Welcome to Pressure Systems
Pressure builds silently inside the systems you lead, work in, and depend on.
I help you see where it’s accumulating before it distorts behaviour, decisions, and outcomes.
I work with leaders, leadership teams, and small business owners especially those who feel pressure earlier or more intensely to make hidden strain visible and adjustable before it turns into burnout, conflict, operational failure, or psychosocial risk.
THE PROBLEM
THE PROBLEM
Pressure in modern workplaces and small businesses is on the rise because systems are carrying more load, weight and strain than they were designed for. We are experiencing faster delivery cycles, constant change, thinner staffing buffers, more complexity, and higher compliance expectations across 5 generations.
When systems overload, people don’t just “cope less” they behaviourally distort. Communication tightens up, tolerance drops, reactivity increases, decision-making narrows. What looks like a “personality problem” is more often than not a structural pressure pattern.
Evidence shows up in cost, time lost, & claims
In Australia, work-related mental health conditions are becoming a larger slice of serious workers’ compensation claims. Safe Work Australia reported that mental health conditions accounted for 9% of all serious workers’ compensation claims, and this increased 36.9% since 2017–18.
The impact is significant
The impact is significant
The median time off work for serious mental health claims was 34.2 working weeks, compared to 8.0 weeks for all injuries/diseases.
The median compensation paid for serious mental health claims was $58,615, compared to $15,743 for all injuries/diseases.
When psychological harm hits the system, it’s longer, more costly, and harder to recover from than many physical injuries.
What drives Pressure
What drives Pressure
Safe Work Australia data on serious “mental stress” claims shows the most common contributing factors include:
Workplace bullying/harassment (27.5%)
Work pressure (25.2%)
Occupational violence (16.4%)
Burnout, conflict, mistakes are no longer “people problems. ”In Victoria, they’re early warning signs of psychosocial risk.
Leaders are now required to understand how pressure is created and managed in their systems. Small businesses that don’t adapt are carrying risk they didn’t plan for.
Changes to compliance December 2025
WHAT I DO
WHAT I DO
The Pressure Lab
The Pressure Lab
The Pressure Map is a facilitated diagnostic for identifying psychosocial risk in systems under pressure
This structured systems analysis Pressure Mapping session makes hidden strain visible and actionable for individuals and teams.
When structure leaks pressure onto people
This is a focused diagnostic process designed to identify where pressure is building in your system and what needs adjustment before it escalates into burnout, conflict or operational risk.
“When structure leaks pressure onto people, behaviour becomes the risk signal not the root cause.”
It builds quietly through:
Increased workload or growth
Role ambiguity or decision bottlenecks
Competing expectations
Behavioural friction under stress
Capacity limits that haven’t been acknowledged
Surfaces the conditions that create pressure
Surfaces the conditions that create pressure
My work surfaces those conditions and clarifies how they are interacting.
For individuals, this means identifying where personal strain is being amplified by structural design and where adaptation is useful versus unnecessary self-blame.
For teams, this means mapping shared pressure conditions and identifying where communication, accountability or decision processes are tightening under load.
Structured Assessment
Structured Assessment
It is a structured assessment of behavioural and structural strain designed to prevent pressure from hardening into long-term dysfunction.
HOW IT WORKS
HOW IT WORKS
1) Focus the Pressure
1) Focus the Pressure
Before the session, we identify one area where pressure is concentrating; it could be a situation, role, decision, or interaction that is carrying more load than the system currently holds. Load is everything the work is asking people to carry, it's not just tasks, but complexity, ambiguity, emotional strain, and decisions.
2) Map the system
2) Map the system
In a 90-minute structured session, we map three things together:
Where work design and management conditions are failing to absorb pressure, including:
Work design and management conditions we look at include:
Capacity and workload
Role clarity and expectations
Supervision and support
Decision pathways
Escalation, information flow, and handoffs
3) Clarify risk and adjust
3) Clarify risk and adjust
We identify where risk is emerging because structure has lagged pressure.
You leave with 2–3 practical adjustments that reduce risk by:
strengthening structure
changing how pressure is held
or altering behavioural and decision responses under load.
A short, neutral written summary follows within 48 hours.
This work works best when someone has enough stability to step back and look at their situation. It may not be the right fit during periods of acute distress or early recovery.
What the Pressure Map delivers
What the Pressure Map delivers
Clarity under pressure
Clarity under pressure
Makes pressure visible and concrete
Separates system strain from personal self-blame (you don't need fixing, more motivation or a better mindset)
Restores agency without asking you to push harder
Better conversations
Better conversations
Shifts discussion from who is the problem to what is happening in the system
Makes sense out of what is occurring
Creates a shared, neutral language for pressure
Explains behaviour without turning it into fault or defensiveness
Decision relief
Decision relief
Reduces mental noise by externalising the problem
Interrupts circular thinking and over-analysis
Makes trade-offs visible, deliberate, and less emotional
I know who I can now talk to about what
Risk reduction
Risk reduction
Surfaces early warning signs before issues escalate
Reduces hidden psychosocial and decision risk
Supports more sustainable ways of working under ongoing load
ABOUT
ABOUT
Cindy McClure is a behavioural systems practitioner. Her experience in both small business and large organisations where she held senior leadership roles in banking and insurance across data & analytics, digital, cyber defence, identity access management and transformation has given her deep insight into how systems work.
Cindy has designed and delivered behavioural change initiatives including DISC-based leadership pilots in high-pressure environments across technology, engineering and Operations.
She is now focused on helping leaders see system pressure early before it calcifies, becomes an unmanageable compliance risk or burnout.
Risk tends to escalate when load crosses a threshold the system hasn’t been designed to notice or manage.
Risk tends to escalate when load crosses a threshold the system hasn’t been designed to notice or manage.
FOR LEADERS
FOR LEADERS
Leaders absorb pressure first.
Delivery, people, expectations, and risk converge on you before they show up anywhere else.
When work starts to feel tighter, more reactive, or more fragile, it’s rarely a personal issue.
It’s a sign that load has outpaced the structure holding it.
This work isolates where pressure is coming from, how it’s distorting behaviour and decisions, and which work design and management conditions need to change so risk is reduced and control is restored.
Some leaders experience pressure more intensely
The Pressure Map is designed for navigating complex workplaces where strong, direct, analytical, or highly focused leadership styles can perform exceptionally until sustained pressure begins to distort decision-making, communication, or impact. This work separates leadership style from system strain, making visible what is adaptive under pressure and what signals a need for structural change rather than personal correction.
FOR SMALL BUSINESS FOUNDERS
FOR SMALL BUSINESS FOUNDERS
Small business owners are the system.
Pressure accumulates fast through growth, cash flow, staffing, compliance, and customer expectations all stacking up at once.
When capacity is overloaded, issues show up in people and decisions first.
Pressure Mapping identifies where strain is structural, not personal, and where small, targeted adjustments will stabilise the business and reduce risk.
WORKING UNDER TRANSITION
WORKING UNDER TRANSITION
Some people operate in systems defined by transition rather than stability.
This includes shift and FIFO workers, people who have been retrenched or restructures or in between roles, new parents, and professions such as nursing where handovers, rotating demands, and emotional load are constant. In these conditions, routines fracture, recovery is uneven, and pressure accumulates across work, home, and shifts in identity. The Pressure Map makes this load visible across rosters, transitions, handovers, and life overlap so behaviour is understood as a response to system conditions, not personal failure. It clarifies what can be adjusted immediately and what requires structural containment to prevent exhaustion, withdrawal, or risk escalation.
FOR TEAMS UNDER GROWTH PRESSURE
FOR TEAMS UNDER GROWTH PRESSURE
Rapid growth, transformation or change often introduces hidden friction.
Communication tightens up. Tolerance drops. Mistakes increase. This work surfaces where the system is overloaded, misaligned or unclear before it hardens into conflict or burnout.
I work with Leadership dyads - 1-3 leaders of a business such as a Practice Manager, the medical professional and a senior clinician
I work with Leadership teams of between to 15 people who report into the same Leader and interact with the same broader system.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A PRESSURE CONVERSATION
WHAT HAPPENS IN A PRESSURE CONVERSATION
This is a focused, practical conversation to explore where pressure may be building in your business or team
This is not a sales pitch. It’s a working diagnostic conversation.
In this conversation we will
Clarify the current friction or strain you’re noticing
Identify whether it’s behavioural, structural or capacity-related
Determine whether a Pressure Mapping session would be useful
Please come ready with
One current challenge
One example of where things feel harder than they should
Any recent changes (growth, staffing, regulation, workload)
If we decide to move forward, I’ll outline next steps clearly at the end. This is no charge for this conversation
OFFER & INVESTMENT
OFFER & INVESTMENT
The Pressure Map Diagnostic
The Pressure Map Diagnostic
This diagnostic commonly surfaces risks such as:
chronic overload
unclear accountability
competing priorities
constant context switching
decision latency caused by fear, ambiguity, or over-control
Pressure Mapping is a focused diagnostic service. Pricing reflects scope and context.
Individual Pressure Mapping (Leader | Business Owner | Individuals in transitions
From $650 for a 90-minute session, including a written Pressure Map summary and practical adjustments.
Individual Pressure Mapping (Leader | Business Owner | Individuals in transitions
From $650 for a 90-minute session, including a written Pressure Map summary and practical adjustments.
Team Pressure Mapping
From $1,500–$2,500 for teams of 4 - 15 pax depending on team size and session design.
Team Pressure Mapping
From $1,500–$2,500 for teams of 4 - 15 pax depending on team size and session design.
Most organisations start with a single diagnostic session before deciding on next steps.
If you’re unsure which option fits, Schedule a 30-minute Pressure Conversation is the best place to start.
Behaviour Under Pressure - Using DiSC as a Lens (Not baseline DiSC)
How we use DiSC
DiSC is used as a lens, not a label.
Behaviour Under Pressure - Using DiSC as a Lens (Not baseline DiSC)
How we use DiSC
DiSC is used as a lens, not a label.
We are not interested in personality types.
We are interested in how normal, functional styles adapt under pressure — and how those adaptations can become risky when load is sustained.
What this reveals
What this reveals
Under pressure, styles predictably distort:
D-leaning styles may escalate control, take shortcuts, or trigger bullying accusations
i-leaning styles may over-commit, blur boundaries, or create noise and confusion
S-leaning styles may appease, freeze, or carry silent overload
C-leaning styles may withdraw, over-analyse, or stall decisions
These are pressure responses, not character flaws.
Psychosocial safety contribution
Psychosocial safety contribution
Risk assessment
Using DiSC as a lens helps leaders understand:
how pressure converts into harmful behavioural patterns
why psychological safety erodes under load
why good people suddenly appear “difficult” or “unsafe”
This shifts the conversation from blame to predictability.
Why this matters
Why this matters
Regulators care about foreseeability.
When behaviour under pressure is predictable, risk is no longer mysterious — it can be anticipated and managed.
This is delivered as an add on module to the Pressure Lab, or can be delivered as a DiSC workshop to team new or wanting a DiSC refresher along with the Pressure Lens
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