When an individual's or group's basic survival is threatened, stress becomes tremendous, and productivity drops. Under these conditions a manager's ability to reason and maintain a proper focus on developing plans or solutions to a crisis is extremely difficult.

They all have excellent resumes... So what I’m trying to find out is how they will behave under pressure. Will they lie, or bluff, or panic, or wilt? Or will they continue to function with some modicum of competence and integrity?

Many families are managed on the basis of crises, moods, quick fixes, and instant gratification — not on sound principles. Symptoms surface whenever stress and pressure mount: people become cynical, critical, or silent or they start yelling and overreacting. Children who observe these kinds of behavior grow up thinking the only way to solve problems is flight or fight.

...as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.

It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation. This is particularly hard if one has invested much time and energy on a project and thus has come to feel possessive about it. Although it is not easy to admit what a person once thought correct now appears to be wrong, one must discipline himself to face the facts objectively and make the necessary changes — regardless of the consequences to himself. The man in charge must personally set the example in this respect. He must be able, in effect, to "kill his own child" if necessary and must require his subordinates to do likewise.

If you run a company, you will experience overwhelming psychological pressure to be overly positive. Stand up to the pressure, face your fear, and tell it like it is.

Another predictable result of leaving control of priorities to the pressures is that the work of top management does not get done at all. That is always postponable work, for it does not try to solve yesterday’s crises but to make a different tomorrow.

Pressure comes when someone calls on you to perform a task for which you are unprepared.

Very difficult thing to do. If you look at performance record of managers, being human hurts you and 80% of managers under-perform benchmark over short- and long-term period, it's tough game.

Nothing saps one’s confidence and motivation quite like being micromanaged.

How to see if someone will snap under pressure:

When shit gets hard, they will prioritize their feelings over their commitment and justify the change claiming their new feelings nullify their previous commitment.

Stress and anxiety at work have less to do with the work we do and more to do with weak management and leadership.

it's not just about pressure, but it's about dealing with pressure to perform your job in an unethical manner, to breach the code.

Si gestionas una empresa, experimentarás una presión psicológica abrumadora para ser positivo. Haz frente a la presión, enfréntate a tus miedos, y di las cosas como son.