Developing Resilience - Putting it into Practice

Yesterday's CIPD Resilience Conference was followed up by a workshop today, called 'Building Resilience During Constant Change to Sustain Organisational Performance'. They could both stand independently, but today was a natural follow on, facilitated by Lynne Donaldson (@lindonaldson). I think that whilst yesterday covered the evidence and business case followed by lots of examples of well-being initiatives, today, we did get into the practicality of how resilience can be developed for individuals and for organisations, where VUCA is the new normal, and for occasions where organisations face sudden, unexpected turbulence.

There were about 16 of us there from a really diverse range of organisations, from large, traditional public sector, to commercial household names and medium sized third sector. One of the great things about the day was (as is every facilitator's dream) people's willingness to share experiences and learning in a respectful way. Despite the differences in our backgrounds and organisations, there were many more similarities in what we thought was important to support and develop individual and organisational resilience.

Skilled, effective management and leadership was a recurring theme along with authentic, honest and transparent communication.

To pretty much every  change scenario we examined, leadership and appropriate communication were top of the list when action planning. Common changes we discussed were changes to government policy - some quite sudden, such as the new National Minimum Wage, others concerned changes affecting service users such as housing association tenants and Universal Credit. Pretty much all of us had experienced CEO or leadership changes, bringing new styles or changes in priorities and the uncertainty this can bring for the workforce.

We worked through Lynne's Building Resilience through Capability Model. This is a very useful model, easy to apply, with a checklist for measuring your organisational resilience and another for measuring the gaps. Importantly, this is not new stuff, covering strategy, alignment, agility, planning and foreseeing, governance, metrics, talent development etc. But what I think is a great take away is that these have all been put together here as the essential components of a resilient organisation. It's all stuff we are or should be doing anyway and thus should be 'easy' to work through with colleagues/the leadership team...

In the afternoon, we worked in groups through a developing scenario. Initially, we identified the short and long term people issues for an organisation that has gone through a lot of change and has to deliver in a challenging environment. Our top, broad themes were trust, engagement strategy and brand. The group I was in focussed on trust. Our brief was communication from the perspective of an individual in the organisation when something has gone wrong. I was struck, though I really shouldn't be, again by the similarities of our approaches despite such different organisational backgrounds. Authenticity, honesty, no 'bullshit', consistency, no dodging difficult questions, involving people were all discussed and much more...

Anyway, I won't divulge any more, except to say that the way the scenarios developed felt real and relevant and this sustained a high level of contribution throughout the day.

Resilience Reflections

The CIPD Resilience Conference finished a couple of hours ago. I have lots to reflect upon as I have a quiet evening prior to the workshop tomorrow. Some of this is quite deep and personally resonating, for reasons I might blog about some time in the future. But for now, here are my initial reflections.

I decided to attend from a viewpoint of healthy scepticism. We've done 'stress awareness' training, seen health and well-being initiatives (some quite shiny), and striven for excellence in 'employee engagement'. So is 'resilience' the next big thing? Could increasing employee resilience actually be The Answer - to productivity, to absenteeism, to presenteeism, to harmonious employee relations...? I wasn't so sure, and I certainly did not think it was something that could be taught per se. I was also wondering what kind of work environments we have created that mean that you have to be resilient in order to survive them?

The day started superbly well with definitions, some biology and the evidence from numerous studies laid out for us very clearly by Prof Ivan Robertson. I definitely plan to spend some time exploring www.robsertsoncooper.com  Although towards the end the point was made that some senior leaders are naturally very resilient, see the world through their own lens and therefore simply don't get it, the link between positive employee well-being and productivity seems to be very conclusive. His main take away, other than needing to build a strategic approach was that psychological well-being at work is driven by demand, control, resources and support. Basically a high level of demand on you in your role is a good thing, as long as it is not excessive and you have control over how you do what is required of you, balanced with the resources and support you need.

Then a number of speakers, mainly from large global corporates, shared their examples of employee well-being initiatives and how this impacted positively on business. Many different ideas were presented and I need some time to think their application through. A common thread was the major importance of skilled leadership and management as the most important factor in how employees feel about work. This was probably followed by awareness raising and destigmatisation - we saw some lovely examples of well-being campaigns that have taken off and thereby encouraged much more open dialogue and acceptance that we all struggle sometimes. 

All good stuff - but it seemed to me to be more about well-being, especially psychological and emotional, than resilience? As Prof Robertson said, resilience is about psychological well-being and health AND being behaviourally effective and capable. Speakers did cover how they were measuring the impact of their initiatives, but as some acknowledged, that this needs fine tuning. 

Resilience training, the aspect I was most sceptical about was covered, and several examples given. I think my view on this has taken more shape. I still don't think it can be taught as a skill, especially not on line alone (RobertsonCooper's research found this), but knowledge about what contributes to well-being can be taught, and through effective leadership, coaching, mentoring, and having someone you trust at work or through an EAP who you can talk to, resilience skills can be developed. 

I was also wondering (and lamenting) why work environments have become places where you need to be resilient to cope. Some speakers focused on what they were doing to make places or patterns of work more flexible and employee friendly. The most memorable was from the only small business, Man Bites Dog, which is so small that employees have really shaped their work space (socially) and their roles despite working in the highly commercial and pressured world of PR. I think by the end of this session, many of us wanted to work there, if we like pink and love dogs.

Other speakers acknowledged that there is pressure, and there always will be, so the trick is to recognise this and to find ways to work differently to accommodate this.

Not all of the examples we heard about would require lots of financial investment. In fact we looked at cost free ideas in the interactive Man Bites Dog session. Finally, we heard from the Group HR Director of Servest, a very rapidly expanding facilities management company. I was very interested in her perspectives on what HR are there to do and not to do. I wholeheartedly agree that HR are not there to collect 17000 appraisal summaries, but are there to make connections and offer opportunities. This is not a cash rich world by any means and I know facilities companies often operate very tightly costed contracts, so it was great to hear that they embrace Social Media for example - with employees preferring Twitter to internal Yammer. They had even turned a negative employee tweet about not being paid into a positive, as the CEO saw it, responded to say it would be sorted straightaway, and it was. This was widely retweeted.   

So, as I risk starting to ramble, if I am not already, there was lots to ponder, and examples to follow up, explore, examine and learn from. Developing resilience, with a focus on employee wellbe and its impact on the bottom line, definitely seems to be the way forward. There's a range of approaches and new ideas emerging and evolving all the time, so that something to suit the every  organisation's unique culture and budget should be possible to achieve.  

Learning on a bicycle made for two.

22 years ago, within the first year of marriage, we hired a tandem and cycled round Jersey. The highlight was the waitresses waving us off following a scrumptious cream tea with a great rendition of "Daisy, Daisy". We have laughed about it many times since, but I also recall many moments of terror and panic when I felt I had no control. Yes, in stereotypical gender style, I was on the back, with no brakes, no gears and no way of being in charge of the speed we did downhill. I was fearful... he was a daredevil.

Unsurprisingly, Mr H was a little surprised when I suggested we try using a tandem again, with a view to buying one through his cycle to work scheme. With knee injuries from running, he is now a keen cyclist and already has a rather advanced racing bike that he uses regularly. After a slow half marathon last year, I have also been prone to injury, and now need to avoid high impact exercise such as jogging and running. We are also in a phase of life where our children are now young adults, and we have the freedom to try out new things and and gain new perspectives...

So, we have been borrowing a tandem for 2 weekends now. As we live on a hill, setting off (downhill of course) on our first ride was terrifying. I had to trust him entirely regarding the moment of set off, speed of pedalling, gear resistance, speed round bends and, of course, stopping. Contrary to popular belief, there is no free wheeling on the back, when you are the 'stoker' (I'm getting into cycle lingo already). You have to match the pace (and 'cadence') of the person in front. But the person in front has to listen, take your questions and concerns seriously and communicate their intentions. 'We are turning left at the next junction', 'Power up', 'Get ready to stop' etc. etc.

The young adults mentioned earlier were fearful of what might happen and fully expected ructions on our return home. Wrong. We came home laughing and smiling and after a 20 mile trip, keen to do a longer ride next time. The 2nd trip took place on Saturday, a perfect day, and we did 40 miles including a stop off in the beautiful small city of Wells. This journey included a number of hills. On a tandem, you can't stand up, so you go uphill ridiculously slowly in a very low gear - serious teamwork and effort required to make it to the top, then the momentum back down the other side is phenomenal. I will admit, it was a little fast for my liking, but I felt so much more confident and joyful compared to 22 years ago. It was fun.

I have learnt a lot from trying something out again, something that I had really thought the first time was going to be a one off. How even in an established relationship with very well worn roles, likes and dislikes, it is great to open up your mind, relinquish some of the control you are used to having, and put your trust in a partner. In this case, Mr H as a very experienced road cyclist, is much better equipped to lead than me and also compared to how he was 22 years ago. How, despite the day to day use of shorthand communication common in a lot of relationships, (that can sometimes be 'short' as well) doing something that requires you to work in tandem (couldn't resist) necessitates patient, clear and kind communication. I think there are many comparisons, like these, to make regarding lots of joint activities and endeavours at work and in life generally.

The last, and definitely not least one of these I want to mention here is seeing familiar things through a new lens and at a different pace. We are lucky to live in a gorgeous county, usually seen from a car window, or in Mr H's case from a road bike at speed. The pace of the tandem, close proximity to your partner, no music and no wifi makes conversation easy. This enabled us to notice, appreciate and marvel at a truly wonderful rural sunny day.

Moral(e)

Do you enjoy typos that subtly, or not so subtly change sentence meanings? Sometimes not even typos, but very similar words, where the wrong one has been selected unknowingly, or maybe subconsciously? One of my favourites is ‘morale’ and ‘moral’. I’ve been musing about writing a blog on this for a while, and although what follows is not quite as articulate as I would like, we have yet again in the media, examples of prominent people whose morals allegedly leave much to be desired. I also read this week that banking leaders are about to be audited on their ethics… So here is my case for the close link between morals and morale.

I think they have a very close relationship, so as someone with an interest in the roots, usage of and inherent meanings of words, but who did not study Latin, I looked up both words, expecting to find the same root, but I didn’t.

‘Moral’ is from Middle English from Latin (moralis) and has been in use from the 14^th Century, and relates to the principle of right and wrong, proper conduct and standards of behaviour.

‘Morale’ is from the French word ‘moral’, which in its feminine form is ‘morale’ and has been used from the mid 18^th Century. It relates to the confidence, enthusiasm and discipline of a person but more often a group (unit cohesion) at a particular time. Wikipedia gives examples of its military use - ‘Esprit de Corps’, and in the workplace – job satisfaction and feelings of well being.

Taking 4 aspects of the meaning of ‘morale’ one by one, in the workplace context:

Confidence – What gives us the confidence to achieve and perform in the workplace? The skills, resources and support to do what is required? The right amount of direction balanced with discretion to make our own decisions? Belief and confidence in what we are there to do - what our organisation is there to deliver? All of this, I think, but I wonder if without an explicit moral or ethical dimension (a set of expected values), confidence could be lost, misplaced or misaligned.

Enthusiasm – Quite easy to define; being keen, believing in the organisation’s goals, and wanting to do your bit. Assuming basic needs are met though, don’t most people need  a strong belief in and a close fit with the organisation’s values to maintain this enthusiasm day in, day out? Where does that belief come from? I would say from what is visible about the leadership and day to day symbols of the organisational culture that accord with its espoused values. In other words visible moral and ethical behaviours.

Discipline – Hmm. Well this can have a pejorative meaning in many contexts, but here, we are talking about sticking with things, keeping going when things get tough, when confidence wavers, when enthusiasm wanes… Also, willingly doing what is required to achieve the organisation’s goals within the parameters prescribed, and not doing your own thing.

Unit cohesion – Collective focused efforts reminding me of Aristotle’s ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ or ‘The whole is other than the sum of its parts’ – the psychologist Koffka’s translation on perceptions that the whole exists in isolation of the parts. Without getting too deeply into philosophy and psychology I am not knowledgeable enough to understand properly, maybe both translations apply in my argument? The first is pretty self explanatory and often used about great teams. The second is interesting as one interpretation could be the huge importance of perception. If the unit cohesion needed to complete the meaning of morale is missing, what is in its place? Or what do people think is in its place? How many different versions or understandings of ‘the whole’ (the organisation) are there? And might unit cohesion be inconsistent or missing because not everyone has the confidence, enthusiasm and discipline that strong morale also requires?

I’m worried that I am starting to ramble a bit, but what I am trying to convey is my strong belief in the impact of consistent and transparent moral behaviour on morale.

As a final thought, maybe ‘moral’ and ‘morale’ are words used less often these days when the focus is on ‘engagement’, ‘employee voice’, ‘wellbeing at work’, the link between happiness and productivity etc. But maybe they should be – after all they have been around for 7 and 3 centuries respectively – whereas some of our current terminology, despite the growing evidence base, sounds too much like ‘management jargon’ and has little meaning to lots of people. Whereas I think most people at work are expert at linking what the organisation says its values are, with their experience and perception of what happens day to day, and could very easily describe the morals in evidence and then state how these make them feel about their work and that of their teams.

Useful distractions

In today's #ldinsight chat, responding to the question of what is the one thing we'd do to make us even better at what we do, I said 'hone ability to distinguish between useful and useless distractions.' Of course, I was then asked to give examples of useful distractions. Whilst the temptation, at the end of the week is to have a lovely rant, in my comfortable space, about useless distractions, throwing in loads of examples we can all recognise and roll our eyes over, I'm having a go at describing useful distractions.

Off the top of my head, I think this depends on:

Personality
How important what we are currently doing is
How we are feeling at the time, and what's going on around us

Firstly, I think a lot depends on our personality. I am a self confessed lover of MBTI, and other similar tools, as long as these are used in the right context, proportionately and in an environment of discovery, challenge and growth - not putting people into boxes. So what follows is the view of someone with extroverted feeling and introverted intuition. As such, I generally quite like distractions, in the form of social interactions - my worst day in the office is sitting by myself writing a document with absolutely no one to talk to or share any ideas with or seek any ideas from. I was recently the subject of an Insights Discovery profile, and my feedback included the tendency to go off at tangents. I showed this to a trusted close former colleague, who roared with laughter, recognising this instantly (and in truth, so did I). I've just done it here, but my point is to demonstrate why it is necessary for me to be able to recognise useful distractions from the other sort... Generally a useful distraction for me will be a social interaction from a trusted, valued and ideally liked person, who ignites me to start making links, connections and patterns which help me to progress my thinking on what needs to be done.

Next, how busy are we? How important is the work? What is the deadline? So, if I am sitting in that darkened room on my own, writing something important for the organisation with a very pressing deadline to meet, maybe even I won't find distractions useful, unless they really do add value to the piece of work in hand.

I also think the usefulness of distractions can depend very much on how we are feeling and the situation around us. Sometimes, when feeling a bit despondent, flat or tired, an unexpected pleasant distraction from the world around me can be just what I need to feel reenergised and enthused. Equally, when feeling enthusiastic and motivated, certain distractions can be useful for me for checks and balances, reframing and maintaining the right level of momentum.

I have also been reflecting on who the 'useful distraction' may benefit. Us personally? Our teams or organisations? Ideally all 3? Also, do we realise at the time, how useful this is:

For personal development, new thoughts and perspectives?
For moving off a negative or mundane track?
For a necessary break from the task in hand, to return to it later, refreshed?

And finally, what kind of useful distraction was a thinking about? Well, I think it's pretty obvious that my musings here are mainly the distractions caused by unplanned or casual social interactions. But I will add to this the delights of distractions that invade the sensations such as catching something interesting going on through the window, or smelling the coffee.

So this has been a bit of a self indulgent look at the positives of useful distractions. What do you think?

Post-script. No pictures because a quick google image search for 'distraction' showed up only the negative aspects of useless distractions...

Sometimes, it just is…

I like blogs that apply and examine learning from ordinary (and extraordinary) situations. I really like blogs about triumph over adversity. I love blogs that really make me think, fill me with curiosity and the desire to learn more. Some blogs have all 3 components, and boy, don’t I wish I had written them?

I like hearing first hand from individuals who faced significant organisational challenges and led their teams/companies to success. I really like interaction, discussion and debate with people who have great ideas, learning and experiences to share. I love to see people’s hard work and success showcased in professional journals, books, celebrated at awards events etc.

So there is plenty out there to inspire us, to help us to find the opportunities in even the worst looking situations and to see how it is our responses to situations that can make all the difference to our well being.

But sometimes….sometimes, it just is. Stuff is happening. Some is within our control, and some isn’t. Via our networks, professional media and interactions both on line and in person we become aware of all of the positive stories above, and may feel mixed emotions. Curiosity and learning on the one hand and on the other, a sense of frustration, and maybe even envy that the situation in which we currently find ourselves is not likely to be something we can change that quickly, write about, or discuss more widely, never mind showcase the outcomes.

I’m not offering a silver bullet I am afraid, if you do find yourself in a ‘just is’ situation. We have probably all experienced these times – they just don’t get communicated that often and openly, unless they are the start of one of those triumph over adversity stories. But I will end by saying that I am absolutely certain that somewhere in this social wealth of stories, experiences and interactions, there is inspiration to be found to help, no matter how long it takes to move from ‘just is’.

How would you evaluate this conference?

To the award winning venue:

·       Directions for a very simple walk from the station, were via a map with road names printed in such tiny text, white on grey, as to render it unreadable. I wasn't the only one to set off in the wrong direction.

·       Your main entrance was closed for building works, but this was not noted on the directions. I had already walked right past the side entrance and missed it completely.

·       The semi-circular tables were too small for 5 delegates each.

·       However, free Wi-Fi was very well sign-posted and fast (you have clearly listened to previous feedback in this respect, at least and read the new Maslow hierarchy of needs…)

To the well-known conference organiser:

·       Nice glossy folders, but 5 people per table meant only 1 or 2 people could open them out.

·       Quite an expensive conference, this was also over-subscribed (to make more profit?) Latecomers had to sit at the back for the whole day, without even one of the inadequate tables for their stuff.

·       A series of one speaker after another, with no opportunity for much interaction, or 'doing' during the sessions, except for some whole-conference audience questions.

·       No breakouts or choice of participative workshops. Felt talked at much of the time.

·       However, good time built in for networking during breaks.

To the speakers:

·       How many of you were last minute bookings?

·       Maybe that was why the glossy pack included so many sheets of lined paper explaining that the presentation had not been received at the time of printing. This was one of those 'speakers include' events...

·       How many of you have been subjected yourselves, to over complex PowerPoint slides NO-ONE can read? Why do so many of you persist in doing this to others?

·       This was made worse by no copies in our pack and variable sound quality - so not always possible to follow everything and pick up all of the points made... OK, so you can't control the AV, but you can speak up and use an appropriate pace....

·       However, one of you was outstanding. The innovation you described so engagingly, using great humour, wit and conviction, with simple pictorial slides, is something I will remember in a fortnight, and beyond, and may even be a catalyst for some local ideas development.

It frustrates me to think that there was almost certainly other good quality content, that could also be useful back at the ranch, but due to the above much of this was, for me, lost in translation.