Want to get better at identifying Stress in yourself and others?
Have you ever thought of stress like this... That it doesn’t show up with a neat label. It shows up in behaviour - the kind you might spot in yourself and, probably more easily, spot around you in your teams.
Why does this matter? Because every time these behaviours go unnoticed, it quietly costs the business - in absences, lower fee generation, and attrition. Stress isn’t just personal, it’s commercial.
The good news? Stress can be successfully managed - and when it is, performance soars. And when high performance is what we are striving for, it seems like a no brainer.
When I was practising law, I didn’t think in behavioural terms. I was busy chasing fees, not realising how much time and income were being lost to stress right under my nose.
But these days, since stepping out of the law in 2018, and seeing every day how behaviour impacts our high performance, positively and negatively, I realise how fundamental it is for us to observe behaviour and successfully manage stress.
Think about your people for a moment…
Do you have colleagues who thrive on detail and accuracy but start to unravel when things feel messy, rushed, or incomplete? They stay late, double-check everything, and quietly wear themselves out.
What about those who deeply value harmony - the ones who absorb everyone else’s tension, smooth things over, and carry the emotional weight until they’re drained?
Or the high-energy people who love connection and ideas, but when they feel unheard, boxed in, or isolated, they lose their spark and scatter their focus?
And then there are the ones who are naturally driven and direct - but when they’re blocked or slowed down, you see impatience, sharp words, and frustration boiling over.
You’ve probably already pictured names as you read that.
Here’s the point: these are all different ways stress shows up in your workforce. And unless we understand them, interventions risk missing the mark and frustrations will bubble and boil increasingly interrupting and hindering high performance.
Three things that make the difference
From working with individuals and teams my top tips for us to be more mindful of, for the benefit of ourselves and those around us and are totally do-able (regardless of our position and seniority) are:
Spotting it early. Watch for behaviour shifts (what I often refer to as the 'taps on the shoulder) - these are the first signal that negative stress is creeping in. Having a language to describe these behaviour shifts helps you to recognise and raise the flag before performance dips or absence creeps in.
Equip ourselves/our managers. Remember, the stress of leaders is the most contagious in a team/workforce/culture. Understanding our own style under pressure - and recognising other people's styles - is the quickest lever to reduce burnout risk across a team.
Keep it commercial. When we can show our superiors, business owners etc that recognising these patterns means fewer absences, higher fee generation, and stronger retention, the conversation shifts from “soft” to strategic.
In the StressLess Academy we use the Insights colour energy model to make these stress patterns visible: Cool Blue, Earth Green, Sunshine Yellow, and Fiery Red. The labels don’t matter as much as the impact - but the framework gives individuals, leaders and People Teams a practical way to talk about stress without it sounding fluffy.
I’d love to hear: which of these stress patterns do you see most often around you?
Best wishes
Vikki “translating fluffy into commercial” Pratley
P.S. If you’d like a simple briefing note you can share with partners or managers to frame this conversation credibly, reply with YES and I’ll send it across.
