15. Maintaining personal resilience Flashcards
What is meant by CoSec as a corporate athlete? And why is it important?
Being a corporate athlete is about how an individual looks after and paces themselves
If they can not do this, then they cannot support the sustained performance of the organisation
Why does a CoSec need to be resilient? (2)
Because boards are made up of driven, ambitious individuals who possess an innate self-confidence and self-belief
Understanding resilience will also allow the CoSec to be able to support others in building their own resilience (with resilience being a key competency of board directors)
Why is it that resilience has recently emerged as a highly prominent and widely regarded 21st C leadership competency?
Because the world is becoming more and more VUCA and this is leading to a much more stressful world (or at least much more stressed working individuals due to higher connectivity and difficulties to fully switch off)
What is VUCA?
Volatile
Uncertain
Complex
Ambiguous
3 core elements re. stress that stress and coping models identify
- Demands placed on an individual
- Individual’s appraisal of those demands
- The responses that an individual has to that appraisal
3 core elements of stress and coping - demands placed on an individual - what demands might a CoSec face? (3)
- Maintaining independence by balancing different parties’ interest
- Manage a range of dilemmas and tensions, while maintaining trust with conflicting sides
- Need to become involved in behavioural issues as well as technical
What does stress theory suggest combination of demands placed on an individual are perceived as?
Opportunities or threats (depending on magnitude, which individual is facing the stress, etc.)
What is the concept of ‘eustress’ re. appraisal of demands on an individual?
‘Eustress’ is defined as stress that has a positive impact on an individual
Is stress good or bad?
Both
All organisms need some level of stress to survive. It is only when this stress is perceived as overly demanding that it can have more negative consequences.
What is the natural human response when appraising demands?
We are naturally weighted to appraise demands as threats, due to inherent survival instincts
5 common physical symptoms of stress
- Chest pain
- High blood pressure
- Immunosuppression
- Bodily aches and pains
- Indigestion
5 common emotional symptoms of stress
- Depression
- Irritability
- Cynicism
- Panic
- Anxiety
3 common behavioural symptoms of stress
- Demotivation
- Insomnia / hypersomnia
- Increased alcohol / stimulant intake
Define resilience
The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats of significant sources of stress.
in short - Bouncing back from difficult experiences.
Why might ‘bouncing back’ from resilience not be the greatest choice of words?
Critics would say that individuals can often come out of difficult experiences as more resourceful, adaptable and energised than before facing the sources of stress - ie. achieve a breakthrough
Jenny Campbell’s three-stage process of resilience
- Breakdown
- Breakeven (where most plateau)
- Breakthrough - this final stage involves surpassing pre-stress levels of resourcefulness and adaptability, similar to the concept of post-traumatic growth
Causal factors of stress for a director (4)
- Lonely and unsupervised work, where each director has to find their own way
- Being part of a team that has difficult personalities
- Unrealistic expectations of a board leading to disillusionment
- Poor or inaccessible board processes such as induction, evaluation, etc.
Based on the 3 core elements of stress and coping, what are the three basic methods to build resilience to stress?
- Reduce the demands - ‘problem-focused coping’
- Find ways to change our perception of demands that exist - ‘appraisal-focused coping’
- Develop coping strategies to deal with symptoms of stress - ‘emotion-focused coping’
2 well-known frameworks for resilience
‘Resilience Prescription’ - Southwick & Charney
‘i-resilience’ model - Robertson & Cooper
Southwick & Charney ‘resilience prescription’ - 10-point prescription (characteristics) which summarises what resilient people have in common
- looking after your physical condition;
- developing and training regularly in multiple areas (emotional, mental, moral, physical, etc.);
- a positive attitude and optimism;
- developing coping strategies and making use of them;
- developing cognitive flexibility and learning to reframe;
- facing your fears;
- having actively found resilient role models;
- recognising and developing your signature strengths;
- a strong personal moral compass and sense of purpose; and
- establishing and nurturing a supportive social network
4 aspects of Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model - and short description of each
- Confidence – ‘having feelings of competence, effectiveness in coping with stressful situations and strong self-esteem’.
- Social support – ‘building good relationships with others and seeking support… rather than trying to cope on their own’.
- Adaptability – ‘flexibility in adapting to changing situations which are beyond our
control… [and the ability] to cope well with change and recover from its impact quicker’. - Purposefulness – ‘having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction [to] help individuals to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks’
Why might a CoSec use either of the two frameworks of resilience?
To raise their own self-awareness of their current levels of resilience, and to enhance how they can support others (eg. directors)
4 areas that various techniques that can be used to develop personal resilience can be grouped into
Physical (or behavioural) approaches
Cognitive approaches
Humanistic approaches
Social approaches
3 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of physical approaches
Eat
Move
Sleep
Physical approach to personal resilience - Eat (3)
- Healthy diet which suits the individual
- Limit stimulants such as sugar and caffeine
- Reduce level of toxins, irritants and inflammatory foods
Physical approach to personal resilience - Move (2)
The more we move, the less stress we experience and the less extreme stress is when it does occur
This does not need to be massive amounts of exercise, just moving more where we can
What has the trend been in link between sleep and performance in theory
For a while, there has been a consensus that being able to push through on limited sleep was a ‘badge of honour’ in organisational life.
Sleep is now increasingly seen as a secret weapon in corporate performance
3 (of many) practical tips for better sleep
- Consistent routine of sleeping hours
- Stopping caffeine intake after 2pm
- Limited alcohol before bed
In what ways can physical approaches develop personal resilience? (2)
- Prevent stress in the first place
- Be an antidote to stress when it arises
4 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of cognitive approaches
Reframe
Inoculate
Build belief
Active coping
In what ways can cognitive approaches develop personal resilience? (2)
- Shifting appraisals away from seeing them as threats and towards opportunities (reframe, inoculate, build belief)
- Dealing with stressful symptoms in a planful way (active coping)
Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Reframe (3)
- Taking a more positive view on life leads to improved psychological outcomes
- Avoids pessimistic outcomes such as catastrophising, overgeneralising, and discounting the positive
- Pessimism should not be completely discounted, as it can sometimes be useful (such as that it considered a useful trait in lawyers)
Define inoculation (re. stress)
A technique that helps individuals build resilience by equipping individuals with tools to effectively manage stress.
Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Inoculate (such as through mindfulness) (3)
- Meditation and other inoculation approaches have positive outcomes in supporting those with depression
- Mindfulness coaching is used in companies such as google and apple to improve employee well-being and performance
- At board level, mindfulness has been correlated with more emotional regulation and ethical decision-making
What is the most widely known inoculation method, and the one most recommended to develop one’s resilience?
Mindfulness
Define mindfulness
The psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment
Inoculation is often seen as a cognitive approach due to prevalence of mindfulness - physical methods of stress inoculation can also be used, such as:
- Cold therapies (showers, baths, etc.)
- Heat therapies (saunas)
- Fasting
Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Build belief - belief can be split into which two distinct but related concepts? - define them
Self-esteem - How we value ourselves as human beings
Self-confidence - The trust that we have in ourselves to deliver in specific circumstances
4 main methods to build both self-esteem and self-confidence (and therefore self-belief)
- Acknowledge one’s performance accomplishments
- Use others’ success vicariously (such as to learn)
- Verbal persuasion (positive affirmations)
- Emotional arousal (by moving or listening to energetic music)
Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Active coping (to better deal with stressful symptoms) - 3 techniques
- Proactive morning routines
- Active time management (and prioritisation of tasks)
- Assigning uninterrupted ‘deep work’ time (by turning off notifications, etc.)
3 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of humanistic approaches
Signature Strengths - realising these to full potential
Moral compass
Meaning - development of strong and compelling team purpose
How do humanistic approaches help build resilience
Through acknowledgement and study of whole person and their healthy potential, by focussing on creativity, motivation, empathy and meaning
Social approach to resilience
- Underpinned by recognition that we have evolved as social animals and need other people in environment to be fully human
- Social connections release oxytocin which is calming and stress reducing
- In board context, think coaching and mentoring support
What is the trend and current status re. resilience programmes?
These are becoming increasingly implemented by orgs in order to support employee well-being and performance, but have not reached the boardroom yet in any meaningful way
What is required for an org’s resilience training programme to be effective? (3)
- Clarity on what they mean by ‘resilience’
- Interventions designed to build from that definition
- (ideally) Some element of one-to-one coaching or ongoing support
In addition to individual competencies, the CoSec’s (and a director’s) resilience will also be impacted by: (3)
- Their role / reporting structure
- The chair’s style and relationship
- Board culture
