Finding peace under pressure: The science of sustainable performance

Boxers & Briefs Podcast #12: Performing under pressure with Carley Nicholson.

Carley Nicholson has made it her mission to help people live longer and happier lives. She is passionate about supporting businesses to empower their staff to become the best versions of themselves. Through her programme Peace Under Pressure, she works to transform workplaces and teams into productive, peaceful environments.

In today’s business environment, the pressure to do more with less has become universal. “I don’t know any teams that aren’t under pressure at the moment,” Carley observes. This sustained pressure doesn’t just affect workplace performance – it creates a ripple effect that impacts health, decision-making, creativity, and relationships both at work and home.

Carley shares concerning stories of people who give everything at work only to return home depleted. “They’re giving it all they’ve got, and they get home and they’re exhausted,” she explains. This pattern isn’t just affecting individual well-being – it’s damaging relationships with partners, children, and friends, ultimately leading to what she describes as a ‘worst-case scenario’ where organisations lose their best people.

Understanding our natural rhythms

One of Carley’s key insights comes from understanding how our bodies naturally function. She explains the concept of the ultradian rhythm, a natural cycle that runs approximately every 90 minutes. This internal clock influences our peak productivity and performance times, suggesting we should take breaks at regular intervals throughout the day.

“You’re like a battery, not a robot or a machine,” Carley emphasises. “The most successful people actually build in intentional rest recovery periods.” She challenges the common excuse of being too busy for breaks by introducing the concept of ‘return on time investment’ – the idea that taking even a five-minute break can yield greater returns in productivity and problem-solving ability.

The power of chronowork

Looking to the future, Carley advocates for ‘chronowork’ – allowing people to work according to their natural energy rhythms. She shares a revealing experience from her leadership days: “I had a couple of my team coming at 8:30 in the morning and they were useless for the first two hours… but if they had a challenge to work on at 10 or 11 at night, they were all in.”

This observation has led her to champion more flexible approaches to work, suggesting that organisations should focus less on hours worked and more on outcomes achieved. “I’d like to think that we start to move away from being paid for our hours, the number of hours we work, but rather what we produce,” she explains.

Creating psychological safety

A crucial element in managing pressure is creating an environment where people feel safe to communicate openly. Carley notes that fear often prevents people from speaking up about challenges they’re facing. “What is it? It’s fear – fear of ‘Will I be judged? What are the outcomes? What’s going to happen to me?'”

She emphasises that our brains need both certainty and autonomy to function optimally. Without these elements, people can experience a threat response that manifests as aggressive or passive-aggressive behaviour, damaging workplace relationships and productivity.

Recognising burnout

Carley warns about the ‘duck syndrome’ in modern workplaces – people appearing calm on the surface while paddling frantically underneath. Signs of burnout can include:

• Inability to make clear decisions
• Lack of creativity
• Sustained exhaustion beyond normal tiredness
• Chronic low mood persisting for weeks
• Decreased ability to communicate effectively

The power of positive tracking

While monitoring for burnout is important, Carley also advocates for tracking positive experiences. Drawing from positive psychology research by Professor Martin Seligman, she recommends daily journaling of positive moments, even on difficult days. “Even on your hardest, most difficult, suckiest days, going ‘actually, what’s the good in here today?'” she suggests.

Clear, direct, and kind communication forms the bedrock of effective pressure management. Carley notes that communication challenges appear in virtually every team she works with, often because people lack the tools and skills for difficult conversations.

She advocates for a communication style that is “direct, clear, kind,” emphasising that our brains need certainty to function effectively. When communicating changes or increased targets, leaders should provide clear information about expectations, available support, and the path forward.

The frog analogy

Carley uses the analogy of a frog in slowly heating water to illustrate how pressure can build incrementally without notice. “We put up with the slowly increasing pressure over a sustained period of time until we get to the point where we go ‘How did I get here?'” This gradual accumulation of stress can lead to significant impacts on health, relationships, and decision-making ability before we even recognise there’s a problem.

For organisations looking to build sustainable high performance, Carley recommends:

Regular self-awareness checks: “Put a hand on your heart… what’s actually going on for me right now?”

Intentional recovery periods: Build in regular breaks, even if just for two minutes, ideally doing the opposite of whatever you’ve been doing.

Clear communication pathways: Create safe spaces for open dialogue and ensure people have the tools to communicate effectively.

Autonomy and control: Give team members appropriate levels of choice and responsibility in how they work.

Focus on outcomes: Move away from measuring hours worked to measuring what people produce.

The key to sustainable performance lies not in pushing harder but in working smarter. By understanding and working with our natural rhythms, building in recovery time, and creating psychologically safe workplaces, organisations can create environments where both people and performance thrive.