Blowing off steam with our business leaders

By MARK STORY

We know the business persona of many top executives, but when it comes to their non-working faces, most remain total strangers. Whether they get their jollies from altruistic pursuits or through more frivolous acts the desired effect is pretty much the same. Top executives are making more concerted efforts to de-stress when they lock the office door behind them.

Like most sane high-flyers, Telecom's chief operating officer Simon Moutter believes in work-life balance and tries to jog four times a week. But with work demands requiring him to put in 12 to 16-hour days, he concedes that's not always possible.

To compensate, Moutter has adopted a total weekend shutdown principle. "Taking the pressure down is all about managing my own performance," he explains. "I know that if I get over-tired I'll become less productive, overly negative and this will affect my overall performance."

For a self-confessed ordinary Kiwi bloke like Moutter, taking the pressure down requires a total mind-shift from complex work-related issues. He believes the best way to do that is by taking his three kids fishing. Since the divorce, though, time spent with family is never enough.

The flip-side is he's got more time for more self-indulgent pursuits like the two race horses he co-owns with the Telecom executive team.

But what lifts Moutter's mind into a totally non-work space is the thrill of hooning around Mansfeild on his Honda (Super Black Bird) 1150cc sports touring bike at 270 km/h.

"I like the speed, one of the most amazing roads I've ever taken is the East Cape road to Whakatane."

After a day of back-to-back meetings, nothing brings on a total attitude change for Vodafone's Andrew Barton better than touring the back roads to Puhoi on his Harley Davidson.

For Barton cruising the open air is almost like a cocoon. But for adrenalin he likes to take his motocross bike through the Woodhill Forest.

"One of my goals this year is to ride my bike on one wheel for a kilometre. This may sound a little corny, but I see it as a metaphor for balance," says Barton, Vodafone's director of consumer markets and infotainment.

While Telecom boss Theresa Gattung also likes to ride, she favours the four-legged variety. She says it's hard to think about work when you're in control of up to 600 "unwilling" kg of animal. Since taking up the sport in her late 20s, Gattung's now hooked on the sheer thrill of horse riding.

"It's very relaxing because it is so different. It only takes me 20 minutes to drive out to where I keep my horse. A couple of hours later I come back in a different space."

While Gattung puts in long hours, and travels a lot, she also works hard to keep up numerous leisure pursuits. She's believes taking herself out of the everyday - by doing something that gives adrenalin - is tributary to avoiding imbalance that can result in exhaustion or illness.

Many execs see their children as tributary to balance. Yet Gattung suspects it's possibly easier for her to maintain balance in her life without having to spend time with or worrying about children.

"The combination of physical exercise, and mental concentration, and exhilaration helps keep things in perspective."

It's the time he spends with his family that forces consultant Kevin McCaffrey's mind into a totally different space. He says while there are still senior executives around who subscribe to the macho 1980s "work hard and play hard" syndrome, they're the exception to the rule these days.

"With most top executives working extremely hard, they're more likely to crawl home to their families when work's done," says McCaffrey, who works for IBM NZ.

Instead of seeking refuge in pure escapism or acts of self-gratification, McCaffrey claims executives would find more balance coaching their kid's weekend football matches. "If an executive has been away from family all week, spending all weekend in pursuits that keep them in isolation will do little to take the pressure down."

It's true, people who cope with stress have fewer absentee days and are more productive. But stress relief guru, Sydney-based Paul Wilson agrees with McCaffrey's sentiments. He warns against letting off steam destructively by becoming couch potatoes or by getting mad with family. He also counsels against taking a week-end warrior approach to recreation due to potential exposure to greater risk. "Conversely, executives who choose to 'veg-out' in-front of the TV are taking a negative approach to coping with the world around them."

He says any recreation that's done regularly has more benefit than less frequent pursuits. Not surprisingly, Wilson cautions against using high-stimulant events as a means of unwinding. "Relaxation is all about allowing the body to recharge," says Wilson who's helped organisations manage stress relief for over 20 years. "If done on a habitual basis, activities like swimming, running or surfing can reverse the stress process."

For Neil Andrew, TVNZ head of resources and technology, jogging, biking and regular gym help to maintain good stamina. The underlying thinking is common sense, explains Andrew. Managers who juggle the physical with the mental make better decisions and are better at delegating. But to truly get in touch with himself, Neil tries to go surfing at least four times a month. "It has both spiritual and social dimensions to it and is a great time for reflecting."

Surfing is to Andrew what yoga is to his colleague Sidney Smith. It allows her to stand back and become focused and calm.

Smith returned to NZ as a travel junkie three years ago - having visited places like Northwestern Pakistan and Timbuktu - after 23 years in Britain.

She walks to her city office from Parnell most mornings and despite being TVNZ's head of HR admits to not owning a television. With so many recreational pursuits, also including the theatre, music - and volunteer English language home tutor for immigrant refugees - her biggest risk is overloading her social life.

So how does being balanced reflect on the job? That's simple, says Andrew. Executives who don't have any recreational outlet are more likely to get stuck in an administrative treadmill of email and what's coming across their desk. "They can easily lose sight of the strategic or big-picture role, and are more likely to disempower staff by making decisions for them."

For Smith, her myriad recreational interests simply help to put work into perspective. She says fully formed executives - who are three-dimensional people with a life beyond work - are less likely to stress on issues that really aren't overly important. "Physically fit people have healthier psyches and are more likely to search for resolution when meetings are heading towards conflict."

While she doesn't recommend getting too scientific about the stress issue, Smith says some "old school" executives still need to grant themselves permission to be balanced. "Greater awareness of work-life issues has led to better self-awareness of the impact balance has on work, health, marriage and family life."