?”
Write down one actionable step to shift your mindset or approach.
Leadership benefit: You build emotional intelligence and self-awareness - the foundation of resilient leadership.
Lead with Calm, Not Chaos
Stress is not a leadership badge - it’s a call to evolve.
When you shift from reaction to reflection, you don’t just manage stress; you transform it into strength.
If your team is operating on edge, or if you’re seeking to build a culture of psychological safety, resilience, and high performance; book a complimentary session below and let’s talk.
👉 Or book a Leadology workshop on Mastering Stress here, elevating emotional intelligence, and building clarity-driven cultures.