More on How to Increase Resilience

Introduction

When things get tough, people are told to be resilient, ie
"...the ability to withstand hardship and bounce back from difficult events..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

Too often employees are encouraged to 'grin and bear' whatever difficulties come their way; to do it on their own, without disturbing their colleagues.

Instead of demanding that everyone be mentally tough, there is a need to help people take care of their mental health, especially in situations that are beyond our immediate control.

Some ways to do this include

i) make well-being a collective practice

    - address issues like work-life balance, (eg don't have back-to-back meetings, allow for breaks between them; allow for family time, etc)

    - establish shared rituals (these help staff feel more grounded, less stressed;

"...Research shows that simply doing the same thing at the same time can improve mental health..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

Some ideas include scheduling a daily break; having fun prompts; doing something that will help you be ready for a meeting; reviewing the past (see below), etc.

ii) regularly reflect on your progress as a team

"...a ritual around reflection and recognition can also help your team members connect and build confidence......(and building) trust so that you can weather surprises together..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

Some questions that can help with reflection

    - What have we learnt?

    - What went well?

    - What was difficult?

    - How would we have approached it differently based on what we know now?

NB An important part of this is an understanding of 'lessons learned'.

Normally we make 'to do lists' which can make you feel overwhelmed. In addition, try making a 'done list' as a way of understanding your progress like
"... - goals you have achieved
     - projects you finished
     - obstacles you overcame
     - hard moments you survived
     - progress you've made..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

Need to go beyond words and act upon them, ie if you promise some action, make sure it has been implemented.

iii) use one-on-one meetings wisely

Go beyond the status updates, like performance reviews, to-do lists, pressing tasks, etc. Otherwise, staff can feel expendable and anxious

This type of meeting can provide an unique opportunity for better understanding and support by having a personal conversation. Some useful questions
"... - What one thing can I do to better support you this week?
     - What kind of flexibility do you need right now?
     - What does your workload feel like right now? Where can I help?
     - What was a win for you over the last week? What was challenging?..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

iv) understand and adjust for different emotional expression tendencies

Realise that people vary in their degree of comfortability expressing their emotions. There is a spectrum including

- over-emoters (people who are highly emotionally expressive, ie always know and express how they are feeling)

- under-emoters (people who are less emotionally expressive; tend to calm other people and help plan a way forward)

- even-emoters (people who can swing either way depending on the situation)

None of these tendencies are inherently 'good' or 'bad, but it is useful to be aware of where on the spectrum of your reports and you are located.

Some useful questions to dig deeper include
"...- What part of your job is keeping you up at night?
     - What should I know about that I don't know about?..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

Furthermore, acknowledge that we all have different working styles and preferences plus biases (the more detail, see elsewhere in this Knowledge Base)

v) create shared language

Helps staff feel safe when opening up and trusting one another. For example,
"...Use a 'red, yellow and green' system to check in at the beginning of a meeting. Red means someone is struggling; yellow means someone feels stressed, but it is manageable; and green means someone is feeling good..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022

People in the 'red' area are likely to feel very distracted and not able to focus on what is happening now; while those in the 'yellow' are still able to function normally; those feeling 'green' are 'ready to go'.

Treat mistakes as learning experiences

In summary

"...Ultimately, the best and most successful workplaces are those that ensure people feel supported through difficult times..."
Liz Fosslien et al, 2022