Financial Distractions

Even corporate execs need a roadmap to personal finance

We frequently compare high-performance leaders to high-performance athletes. Disciplined training, ability to perform under pressure, focus and stamina are among the traits the two groups share. When that critical moment arises, when an executive’s leadership is tested, she needs to be at her peak to accelerate her team’s performance. In studies of Olympic athletes, the ability to stay focused and eliminate distractions is critical to achieving or exceeding goals. Distraction is similarly a barrier to a business executive’s ability to lead her team to exceed its performance goals.

Personal financial problems are the premier stressor and a significant distraction for senior executives. A study by the Society of Human Resource Management (U.S.A.) found that “83% of HR managers said personal financial problems had a large impact or some impact on individual performance. Ability to focus on work and overall employee stress were performance factors that were most noticeably affected by financial problems.”