From Pressure to Performance: Turning Corporate Anxiety into Motivation

In every corporation, it’s the same story: targets are set, stretched, and stacked to the ceiling. Whether these objectives come down from the top or build from the bottom up, managers face constant pressure to deliver results that might seem, on the ground, just a little (or a lot) out of reach. Welcome to the corporate world, where the elementary exercise known as “stretching” can sometimes feel more like “stress-ing.”

For many people, corporate targets create what psychoanalyst Melanie Klein would call “persecutory anxiety” – the nagging, inescapable feeling that the company’s objectives are a looming, unrelenting threat. We’ve all been there: feeling that the company or higher-ups are pressing down with impossible expectations. And, spoiler alert, this feeling of anxiety isn’t going away anytime soon. But here’s the key: the role of a manager is not to eliminate this anxiety but to translate it into something constructive. Instead of “persecutory anxiety,” which leads to blame and burnout, managers can help their teams experience “depressive anxiety,” a form that fosters accountability and fuels motivation (Klein, 1940).

So, how can managers handle this constant pressure, counter scapegoating, and keep their teams motivated and aligned with ambitious targets? Here are some practical tips, with a little bit of Klein’s psychoanalytic wisdom thrown in.

1. Reframe the Impossible as an Invitation

When targets feel daunting, it’s easy for team members to start blaming external factors—the company, the market, or even you, the manager. This is classic scapegoating, a defense mechanism Klein (1946) called “projection,” where individuals place uncomfortable feelings onto others rather than facing them. As a manager, you can counter this by reframing the high target not as a punishment but as an invitation to grow.

Encourage your team to see targets as a challenge that offers the potential to stretch their skills and redefine what’s possible. Emphasize that while the target may seem high, it’s a stepping stone toward their own professional development. This small reframe can move team members from feeling persecuted by goals to feeling invited by them—a fundamental shift from a persecutory to a depressive mindset, where accountability and effort take center stage.

2. Make Accountability a Team Effort, Not an Individual Burden

Persecutory anxiety often leads to feelings of being isolated with no support – the “everyone’s out to get me” mindset. Transforming this anxiety into something manageable involves making the target a shared responsibility. You don’t have to eliminate the pressure, but you can create a sense of “we’re in this together.”

For instance, instead of individual metrics, set collaborative checkpoints where the team’s combined efforts are celebrated, and obstacles are tackled collectively. According to Klein’s theories, depressive anxiety becomes motivational when people feel they are part of a collective goal rather than a solo mission under siege (Segal, 1991).

3. Encourage Problem Solving over Problem Pointing

Blaming is easy. It’s a quick release valve for stress, but it’s also toxic. When team members blame each other, or the organization, they get caught in a persecutory loop where everyone else is the enemy. To break out of this mindset, encourage a problem-solving culture.

Whenever challenges arise, frame them as “how can we tackle this together?” rather than “who’s responsible?” In Klein’s view, this approach helps team members engage with depressive anxiety productively, acknowledging obstacles and working constructively to overcome them (Spillius et al., 2011). Over time, this shift can lead to a more resilient and cohesive team culture.

4. Tap into Intrinsic Motivation, Not Just Extrinsic Pressure

Let’s face it: external rewards like bonuses or salary increases are short-term motivators at best. When teams constantly rely on external incentives to meet targets, they’re likely to fall back into a scapegoating, persecutory mindset as soon as the “carrot” disappears. Instead, help your team tap into intrinsic motivations—the desire to grow, to achieve mastery, and to contribute to something bigger than themselves.

You can do this by showing how their work connects to larger company goals and by recognizing their progress and achievements along the way. Intrinsic motivation, as Klein would argue, shifts the team’s relationship to targets from one of dread to one of fulfillment, making even tough targets feel meaningful rather than punitive (Klein, 1932).

5. Use Humor to Lighten the Load

Anxiety in the workplace is inevitable, but humor is an underrated tool for taking the edge off. A bit of lightheartedness can go a long way in helping the team approach ambitious goals without feeling like they’re facing down a firing squad. Use humor in team meetings to acknowledge the pressure but also to remind everyone that nobody’s getting out of this alive—so we might as well enjoy the process and support each other along the way!

A manager who doesn’t take every stressor too seriously can help the team relax and redirect their energy into tackling the challenge head-on.

Wrapping Up

As long as there are corporations, there will be targets. And as long as there are targets, there will be anxiety. But by translating persecutory anxiety into depressive anxiety, managers can help their teams not only cope with high expectations but also thrive because of them. With the right mindset, these ambitious goals become not just a test of endurance but a pathway to growth, connection, and high performance.

References

? Klein, M. (1932). The Psycho-Analysis of Children. London: Hogarth Press.

? Klein, M. (1940). Mourning and its Relation to Manic-Depressive States. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 21, 125-153.

? Klein, M. (1946). Notes on Some Schizoid Mechanisms. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 27, 99-110.

? Segal, H. (1991). Phantasy. In Dream, Phantasy and Art. London: Routledge.

? Spillius, E., Milton, J., Garvey, P., Couve, C., & Steiner, D. (2011). The New Dictionary of Kleinian Thought. London: Routledge.

#Leadership #HighPerformance #Psychoanalysis #CorporateCulture #Motivation #GrowthMindset