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Resilience – what it is, why we need it and the business case

Personal resilience can be described as:

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“how you work through peak performance, busy,

stressful and high-pressure moments in life - it is not

something you are born with or not - it can develop

and grow with experience and is found in a variety of

behaviours, thoughts, actions and choices that give

you the ability to bounce back, adapt to change,

re-balance and learn from the experience to improve

personal effectiveness”

There’s a tsunami in my office!

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What are my chances … of survival?

England versus Germany – disallowed goal

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Setting off the alarm…

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What drives human outputs?

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The link between emotions and performance

May 2013 7

Positive Negative

High Emotions

Survival zone

Performance zone

Burnout zone

Renewal zone

Control?

Low Emotions

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When do we stop performing?

• Maintaining a fast pace at home and at work

• Looking tired and/or reduced ability to relax

• Loss of clear thinking and ability to focus

• Isolating self, edgy and shut off from others

• Expressing negative emotions

• Making unhealthy lifestyle choices

• Loss of confidence

• Struggling to motivate self and others

• Struggling for perfection

• Withdrawing from colleagues

• Team conflict

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Are your managers having “I’ve noticed” conversations?

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What is stress doing to long-term resilience?

FRUSTRATION

(chaos)

HE

AR

T R

AT

E

HE

AR

T R

AT

E

TIME (SECONDS)

100 –

90 –

80 –

70 –

60 –

50 –

100 –

90 –

80 –

70 –

60 –

50 –

1 50 100 150 200

APPRECIATION

(coherence)

The physical impact of emotion?

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Is there an off button?

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Why is finding the “off” button so important for performance?

Anyone can become angry … that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way … this is not easy

Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

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• You know that you’ve been hijacked when…

• Emotions overwhelm your thinking and actions

• You are thinking and acting against your own will!

• You are unable to read others’ emotions accurately

• You can’t find the right words ... (stumbling,

stuttering when you try to speak)

• You are unable to focus your thinking or actions

• Your “fight, flight or freeze” response kicks in

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The Amygdala hijack

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Losing competitive advantage to problem-solve

• Recover more quickly during high-pressure and “stretch”

situations to improve bounce-back

• Manage and raise energy levels to feel better more often

• Think more clearly under pressure and use the intuitive

edge

• Enhance your communication and interpersonal

relationships

• Increase your capacity for performance and productivity

whilst maintaining balance

Builds your trust in self and others to handle life’s challenges

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Resilience is the strategy to transform your stress in order to …

How to reduce exposure

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Physical

Taking care of

my body

Emotional

Energy giving

or draining?

Mental

Freedom &

clarity

Values

What I stand for

& believe in

• is almost always an emotional reaction to a situation

because your personal values have been compromised

• impacts your ability to think clearly and respond

appropriately – you are just not at your best

• directly impacts performance, health and relationships

• takes you out of optimal performance zone if you are not

able to manage the “bounce-back” factor

• directly impacts how you feel at the end of the day, your

energy and relationships

Is not good for you!

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A stress response …

• Resilience enables your people to:

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Give them an upgrade!

Perform

and feel better

in all areas of

life

Moving on from why to how

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The Challenge

External pull:

Wellbeing scorecards

2020 depression could be

biggest cause of disability

(WHO)

UK falling behind Europe for

wellbeing (PWC)

Stress is the biggest

occupational health problem

in the UK

Internal push:

1 in 3 workers in danger of

burnout (Towers Watson)

1 in 4 people in any one year

will be experiencing stress

that is compromising their

mental health (25% of your

workforce)

The Solution

Lets make a start!

• Lunch and Learns

• Key-note speakers

• Master classes

• Half-day training

• Talk to your PMI providers

• 1-day programmes

• Role models

• Technology

• Leadership agenda

Critical success factors:

Practical – Relevant –

Realistic – Personal

responsibility

The Outcome

“It has given me the

confidence to handle life’s

challenges”

“It provided tactics and tools

to enable me to overcome

my stress”

“I have already been asked

to take on a more senior

role!”

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A note on bounce-back

• Numerous surveys are telling us stress is accelerating with few new or effective

solutions

• Traditional stress management happens away from the office

• Resilience and wellness programmes are more likely to impact high-risk behaviours

positively and are cheaper than the solution when someone has fallen ill

• Is a pro-active approach to training that can be supported by technology

• Gives the real competitive edge, helping employees sustain performance

• Gives a new perspective for problem-solving and maintaining pace

• Enhances ability to bounce back by re-balancing your emotions and physiology in order

to manage and restore energy levels

• Is an essential skill for coping with the pace of life in the 21st century

“Change is the new norm and Resilience is the new skill”

Harvard Business Review

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Resilience vs stress management

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Is your organisation resilient or resistant to employee wellbeing?