Why Smart Leaders Make Dumb Decisions--And What to Do About It

Reveals the powerful and undermining effects of stress on good
decision making-and what leaders can do about it

The ability to make sound and timely decisions is the mark of a
good leader. But when leaders with otherwise strong track records
suddenly begin making poor decisions-as seen in the recent
corporate scandals that rocked the business world-the impact can be
widespread. In The Stress Effect, leadership expert Henry L.
Thompson argues that stress is often the real culprit behind this
leadership failure: when leaders' stress levels become sufficiently
elevated-whether in the boardroom or on the front line of a
manufacturing process-their ability to effectively use their
emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in tandem to make wise
decisions is significantly impaired. Until now, experts have argued
that increasing your emotional intelligence will help you cope with
and manage stress. This book suggests that stress actually
blocks access to your emotional intelligence as well as your
cognitive ability, two critical components in the decision-making
process. This book

• Shows how stress adversely affects the performance of even the
  most savvy leaders


• Reveals the truth about one of the prime factors behind the
  current failure of leadership


• Offers a solid prescription for building a "stress resilient
  system" and arms leaders with best practices for managing specific
  stressors that take the biggest toll on decision making


• Is written by an award-winning organizational psychologist and
  leadership consultant whose clients include a roster of Fortune 500
  companies

A groundbreaking and insightful resource for leaders, The
Stress Effect reopens the dialogue on stress, its effect on
decision making, and what to do about it.