Perform better, stress less: A practical guide for high performers

We are increasingly asking our teams to reach a high level of performance: managing complex projects, remaining effective under pressure, making quick decisions, and maintaining strong engagement. In other words, we expect them to behave like high performers.

And when we genuinely look at what it means to be a performer, we quickly realize that the most demanding environments—such as high-level sports—never rely solely on technical skills. Athletes benefit from optimal conditions: autonomy, targeted training, individualized support, and above all, mental preparation, which helps them manage pressure, stay clear-headed, and transform stress into a lever rather than a barrier.

If we truly want to enable our employees to grow within this same logic of sustainable performance, it becomes essential to integrate these principles into our managerial practice. Autonomy alone is not enough; we also need to provide a clear framework, regular feedback, and tailored support to help them better understand how they react under pressure. This is where mental preparation tools play a crucial role. When used effectively, they help reduce performance anxiety, strengthen confidence, and create the right conditions for everyone to give their best—without burning out.

But before diving into the core of the topic, a few quick reminders are necessary.

Mental preparation vs. psychology

#

Both approaches can sometimes use similar tools (breathing, visualization, stress management), but their goals and frameworks are fundamentally different.

Mental preparation is primarily focused on performance. It is aimed at people who want to optimize their abilities in a specific context: sports, music, public speaking, or any other field requiring efficiency and consistency.

Psychology, on the other hand, focuses on well-being and understanding how a person functions. It addresses suffering, blockages, and potential disorders, and requires long, state-recognized training (five years in France). The framework is therapeutic, regulated, and protected.

In summary, mental preparation is oriented toward performance optimization, while psychology focuses on mental health and quality of life.

As managers, even though we care about our teams’ well-being, it is neither our role nor our area of expertise. Our actions are primarily focused on the performance aspect.

Performance anxiety: what is it?

#

Performance anxiety occurs when the fear of failure or stress related to an expected performance becomes overwhelming. It can manifest as:

• Physiological overactivation (trembling, palpitations, sweating)
• Negative or intrusive thoughts (“What if I fail?”)
• Loss of concentration
• A tendency to avoid stressful situations, which can hinder achieving goals

Causes of performance anxiety

#

Performance anxiety typically arises when a situation has the following characteristics:

• Perceived high stakes
• Mastery relative to the task
• Novelty
• Lack of control

Psychological orientation

#

There are two main drivers, called psychological orientations, that influence how a person approaches a task:

• Task orientation
• Ego orientation

Behaviors oriented toward the task versus the ego profoundly affect how a person handles challenges, effort, and failure.

Task orientation

#

A person focused on the task emphasizes process and personal progress. They concentrate on:

• Learning: acquiring new skills or improving existing ones
• Mastery: solving problems and overcoming obstacles
• Effort: valuing the work done, regardless of the outcome
• Self-comparison: measuring success against their own progress

Characteristics:

• Lower performance anxiety, as failure is seen as a learning opportunity
• Greater resilience in the face of challenges
• Intrinsic motivation (satisfaction comes from completing the task itself)

Advantages of task orientation

#

1. Strong intrinsic motivation
   • Focusing on learning and mastery provides lasting personal satisfaction, independent of external rewards.
   • Helps maintain long-term effort, even without immediate recognition.
2. Increased resilience to failure
   • Failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a personal threat.
   • A task-oriented person perseveres in adversity, valuing the process more than the immediate result.
3. Reduction in performance anxiety
   • By focusing on what can be controlled (effort, progress), the individual is less affected by external pressures or social comparisons.
4. Facilitated collaboration
   • A task-focused approach often values collective work and shared improvement, enhancing teamwork.
5. Continuous skill development
   • With mastery as the goal, a task-oriented person invests proactively and sustainably in learning.

Limits and risks of task orientation

#

1. Lack of social recognition
   • Focusing on personal improvement and process may cause a person to neglect visible or strategic results, limiting opportunities for promotion or external recognition.
2. Excessive perfectionism
   • Emphasis on mastery can sometimes lead to perfectionism, slowing progress or causing chronic dissatisfaction.
3. Difficulty adapting to competitive environments
   • In contexts where visible performance matters (e.g., sports competitions or professional presentations), exclusive task orientation may be seen as a lack of ambition.
4. Risk of overinvestment
   • Obsession with progress and learning can lead to burnout if personal limits are not respected.

Ego orientation

#

A person focused on the ego emphasizes external recognition and social validation. They aim to:

• Prove themselves superior to others
• Avoid failure, as it is perceived as a threat to self-esteem
• Gain recognition or approval from others

Characteristics:

• High performance anxiety, as failure is seen as a threat to identity or personal value
• A tendency to avoid challenges perceived as risky
• Extrinsic motivation (external rewards or fear of criticism)

Advantages of ego orientation

#

1. Motivation to excel
   • An ego-oriented person may strive to surpass themselves to prove their worth, which can strengthen determination.
   • This can be particularly useful in competitive environments where external recognition matters (e.g., high-level sports, professional competitions).
2. Boost to self-confidence
   • Achieving goals can foster strong self-esteem and encourage even higher performance.
3. Strategic performance management
   • In some cases, ego orientation helps prioritize effort on visible or strategic aspects of performance (e.g., shining during a key presentation to impress a jury).
4. Adaptation to social situations
   • This orientation can serve as a lever to meet social expectations and gain recognition, opening up opportunities (promotions, partnerships, etc.).

Limits and risks of ego orientation

#

1. Paralyzing fear of failure
   • When performance becomes a matter of identity, even small mistakes feel threatening. This fear can inhibit risk-taking, slow innovation, and lead to avoidance of challenging situations.
2. Dependence on external recognition
   • Prioritizing approval or validation from others reduces personal satisfaction derived from effort or learning. Intrinsic motivation weakens, making performance more fragile and volatile.
3. Excessive social comparison
   • Constantly measuring oneself against others can undermine self-esteem, especially when performance falls short. Result fluctuations then become emotionally costly, potentially causing frustration, anxiety, or discouragement.

How to shift from an ego orientation to a task orientation?

#

1. Redefine success
   • Measure progress against yourself, not others
   • Value the learning process over the final outcome
2. Adopt a growth mindset
   • Believe that skills and talents can be developed through effort and perseverance
3. Practice self-compassion
   • Replace self-criticism with encouragement in case of failure or difficulty
4. Develop mindfulness
   • Focus on the present moment to prevent external judgments or comparisons from taking over your mind
5. Set mastery-oriented goals
   Example

   I want to learn how to better organize my ideas

   instead of

   I must be the best in this exam

Integrating both orientations: a balanced approach

#

The ideal is to combine the strengths of both orientations:

1. Combine ego and task
   • Ego can serve as the initial driver to take on ambitious challenges, but task orientation helps maintain sustained effort and enjoy the learning process
   Example

   Preparing a presentation aiming to impress (ego) while focusing on quality and clarity of content (task)

2. Use ego to cultivate resilience
   • If failure occurs, it can be analyzed as an opportunity to grow rather than a threat to personal value
3. Draw inspiration from others without excessive comparison
   • Ego orientation can motivate benchmarking against role models, as long as it remains a source of inspiration rather than discouragemen

Examples of integrating both orientations

#

A sports competition

#

Task orientation:

• Focus on improving a technique or executing a movement correctly, without worrying about rankings
• Analyze past performances to identify areas for improvement

Ego orientation:

• Use competitive pressure to give your best, aiming to surpass yourself and impress spectators or judges

Important presentation in front of colleagues or executives

#

Task orientation:

• Focus on content quality and clarity of the message
• Carefully prepare key points, aiming to convey an idea or explain a concept in a clear and educational manner

Ego orientation:

• Pay attention to form: posture, tone of voice, and attractive visual aids to captivate the audience
• Treat the presentation as an opportunity to showcase your skills and stand out

Leading a team on a complex project

#

Task orientation:

• Emphasize collective progress and quality of work
• Set shared goals based on concrete and measurable results

Ego orientation:

• Highlight your role as a leader by showcasing your vision and impact
• Leverage positive feedback to reinforce your confidence and authority

Tips for finding balance

#

1. Self-assessment
   • Analyze your current behavior: Are you more often task-oriented or ego-oriented? Identify situations where one dominates excessively
2. Adapt to the context
   • Favor a task orientation for long-term projects or learning situations
   • Activate an ego orientation for moments where recognition or competition plays a key role
3. Shift from ego to task
   • If you feel overly focused on ego (e.g., fear of failure or dependence on validation), redirect your attention to concrete and controllable aspects
   Example

   What can I improve or learn here?

4. Shift from task to ego
   • If you are too task-oriented and feel a lack of motivation, remind yourself why success matters to you
   Example

   What impact will this success have on my career, social life, or confidence?

5. Use visualization
   • Before a key event, visualize both:
     • Your personal success (ego)
     • Your progress and the effort you have put in (task)
6. Seek balanced feedback
   • Look for feedback that values both the quality of your work (task) and the impact you had on others (ego)

How to link MBTI with task/ego orientation?

#

The MBTI can be a useful tool to better understand how we approach performance, particularly by highlighting natural preferences that influence our orientation toward task or ego. While it is neither the only model available nor an infallible instrument, it provides a simple framework to explore our ways of functioning, sources of motivation, and reactions to challenges. Used with perspective, it can help identify useful tendencies for better self-understanding—and, by extension, better support for others.

MBTI and task orientation

#

MBTI personality types that are more introverted (I), thinking (T), or judging (J) tend to favor a more task-oriented approach. These individuals appreciate reflection, structure, and logic, seeking to improve their skills and solve problems methodically and independently. Their main motivation is often to achieve mastery in their domain, without necessarily seeking social recognition.

MBTI and ego orientation

#

MBTI types that are more extraverted (E), feeling (F), or perceiving (P) may be more focused on social interactions and seeking external validation. These individuals are often motivated by recognition, visible success, and the social impact of their actions, aligning with an ego orientation.

Two approaches in mental preparation techniques

#

Today, there are two approaches that can be considered opposite:

• control techniques
• acceptance techniques

The second has shown significantly better results, even though it is harder to implement, so it is worth using both depending on the person and the situation.

Control techniques

#

1. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
   • Trains physical relaxation by alternating muscle tension and release to reduce bodily sensations associated with anxiety.
2. Diaphragmatic breathing
   • Focus on slow, deep breaths to calm the nervous system and reduce physiological signs of stress.
3. Cognitive restructuring
   • Identify irrational or negative thoughts (“I will fail”) and replace them with more rational or positive ones (“I am well prepared, I will do my best”).
4. Mental imagery
   • Visualizing a positive scenario where you successfully overcome a stressful situation can boost confidence and reduce anticipatory anxiety.
5. Planning and preparation
   • Practice methodically to feel more competent and reduce uncertainty. This includes repeating tasks or simulating anxiety-inducing situations.

Acceptance techniques

#

1. Mindfulness
   • Practice mindfulness to observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment, staying anchored in the present moment.
2. Cognitive defusion (ACT techniques)
   • Learn to see anxious thoughts as simple mental events rather than truths.
     Example

     Note a stressful thought as

     I notice that I am thinking I might fail

     instead of

     I am going to fail.

3. Self-compassion
   • Practice responding to anxiety with kindness toward yourself, recognizing that imperfection is part of the human experience.
4. Radical acceptance
   • Acknowledge that some situations are beyond your control and fully accept the emotions they trigger, without resisting them.
5. Gradual exposure
   • Gradually face situations that provoke performance anxiety, without trying to avoid or control them.

Examples of grounding techniques

#

Before concluding this article, here are some simple exercises to practice. They require a little time, and it is best to start in a calm moment rather than just before an anxiety-inducing situation, like a presentation. It is normal to feel awkward at first or feel like it isn’t working, but the key lies in repetition and trust in the process.

5-4-3-2-1 Technique

#

A classic exercise to engage the senses:

• Identify 5 things you can see around you.
• Identify 4 things you can touch or feel under your fingers.
• Identify 3 things you can hear.
• Identify 2 things you can smell (perfume, air, etc.).
• Identify 1 thing you can taste (if possible).

This exercise refocuses your attention on the present moment.

Box Breathing

#

This exercise helps stabilize your heart rate:

1. Inhale slowly for 4 seconds.
2. Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
3. Exhale slowly for 4 seconds.
4. Hold your breath again for 4 seconds.

Repeat the cycle several times to feel calm.

Body Scan

#

The goal is to pay attention to sensations in your body:

1. Lie down or sit comfortably.
2. Focus on one part of the body at a time (feet, legs, abdomen, etc.).
3. Observe sensations (hot, cold, tension) without judgment.
4. Gradually move upward to your head.

Guided Mindfulness Meditation

#

Focus your attention on your breathing, soft music, or a guided meditation voice. The idea is to let thoughts pass like clouds without holding onto them.

Grounding with a concrete object

#

Choose an object (a smooth stone, bracelet, pen) that you associate with a sense of calm.

• Touch or hold this object when you feel stressed.
• Focus on its texture, temperature, weight, etc.
• Over time, this object will become a reminder of serenity.

Mindful Walking

#

During a walk:

• Feel the ground under your feet.
• Observe nature or your surroundings.
• Focus on the sensation of the air, sounds, and smells.

Positive Affirmations

#

Choose a phrase that reassures you and repeat it quietly or in your mind.

Pair this affirmation with calm breathing.

Expressive Writing

#

If your mind feels cluttered, take a few minutes to write down everything that comes to mind, without censoring yourself. This can help release intrusive thoughts.