Maintaining Personal Resilience Flashcards
THE REQUIREMENT FOR RESILIENCE - THE COMPANY SECRETARY AS CORPORATE ATHLETE
Why is resilience so important?
Why is the company secretary a corporate athlete?
How can a company secretary support others in building their own resilience?
important due to increasing epidemic of stress from overloading demands, inappropriate stress appraisal or an inability to cope with stress symptoms
cosec can only continue to deliver sustained performance if they are first able to look after and pace themselves (put their life jacket on first before they can help others)
If cosec is able to maintain their own resilience but also understand the components of resilience more generally, they are then also able to support others in building their own resilience
THE REQUIREMENT FOR RESILIENCE - THE LEVEL OF STRESS PROBLEM
Why has resilience recently emerged as a highly prominent and widely regarded key 21st-century leadership competency? (2)
What did the Gallup study find?
What are the primary drivers of job burnout? (5)
(i) world is more VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous)
(ii) Fourth Industrial Revolution = high connectivity equals higher levels of stress (struggle to switch off) AND increasing levels of customer expectation (quicker, faster etc.)
of nearly 7,500 American employees, 23% reported feeling burnt out at work very often or always (44% reported = sometimes)
(1) unfair treatment at work
(2) unreasonable deadlines
(3) unmanageable workload
(4) lack of support from managers
(5) inability to switch off outside of office hours
THE STRESS RESPONSE
The first essential step towards greater personal resilience is to what?
Most stress and coping models identify what 3 core elements?
develop a finely tuned awareness of how stress is triggered, how you experience it, and how stress impacts on your behaviour
(1) the demands that are placed on an individual
(2) an individual’s appraisal of those demands
(3) the responses that the individual has to that appraisal
THE STRESS RESPONSE - DEMANDS
There are a variety of increasing demands that people may be facing within organisations and boardrooms today.
Demands may be linked to what? (4)
What may compound these things?
What demands may a company secretary face? (4)
(1) work overload
(2) work conflicts
(3) relationship issues
(4) work environment stressors = poor shift patterns, lighting or physical challenges
other issues may be creating a demand outside of the workplace e.g., undergoing major life events or is going through/ been through personal trauma or abuse
(i) maintain independence and balance different parties’ interests
(ii) manage a range of dilemmas and tensions, whilst maintaining trust from both sides
(iii) increasing workload (more governance requirements + involved in technical and behavioural issues)
(iv) unsupported and not fully understood or appreciated
THE STRESS RESPONSE - APPRAISAL
Stress theories suggest that the combination of demands that are currently being placed on an individual are then perceived by the individual as what?
What is ‘eustress’?
What could be the 2 outcomes from experiencing trauma?
either opportunities or threats
eustress = stress that has a positive impact on an individual (all organisms need some level of stress for them to thrive)
(1) Post-traumatic stress disorder = the stress that occurs as a consequence of significant and negatively appraised demands in one’s life
(2) Post-traumatic growth = personal development that occurs when a person is able to find the positive benefits of going through a significantly traumatic life event (those who are most resilient)
THE STRESS RESPONSE - RESPONSE
Once our brain has appraised something as a threat, our sympathetic nervous system goes into action.
The body generally prepares for 1 of what 3 responses?
Being in this constant state of high alert eventually leads to what?
Name examples for each of the 4 possible stress symptoms.
fight, flight or freeze
a number of negative cognitive, physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms
Cognitive = memory problems, poor judgement, indecision, brain fog
Physical symptoms = chest pain, high blood pressure, indigestion, skin problems
Emotional = increased likelihood of depression, frustration, panic, anxiety
Behavioural = increased isolation, demotivation, loss of sense of humour, increased alcohol consumption
DEFINING RESILIENCE - THE RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL
How does the American Psychological Association (2019) define resilience?
Campbell’s ‘The Resilience Engine’, describes the resilience dynamic as having what 3 stages?
= bouncing back from adversity
(1) break down
(2) break even = encompasses the idea of managing to bounce back
(3) break through = there is a level of resilience that can propel one to becoming even more resourceful, adaptable and energised than one might have been before facing the sources of stress
DEFINING RESILIENCE - THE RESILIENT BOARD MEMBER
There is currently very little research or information on resilience in the boardroom.
‘The Resilient Director’ by Willis and colleagues (2017), explores director resilience.
The authors contrast resilience with what?
At board level, this has a number of causal factors including what? (5)
with ‘compression’ as a consequence of stress, has number of casual factors, including:
(1) Life as a director can be lonely
(2) Managing and being part of a team that often has difficult personalities can be a destructive force in the life of the board
(3) Being part of a board that has unrealistic expectations of itself /members /chair can lead to personal & organisational breakdown
(4) Poor board processes such that the learning board is not yet a reality
(5) A failure to review the work of the board
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN THEORY
Resilience techniques must affect one or more of demands, appraisals, and responses.
How can one intervene and what is each known as? (3)
What are the 2 theories / frameworks for resilience?
Intervene by:
(1) reducing the demands = problem-focused coping
(2) finding ways to change our perception of the demands that still exist = appraisal-focused coping
(3) develop coping strategies to deal with the symptoms of stress = emotion-focused coping
(i) Resilience Prescription by Southwick and Charney
(ii) i-resilience model by Robertson and Cooper
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN THEORY - RESILIENCE PRESCRIPTION
What is Southwick and Charney’s Resilience Prescription?
What are the 10 characteristics?
a 10-point prescription, which summarises their research on what resilient people have in common
(1) looking after your physical condition
(2) developing and training regularly in multiple areas (emotional, mental, moral, physical, etc.)
(3) a positive attitude and optimism
(4) developing coping strategies and making use of them
(5) developing cognitive flexibility and learning to reframe
(6) facing your fears
(7) having actively found resilient role models
(8) recognising and developing your signature strengths
(9) a strong personal moral compass and sense of purpose
(10) establishing and nurturing a supportive social network
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN THEORY - I-RESILIENCE MODEL
What are the 4 aspects of the i-resilience model by Robertson and Cooper?
(1) Confidence = having feelings of competence, effectiveness in coping with stressful situations and strong self esteem
(2) Social support = building good relationships with others and seeking support rather than trying to cope on their own
(3) 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
(4) Purposefulness = having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction to help individuals to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN PRACTICE - PHYSICAL
There are numerous practical methods that have been used to develop personal resilience.
PHYSICAL = either operate as a method of building resilience to prevent stress in first place, or as an antidote to stress when it arises
What are the 3 behavioural (or physical) approaches?
(1) Eat = limit stimulants (caffeine and sugar) to reduce body’s natural stress-response spikes throughout the day and increase intake of organic, wholefoods
(2) Move = build exercise into day and moving more whenever possible (e.g., take the stairs, holding walking meetings)
(3) Sleep = aim for 8 hours, keep consistent routine, cool temperature, no screens 1 hour before, stop caffeine after 2pm
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN PRACTICE - COGNITIVE
There are numerous practical methods that have been used to develop personal resilience.
What are the 4 cognitive approaches?
(1,2,3,3)
(1) Reframe = notice one’s thoughts and language (through self-reflection, coaching and feedback) then dispute those thoughts
(2) Inoculate = (A) practice mindfulness through meditation or apps like ‘Headspace’ (B) other = cold therapy, hot therapy, breath-holding, and fasting
(3) Build belief: self-esteem (= how we value ourselves as a human being) and self-confidence (= the trust that we have in ourselves to deliver in specific circumstances) through (A) acknowledge one’s performance accomplishments, (B) verbal persuasion (positive affirmations), and (C) emotional arousal (= physically moving)
(4) Actively cope = (A) Morning routines (proactive and positive intent = light physical activity and making bed), (B) Time management (urgency and importance matrix to refocus), (C) Assigning uninterrupted ‘deep work’ time (notifications off and single task mode)
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN PRACTICE - HUMANISTIC
There are numerous practical methods that have been used to develop personal resilience.
What are the 3 humanistic approaches?
(1,2,1)
(1) Apply one’s signature strengths = each have different abilities which, if fully realised through our actions, will enable us to become both resilient and able to perform at sustainably high levels
(use Seligman’s ‘Values in Action’ online assessment to identify)
(2) Develop one’s moral compass = (A) use gratitude journaling and (B) Steare’s MoralDNA assessment (= helps an individual become more aware of one’s moral character in relation to ethics)
(3) Find greater meaning = developing clarity around one’s own individual meaning and purpose can have a variety of positive physical and mental outcomes, including resilience
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE IN PRACTICE - SOCIAL
There are numerous practical methods that have been used to develop personal resilience.
What are the 6 social approaches?
(1) give or receive coaching and mentoring support
(2) be involved in an action learning set or community of practice
(3) attend either formal events such as conferences or informal work gatherings
(4) spend time with family
(5) develop hobbies
(6) connect through travel or volunteering
BUILDING RESILIENCE - RESILIENCE PROGRAMMES
The concept of resilience is now so pervasive that it is highly likely that most large organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have engaged with resilience in some capacity.
What might programmes of resilience look like? What did Robertson and colleagues (2015)’s systematic review conclude? (2)
Lloyds bank is a role model for developing resilience programmes that both support people who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, poor mental health and build the resilience capacity of employees so that they are less likely to experience these issues in the first place.
Name 5 interventions that they have used.
concluded that for resilience training to be effective, an organisation needs to:
(i) be clear on what they mean by ‘resilience’, then design interventions that build from that definition
(ii) incorporate some element of one-to-one coaching or ongoing support
(1) publish on intranet stories of colleagues who have experienced poor mental health to normalise the phenomenon
(2) Employee assistance programme helpline to provide advice on coping with anxiety, mindfulness and dealing with self-control
(3) Colleague social media competition to share top tips for improving mental well-being at work
(4) Leadership programme, which covers nutrition, sleep management, mindfulness etc.
(5) Private medical cover available for mental health conditions
A RESILIENT BOARD DYNAMIC - COMPANY SECRETARY RELATIONSHIPS
Supportive relationships are one of the primary factors in maintaining resilience.
Why may this be difficult for a company secretary? (2)
What is perhaps one of the greatest factors in the requirement for, or the development of, company secretary resilience?
Why?
(1) because maintaining independence and discretion is key to the role = must stand alone if need be and do what is right
(2) developing good-quality relationships may be compromised depending upon reporting structure = ideally report direct to chair, bur could report to an executive or have a dual reporting line = can contribute to a significant amount of role conflict demand
= the quality of relationship that a company secretary has with the chair, moderated by the chair’s leadership style
Even though the demands of a cosec’s role may be significant, they will be more manageable with appropriate levels of support from the chair
A RESILIENT BOARD DYNAMIC - THE RESILIENT BOARD
One consideration, which will dictate the level of company secretary and individual board director resilience, will be what?
How can a board create an ‘environment that fosters resilience’? / Robertson and Cooper (2017) describe what 6 essential conditions of well-being that are required?
the extent to which the board culture itself engenders resilience
(1) Resources and communication = ensure that there is reduced pressure by providing appropriate resources and information e.g., timely board packs and continuous board member ‘check-in’
(2) Control and autonomy = ensure few limitations on how the director job is done to enable freedom to make appropriate decisions e.g., clarify roles/ expectations /boundaries in induction process
(3) Balanced workload = ensure that there are peaks and troughs in workload, that deadlines and unsociable hours are managed, and that work–life balance challenges are worked through
(4) Job security and change = manage the pressure from change and uncertainty about the future of the board through regular updates on governance changes
(5) Work relationships = appreciate that it is cosec’s role to facilitate/ mediate the potentially high-pressure relationships between board directors, with employees and key stakeholders
(6) Job conditions = strive to improve work conditions and the boardroom environment
