Planning for the next phase of life

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – Planning for the next phase of life.

 In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to Dr Sara Geber who is based near San Francisco, California. Sara has a background in organisational development and leadership development and a Ph.D. in Human Behaviour. She is also a nationally recognised authority and expert in the area of life planning and retirement transition. Around ten years ago, Sara realised a lot of her executive coaching clients were starting to think about their retirement plans rather than their strategic plans. She became increasingly interested in how the Baby Boomer generation were entering a period where retirement was increasingly on their minds. The one thing they didn’t seem to want to do though was do it the same way their parents did.

Over the last few years the idea of retirement has changed. Baby Boomers want to do things their way. They aren’t necessarily interested in the stereotypical retirement leisure activities, they want to stay active and productive. A lot of them don't want to retire in their 60s. There is a different trajectory of ageing now with more people expecting to live into their 80s and being healthy and happy. Sara thinks that we should start thinking about our health when we’re much younger – food choices, exercise and outdoor time all help us stay strong and healthy longer. The percentage of people staying healthy into their 70s and 80s is growing every year and exercise and is important to this, both physical and mental! It’s important though that we don’t beat ourselves because we can’t do everything and are more susceptible to physical problems.  We need to be realistic in our expectations, accept its not always going to be perfect and do what’s right for us rather than take on someone else’s expectations – it’s our individual choice!

There is no one glide path into retirement but Sara thinks we should all be thinking about what we’re going to do when we reach our 50s. The number one priority is retirement savings and it’s important to know how much money we’ll need for our retirement. Financial planners now often run a life span to 97 or 103 so the sooner we start to plan and get ready the better. We need to think about how long we want to work, whether we’re still enjoying what we’re doing or want to make a change. Many people on their 50s get restless so it's a good time to start looking ahead and asking ourselves ‘what is my life going to look like, and what am I going to feel like in 20 years time’. Many people make huge changes to their working and personal life in their 60’s. The two major restrictions are physical and monetary but nowadays many people are healthier and have more resources.

One of the things Sara is particularly interested in is retirement planning for solo agers. Almost 20% of the Baby Boomer generation don't have don't have children so really need a practical plan for when they are older. As well as the obvious legal and financial considerations they need to focus on their social network. Isolation and loneliness is a huge problem in society generally but particularly for older people.  

It’s important to take stock of who you see, when you see them, who you spend time with at holiday time and whether its family or friends. We need to start nurturing our social network early and also consider important issues such as where we want to live and what kind of environment we want to live in. We also need to communicate our wishes to the people closest to us – who knows when a crisis might hit and we’ll need someone to make decisions for us. If no one knows what we’re thinking about our own future, then no one will be able to speak on our behalf in the way we would speak for ourselves. Of course it’s something that's difficult to plan but we need to start thinking about it and have some contingency plans – ideally written down.

Sara believes we are all social creatures who thrive in a stable community so whether its friends or family, we need to build our social network throughout our life. Having a sense of purpose, involving ourselves in things we are passionate about and creating new and different experiences are also really important as we move towards the next phase of our lives.

You can get in touch with Sara at https://sarazeffgeber.com/ Her book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, was released in April 2018, and has been an Amazon bestseller. It was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the “2018 best books on aging well.”

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about Sara here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available

Building resilience for emergency responders.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – Building resilience for emergency responders.

In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to John Marx, the Executive Director of the Law Enforcement Survival Institute and editor of the law enforcement wellness website www.CopsAlive.com

John is based near Denver Colorado and is now a consultant and trainer who works with law enforcement officers and emergency responders to help them build their wellness and resilience - as their motto says, ‘Saving the lives of those who save lives’. John was a law enforcement officer himself for 23 years but by the end of his career he felt very burned out.

When he was a serving officer John contemplated suicide and he now realises that many other law enforcement officers, emergency responders, fire fighters and paramedics have the same thoughts. They see the worst of society and this takes a toll on the human spirit over time. John knew he was suffering so he chose to leave law enforcement and sought out help. He wanted to venture out on his own and do something different so he moved into a completely news environment. The suicide of an ex friend and colleague however, brought back many memories and made him recognise that there were many people who suffered in silence and had families and friends who didn't realise what they were going through.  John wanted do something to change this so decided to set up an organisation to provide consultancy and training services to develop the health and wellbeing of emergency responders.

Many of us get our knowledge of the emergency services from film and television. John feels that these capture a little about what these careers are like but although they do a good job in showing the fear and outrage that providers go through, they don't capture the ongoing stress generated from nurturing society’s ills. There is an underlying malaise that comes from having to deal with dreadful situations and people day in, day out.  John worked for some time as a community police officer so got to know people in his area. He felt it was important to know the people he served and believes believes this is how police officers should work.

John feels that everyone is born with some resilience but that it is also something we can build. In the emergency services resilience needs to be built because there are forces working against so there is a need to be prepared. Since the shift to remote working many people have found difficult switching between work and home. The relentless series of interactions makes it difficult to wind down. John uses a mechanism he calls a ‘buffer time or zone’ to change between work and home. Emergency responders see so much death, destruction, poverty and sadness that it is challenging not to bring it home. Many responders try to protect their loved ones from their experiences and this in itself can be very harmful.

John feels that being a serving police officer is a profession not just a job and there is a need to strive for excellence to be the best you can be and provide the best service to community. This need to be intentional is a mindset that we can programme though visualisation, positive affirmation and programming to build habits to intentionally improve ourselves. We need to be conscious of our habits because they can get locked so we need to break the pattern and stay in the present moment

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about John here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available.

You can get in touch with John at:
www.LawEnforcementSurvivalInstitute.org
www.CopsAlive.com
www.ArmorYourSelf.com

Life in the Bipolar mind

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled - Life in the Bipolar mind.

In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to Bob Krulish who is based in Seattle, Washington. Bob suffers from Bipolar 1 Disorder that, due to a misdiagnosis, was untreated for a large part of his life.

Bob’s definition of Bipolar Disorder is that it is a mood disorder that ranges from mania to depression.  The mania symptoms include becoming very animated with expansive moods, having numerous ideas and projects on the go with lots of energy to pursue them, and not needing to sleep for days at a time.  The criteria and symptoms for the depression are the same as in major depressive illnesses - not being able to get out of bed, having no energy or joy and a lack of interest in anything, including the projects that were so important during the mania phase.  The mania and depression comes in cycles that need to be managed. With the right management, the episodes can become fewer and less severe.

Bob was 16 when he first started to have bizarre behaviours, but a doctor did not diagnose him until he was 51. Bipolar Disorder can make it very difficult to get through school, hold down a job or have a relationship. In Bob’s case he finished collage very late at 31 but as his degree was in Mathematics, he was able to find work in the insurance sector, first as an actuary and then as a product manager. He also married and started a family. Work was difficult though and he had to move from job to job because, as he spent more time with people, things would get worse. Eventually he was fired from his high profile job and he not only lost his job but his marriage of 24 years, children, and friends and eventually ended up homeless. He spent two years living off welfare, not working or seeing many people until he was finally diagnosed and started taking medications

There is some evidence that Bipolar Disorder is genetic. Bob’s father left his family when Bob was 16 but now, on reflection, Bob feels his father was Bipolar. If there is a genetic predisposition, a trauma or high level of environmental stress can trigger the Bipolar gene and, once it manifests itself, it becomes something that needs to be treated for life. There is also some correlation between Bipolar and high intellect, high functioning mathematical and creative abilities. Bob feels that during manic cycles people can accomplish incredible things that can move them into positions of importance, which they may not really be suited to.

Medication is the main treatment for Bipolar. Over the last 11 years Bob has used 20 different medications in 65 different combinations but over time and in close consultation with his doctor, Bob can now manage his cycles.  He has also undertaken talk therapy with a psychologist that has given him a greater insight into his illness and how to manage it. He has also developed some coping strategies. Triggers for cycles include stress and a lack of sleep so Bob now makes sure that he doesn’t allow himself to get into stressful situations and that he gets at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep each night. He has developed a more thoughtful and calm lifestyle at a slower pace and he starts each day with study and meditation at 4.30 to get into the day.  

A number of people who are Bipolar also have Anosognosia, a condition where a person can be cognitively unaware of having it due to damage to brain structures which leads to a deficit of self-awareness. This can make it even harder for people to realise they are Bipolar. Even without Anosognosia, during a manic cycle people will not feel there is anything wrong but this is the point where it is far easier for a doctor to make a diagnosis.

Bob’s book is called ‘When Screams Become Whispers’ and it is about the 35 years when he was undiagnosed and it aims to give readers an idea of what its like in the bipolar mind. Bob hopes that the book will help people who have symptoms get a sense of whether they might need to see a doctor – if you see yourself in book then you need to talk things through with someone. 

Bob now coaches individuals and families on how to live better with the disorder.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about Bob here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available.

Please visit bobkrulish.com to learn more or his Facebook page Bipolar Solutions

Compassion in the workplace

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – Compassion in the workplace.

In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to Nate Regier who is the CEO and founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership firm dedicated to bringing compassion into the workplace. Nate is a former practicing psychologist and expert in social-emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, and leadership.

Nate is now based in Kansas but originally was from the mid west. His parents were famers but decided to become missionaries so in the early 70’s Nate was living in Africa.  He spent his early childhood Zaire which is now the Democratic Republic of Congo and went to high school in Botswana in the 1980s. Nate feels that by travelling around at such a young age he learned to adapt and became very used to different cultures which has given him a different perspective of what its like to live in America now. He also believes that Africa was where the seeds of compassion were sowed in him Nate struggles with the traditional stereotypes of compassion such as Gandhi and Mother Theresa. He feels compassion is more than empathy. The Latin meaning of compassion is to suffer with – to have active engagement not just empathy.

Nate feels that conflict is a natural product of diversity - because we are different there will be conflict. Conflict is the energy created from diversity and means we have choices and opportunities and enables us to thrive and innovate. The only question is how will we use the energy of conflict?  A lot of conflict energy is spent in drama. In the drama triangle there are three roles – persecutor, victim and rescuer. The three roles can be quite fluid, with people moving between them and when people play these roles they feed off each other which distracts energy from well laid plans.

Nate originally trained as a clinical psychologist but felt it did not really suit him. He preferred more dynamic things such as coaching, consultancy, training and writing so, with some partners, he set up Next Element in 2008. Their aim was to take what they had learned in the social sciences field and apply it to the corporate world through leadership and development training and coaching programmes.

Many consultants in this field tend to play rescuer role – they know what’s wrong and have the solutions but if it doesn’t work its not their fault – it failed because you didn't do what they advised.  They actually set you up for failure and dependence. Nate feels that the goal is capability, self-confidence and independence but that all coaching relationship have a natural life and the coach and coachee need to know either can walk away from the relationship. Nate feels many consultants work to become needed rather than effective which is why he has developed certification programmes to impart knowledge which allows the company to carry on without him.

Nate views leadership as the practice of managing diversity towards shared goals.  Diversity is necessary as it provides the perspective we need so leaders need to cultivate a skill set to manage diversity whilst working towards shared goals. Two of the most essential competences needed to achieve this are communication and conflict management skills. Not everyone can clearly see a path so leaders need to translate the plan so everyone can understand – leaders need to have vision and strategy but also the human capital to go forward.

Nate’s latest book is called Seeing People Through and is about personality differences and inclusion through the Process Communication Model, a behavioural communication model that teaches people how to assess, connect, motivate, and resolve conflict by understanding the personality types that make up a person’s whole self.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about Nate here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available.

You can find out more about Nate here.

Trends in Organisational Development

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – Trends in Organisational Development

In this episode, Dr Russell Thackeray talks to Dr Jonathan Westover who is based in Utah and describes himself as a scholar/practioner. He has been an Associate Professor at Utah Valley University for 11 years and leads the Organisational Leadership Department which focuses on organisational development and change, human resource management, organisational behaviour and leadership. He also undertakes research on global comparisons in worker engagement and satisfaction, and the drivers of worker motivation across the world. Through his consultancy, Human Capital Innovations, Dr Westover helps organisational leaders better manage their people, improve leadership their skills and ultimately have high functioning organisations and teams that maximise the potential of their people.

There seems to have been a trend in the academic world over the last 20 years or so to stretch boundaries and come with new and interesting ideas to push forward organisational design and leadership. There have been academic and practioner fronts but academia has always tried to push the edge of knowledge. Although there have been major advancements in statistical methodologies that provide more insight into the theoretical world, the major principles and theories of organisational behaviour have been in place for decades. There have been tweaks and relabeling but no major advancements.

Dr Westover feels that this is because when organisational behaviour emerged as a stand-alone discipline originally it was an amalgamation of different social sciences and their take on organisations. Over time it became one discipline and it started to uncover the drivers for organisational human behaviour, group behaviour and effective leadership. These are in the main very down-to-earth, common sense ideas that sometimes get lost when fire fighting or in the day-to day grind. There is an ongoing need to remind people of the basic principles so they can be effective and drive innovative cultures but the major aspects have always been in place.

As a leading expert in global comparative studies as it relates to organisations, Dr Westover has studied the complexity of global systems as they influence organisational dynamics and the motivation of employees. One of the major things to come out of this is the recognition that a theory cannot be applied in the same way to every country and context throughout the world. Their needs to be a contextulisation of theories and their applications because they do not work in the same way in every country so generalised models break down.

Many countries still default to the west for ideas and best practice but although the principles can be similar there can be major differences. These need to be taken into any models or false conclusions about human capital, the workforce and skills emerge.  Ideas then emerge that there are problems with the workforce whilst the issue has more to do with the management structure, organisational style and work allocation.

Whilst leaders like predictability and consistency and would like to see generic policies and procedures across all their sites, if you’re a multinational based in 50 different countries it simply will not work.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information about Dr Westover here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available. a

You can get in touch with Dr Westover at innovativehumancapital.com

How our narrative determines our choices.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – How our narrative determines our choices.

Kimberly Spencer is an award-winning high performance coach and trainer, who is currently based on the Gold Coast of Australia. Originally from Los Angeles, Kimberly is also and Amazon best-selling co-author, international motivational speaker, and founder of CrownYourself.com where she helps visionary leaders build their empire and stand out in their full potential in their bodies, businesses, and relationships.

Kimberly’s uses her personal experience to inspire, motivate, and coach her clients using what she has learned from her personal development to help others to find their truth. She feels very strongly that we learn from different experiences and that in every problem there is an opportunity to grow.  The narrative we feed ourselves is incredibly important - the old adage of whether the news is good or bad comes back to the news being how we view it and what we decide it is.

She feels this also equates to the narrative of whether we see ourselves as a success or a failure. We all have successes and failures but we don't tend to share our failures so other people only see the successes. The link running through all our successes and failures is having the resilience to pick ourselves up and carry on. Our narrative also determines the choices we have and ultimately the control we have over our lives. We might not like some of the choices we are given and would prefer different options but we all have the ability to choose the attitude we take in that space. No one can take away the way we respond to a choice.

This power of personal choice is especially important to Kimberly as she grew up in a household with an addict father, which made her early home life very difficult. She realised she was a people pleaser so had to learn the importance of self-love. The pressure to be perfect can be overwhelming and cause people to blame themselves for just being human.  Often we link our personal value to something tangible. We need to get away from this external validation and external pleasing and not live our lives at the behest of other people.

Kimberly also talks about identity and how people attach it to things such as bank balances or weight. By attaching identity to the number on the scale, we are looking at it as the effect of choices that have been made. Having these choices allows us to be ourselves and, equally, making a choice not to do something is incredibly empowering because we’re cleansing ourselves and getting rid of things we don't want to do.

You can listen to the podcast in full here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available and there is an option to sign-up to receive our podcast episodes on release. Our full blog archive is also available and you can sign-up to receive these on a weekly basis.

You can find out more about Kimberly here.

How to survive a technology driven workplace.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – How to survive a technology driven workplace.

In this episode, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks to Steve Prentice, a published author, keynote speaker, university lecturer, and full-time consultant to Fortune 500 companies. His specialty is explaining the practical and emotional impacts and benefits of technological change in regard to productivity, collaboration and life balance, and in providing practical steps to make these changes work.

Steve is interested in resilience from the standpoint of people and technology and how we manage the changes that technology brings. Although technology is a tool, we can struggle to use it. We need time to adapt and the speed of transformation over the last 25 to 30 years has overtaken our capacity for change. Our bodies haven’t learned to process the signals from technology such as the way we respond to light or even to the information itself. The false sense of urgency we feel to reply to an email immediately along can be manipulated by cyber criminals who use our response reflex to trick us into clicking a link to a piece of malware

Looking at the work scenario over the next five to ten years, Steve feels the soft skills of empathy and critical thinking will be key.  AI and robots will change some industries but the capacity to think critically will be essential to keep businesses safe. At the moment with so many people working from home, cyber security has become more important. Is the link between our home router and our place of employment safe?

A lot of people working at home have found they’ve been interrupted just as much as in the office. There have been too many Zoom meetings but Steve feels this is not the fault of technology rather our capacity to establish relationships to those making the bookings. The most powerful weapons in managing our time are being able to influence and relate to managers, customers and co-workers. Our calendars shouldn’t be telling us what to do but telling other people when we are available  

Technology means an increased speed of response is expected so it’s important to manage expectations. People get concerned if they don’t get a response straight away so we need to give them something tangible. An email saying you’ll reply within three hours or by the end of the day makes people feel more comfortable and provides a sense of structure.

There is a natural rhythm to work that has been disrupted by home working. At home we are always available. We go out for a walk at lunchtime but take our phone with us so can always be contacted.  We need to make sure we have structure to our day and have ‘time on and time off’. This can be difficult in some situations but even if we are in a continuous working environment we still have the capacity to hand over work. We need to choose this option even though it might be easier not to because it’s far healthier.

Digital literacy is the key to surviving a technology driven workplace. Information is universal and free and it’s essential to know how to keep pace with what’s important in the world.  We need to know what’s happening and have the ability to pull in information we can use for our education and career. The most important thing to remember though is that as with all information there is wheat and chaff. We need critical thinking so we consider where we get information from and question it before we connect with others.

You can listen to the podcast in full here.

You can find out more about Steve and sign up for his blogs and podcasts at steveprentice.com

Christmas 2020. Time to invest in ourselves.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled - Christmas 2020. Time to invest in ourselves.

 In this episode, the last of 2020, Dr. Russell Thackeray talks about the rather strange circumstances we find ourselves in this year and, how we might launch ourselves into the new world of 2021.

There is no doubt that during 2020 we’ve seen the best - and the worst of people in the work environment. There have been tales of heroism and triumph. People who haven’t worked for a large part of the year have had to deal with the economic and mental health issues that brings whilst others have worked relentlessly and tirelessly with the possibility of burnout hitting at some point. People have moved from big, open plan offices with the support, and problems, that brings to the challenge of working at home, sometimes in an environment really not suited to work!

The one thing we can bring out of the whole situation is the importance of resilience. We have seen that people can whether the storm, they can keep going and even thrive but its important to realise that they can’t keep going forever. At this time of year we all really need to do one (or both) of two things:

·      Stop and rejuvanate ourselves or

·      Invest in ourselves to plan forward.

Firstly, we need to really stop and look at what we’re doing. Remember we’re on holiday so turn off the work mobile, don't look at the emails and don’t start on the presentation needed in the New Year. We have to have a break to renew. Try some meditation or breathing exercises, have some long, relaxing baths or get out for some walks in the countryside.

Stopping will also help you to think forward. If you feel stuck or aren’t happy then start planning! There are a huge number of free learning courses online to help obtain some new skills. Alternatively, check out the Wheel of Life, which can help us think and project forward through categories such as career, relationships finance and happiness. It will also highlight the fact that at different points in our lives, different things are important. For example, at the moment you may be prepared to work hard because its getting you where you want to go but alternatively, you might be coming to a point where you’re working equally hard but you realise it’s not giving you what you need so it’s time to stop and think about what you really want.

Once we stop we can then start to invest in ourselves. We can begin by being more mindful about the way we engage with ourselves, our partners and our friends and family and the time we dedicate to them. We can look at our immune system and the nutrients and vitamins it needs to improve our sleep and help us generally feel better. We can also look at our work environment. We need to make sure we can move about freely, take time away from screens and build in proper breaks rather than just keeping going.

Rolling forward, it looks as if the seas will be a bit choppy so thinking about the narrative we use can help our mental state. If we think 2021 is going to be terrible we’ll spend our time dreading what’s to come whereas if we adopt more of a ‘what will be’ attitude we’ll be able to deal with situations a lot better. Plan some things that you can look forward to. Just the process of booking future holidays, family events or days out helps change our mental state. Remember how confirmation bias helps give us the things we believe in. If, on balance, we think 2021 will be a positive year it’s far more likely to happen if we tell ourselves it will. 

Our mental state can also be affected by the constant flow of social media. The dopamine surge when we get ‘liked’ on Facebook can be pretty addictive so we need to keep a healthy sense of perspective. The same is true about the media generally. We need to become more rationally pragmatic so we can make measured decisions about what we see and read.

Above all else, we need to be kind to ourselves. 2020 has been a year like no other and we all deserve some time and some self-care.

This is our last podcast for 2020. Next week we’ll be rerunning our most popular podcast of 2020 as our ‘Podcast of the Year’ so keep a look out for that and see if it’s your favourite as well.

The only other thing to say is that we hope you have a happy and safe Christmas and we look forward to catching up with you again in 2021!

You can listen to the podcast in full here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available and there is an option to sign-up to receive our podcast episodes on release. Our full blog archive is also available and you can sign-up to receive these on a weekly basis.

Resilience - what's all the fuss about?

On 6th December 1941, the Japanese attacked the American base of Pearl Harbour.  Whilst this is not news, it struck me that 2 interesting paradigms led to the terrible loss of life. The Americans believed that:

• a war from the air was impossible

• the main weapon of war at sea was the Battleship and not the Aircraft Carrier

Within 2 hours, the Japanese had rewritten the rules of combat by showing both paradigms to be incorrect and virtually destroying the US Pacific fleet.

Many business strategists use this lesson as a discussion point in scenario & risk planning in order to formulate options to be on the leading edge of future paradigm ‘bursting’.

However, whilst important, strategists forget that the Americans were not knocked out of the war and that paradigm resetting may not be the biggest learning point from the attack.

The Americans banded together as a nation, created a shared vision and drew strength from the defeat. Production was improved and materials and resources created incredibly efficiently to give battlefield dominance.

New innovations in manufacturing and weaponry were created to give a technological edge.

Movingly and symbolically, many of the damaged ships and resources from the December attack were repaired and returned to the war and, tellingly, were part of the Battle for Midway Island where veterans of Pearl Harbour from both sides engaged in a new type of sea battle.

This national resilience was facilitated by the imperative of war, but I believe, companies and teams forget one of the key success factors of business – that resilience s the actual secret to turning disaster to triumph rather than just attempting to second guess the future.

At a practical level, seeing disasters taking place in business is too late to be tackling issues! Managers need to focus on mistakes as a practical method to begin to build resilience in the organisation by tackling the issues at the team and individual level.

Every day, mistakes are made in business and managers can choose to focus on allocating blame or to get people to bounce back better and stronger. Every day, people make mistakes and become stressed and demoralised rather than seeing this is an iterative process where things are happening and initiatives are tried and tested. Allocating responsibility and choice to people allows them to build accountability, pride and resilience by returning control to those who need it most.

Some leadership gurus discuss the relative merits of rewarding new ideas and concepts, but we suggest this should be taken further.

Managers and leaders should be rewarded on the new ideas and suggestions they have garnered and facilitated from their teams as part of a process to build resilience

Individual resilience can be created through a process of building emotional, physical and cognitive toughness and team and organisational resilience can be created by the creation of suitable performance cultures trough cultural re-engineering processes.

Recent resilience programmes have shown dramatic reductions in success and improvements in performance across a range of sectors and QED can help assess and monitor current levels of resilience and create an action to deliver tangible results in individual performance from increases in performance.

Take a look at our FREE introduction to resilience ebook, “Resilience Unravelled”.

Whilst your own company or team may not face destruction, the lessons from Pearl Harbour can help focus managers on the need to be able to raise resilience so that difficult issues can be aired and challenged, sustained innovation can take place and that everyone can contribute to the raising of standards and performance

Are people really your greatest asset in organisations?

Are people really our greatest asset?

Plenty of people in Talent Management circles become extremely vexed when considering this subject. There is no doubt that many companies like to trumpet the message loudly in their literature and in person –yet many of them find it difficult to operate as if it were true.

And perhaps, it’s not? Plenty of people point to more valuable assets including Brand, Physical Assets, Cash etc as however, in most modern organisations, most opportunity and risk really resides in the ‘Human Capital’ of the business.

There is a school of thought which subscribes to the notion that the ‘right’ people are our greatest assets –the difficulty with this is that the concept of ‘rightness’ needs to be defined and that is not always politically correct or acceptable.

In effect, being ‘right’ is a combination of high productivity, high effectiveness, high potential and present and future relevancy for the organisation –this is a challenge both for employees and organisations themselves.

The issue for people is that it places a responsibility for them to maintain relevancy in terms of capability and effectiveness. It may free them to be much more employable and commercially ‘attractive’, but may also create the need for personal career planning and ‘effort’ and some people simply like to place their careers in the hands of their current organisation while they choose to simply live their day to day lives.

The issue for the organisation is that it assumes that it can think and plan forward for the types of people and effectiveness it will need. Some organisations who simply have a number/target which defines their mission and purpose will find this difficult. Larger and, possibly, more thoughtful organisations will need to be prepared to see their precious Engagement scores drop in the face of employees who become more purposeful and demanding of the organisation in helping them achieve their personal objectives. Another issue may well be the lack of sensible development required to help the organisation create the culture and leadership management styles required to create the level of dialogue needed to create the ‘right’ people.

The HR department may also be a block to the achievement of the goal of ‘rightness’ creation as they are often focussed more on their own purpose (arguably, risk prevention) and legitimacy (deciding whether they add value to the enterprise) to create a more ‘adult’ dialogue and introduce the concept of ‘rightness’.

Oddly, unions may well feel that their members would benefit from these approaches if they can get past the language used (‘rightness’ etc) which is too much the preserve of academics and consultants at the moment.

So a dilemma presents itself….the rhetoric is achievable, but only with some real change. The change must start at the top of the organisation –possibly the most tricky place of all where the pressure to deliver short term results gets in the way of the conversations and focus necessary to think differently and deliver the rhetoric. Ironically, the Board or Exec Management team (those who trumpet the loudest) may be the least ‘right’ for the organisation.

Maybe the debate needs to move away from the Human Capital arena and into the world of accounting. Much of the recent HCM research is (being polite) woolly and worthy and usually misses the real issues. Adding people to the bottom line of the business would focus the minds, then the work we have carried out with a range of VC’s and Private Equity firms who can value talent, would become more common place.

Resilient Leadership and Tough Love

Resilient Leadership and Tough Love

Being a leader can be massively challenging, as you deal with internal and external pressures whilst striving to look after the team.

Its seems as if a kind of “tough love” is required as leaders juggle the expectations and ambiguities of the business with the emotional and physical needs of the team and in return, expect their people to perform brilliantly every day.

To achieve this, leaders need the resilience to maximise potential and make the most of what you have to perform more efficiently. Resilience allows us to innovate, learn and become more creative. It helps us pull through change and meet high expectations by improving potential and boosting performance.

Building our capacity for resilience increases our capacity to perform. So, effective leaders need to be able to spot when resilience is being compromised in themselves and their teams. They then need to develop it or create the right environment for resilience to flourish so it’s there when it’s needed.

Leaders need to be skilled enough to have dynamic adult relationships, notice behaviour that is not the norm and be concerned enough about people to want to know what is going on. If people are tired and losing focus, then we know that their resilience has been compromised. Having the toolkit, knowing what questions to ask, being concerned enough to ask them  and listening to the answer is a key resilient leadership skill to possess.

We know that great leadership performance can be created ‘on purpose’ and deliver predictably outstanding results, so we develop resilient leaders who:

• Have honest relationships with people

• Can discuss behavioural performance with people

• Are aware of how they and others ‘tick’

• Encourage useful and stimulating conflict and challenge

• Have a strong sense of purpose and encourage people to join them on their journey

• Balance innovation and imagination with a desire to execute

• Solve problems and seize opportunities one step at a time

• Can endure difficulty and reliably deliver

• Are aware of risk and see risk as a series of manageable tasks

• Are clear about process and the part they should play in releasing the potential and capacity of people to build solutions

• Are aware of stress and pressure in themselves and in others and seek to build capacity to help cope in the times when resilience is needed

These resilient leaders are not perfect, but they focus on ensuring that mistakes are rectified and strive to avoid making the same mistakes more than once.

Difference is about risk and people with high resilience have a greater tolerance for risk. Difference is a sign that innovation is working and that diversity is taking place, somewhere people can get passionately engaged in professional disagreements but not get bent out of shape. Organisations need to have ideas that are different from the norm, not be threatened by them but evaluate them properly and implement them if required.

Improving Performance and dealing with change

Improving performance and dealing with change is related to levels of resilience at an individual, team and organisational level.

What is Resilience?

Resilience as a term can refer to bounce-back ability, clear thought or a successful attitude in the face of adversity. Arguably highly dependent upon thought processes and mind management, developing resilience on a personal level and, within an organisation, can boost business and personal success in addition to helping us to cope with the stresses of modern life.

Personal Resilience
With regards to personal resilience and developing an affinity for working under pressure, there are a number of prevalent ideas about the phrase. The American Psychological Association for example defines resilience as the ability to adapt in the face of adversity, trauma or tragedy.

In our continuously changing environment, coping with the stresses of modern life on a daily basis, adapting to almost incessant changes around us, both in the workplace and personally, remaining professional and keeping pace with increasing demands and competition are all components that the idea of resilience encompasses.

Those individuals attributed with resilience as one of their qualities are perceived as confident, clear-headed, proactive, organised and often possess high-energy.

Organisational Resilience
Strength in the face of adversity and an ability to cope or even thrive in tough conditions is a quality of a  resilient culture. Responding well to a single or one-off event it is not, rather a continuous anticipation and adjustment to external factors and internal changes that could otherwise hinder an organisation, its functionality or its success.

Why is Resilience Becoming More Important?
In the world of work, it’s not hard to notice that increased demands are now placed on workers for less financial and personal gain. Bonuses are reducing, the job market is more competitive, salaries are lower yet the cost of living is higher. Developing resilience both in business and on a personal level is bumped to the top of the “To Do” list.

Current Economic Climate
Let’s not beat about the bush, it’s not good! With a struggling economy there comes struggling companies and fewer opportunities; more rejections when job hunting coupled with a constant murmur of lay-offs and others questioning your value and position. A low resilience to these very real issues can result in a massive upset to your positive psychology.

Greater Expectations
We are now expected to give more for less. With 24/7 technology now sitting in everyone’s pocket, innovative technologies have rendered us accessible all day, every day. Who needs sleep? We have caffeine for that. Who needs to take a break when you can take your mobile complete with emails, call facility, sat nav, BBM, social media platforms, apps, schedules, diaries and reminders with you wherever you go. It’s even possible to get mobile phone signal on some sections of the London Underground now!

Stress & Burn Out
Following on rather poignantly from the above point, is an increase in stress. An inevitable consequence for some, burning out in an attempt to keep up with a rapid pace of change for those with people-pleasing personalities, is only going to become more of an issue. It already astonishes us how much money companies lose and how much time off work is needed to be taken due to stress and exhaustion. As well as costing the companies, it costs the NHS which in turn costs us, a vicious circle this just might be?

Resilience programmes have had fantastically proven positive results in breaking out of this cycle.

Our approach is to build “Performance on Purpose”, by focusing not just on healthy eating and exercise (physiological) but also on the way people think (mental toughness), how they feel (emotional intelligence) and how to play to the strengths of personality. We believe it is the combination of all four aspects and the development of these that will have an impact on performance.

QED delivers effective programmes for organisational, leadership and personal resilience. Using advanced psychological tools and methodologies we develop companies, teams and individuals to encompass and use effectively, those characteristics mentioned above that a resilient person or company possesses.