SixSEED Partners

Petra Platzer

8 Steps to Become More Resilient

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Appreciating The Center for Creative Leadership and DavidMcLean for sharing these insights

Joy W. Goldman RN, MS PCC:  CEO SixSEED Partners

Background:  

As the world experiences a massive “re-entry” after being in fear and reactivity mode for the past eighteen months, becoming more resilient is on many people’s minds. David McLean, Director of People and Organizational Development at Lambton College recently highlighted on LinkedIn, a Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) article on eight steps you can take to become more resilient.  We share David’s interest in resilience as we promote Well-Being for those who work in healthcare.

Appreciations:

David’s brief and succinct expansion on the wonderful graphic shared by the CCL in 2016 remains relevant for today.  We notice elements of Daniel Pink’s Drive Model®: Purpose; Autonomy and Mastery; Carol Dweck’s: growth mindset® (learner mindset); Simon Sinek’s: “Why®,” and David Emerald’s work around The Empowerment Dynamic®, amongst others.  These eight steps, as identified by the Leading Effectively staff in November of last year summarize very well actions in our control to become more resilient with whatever comes our way.

The embedded article expands on these eight steps to include taking care of one’s physical health including getting enough sleep and prioritizing exercise.  They expand on reflection to include a journaling practice.  All great suggestions with proven impact.

Yes, AND…..

I can imagine the sarcastic responses I might hear from those who’ve been working tirelessly to take care of others, allowing little time to spend on themselves.  Is it lack of knowledge that prevents leaders from cultivating these habits or something else?  It reminds me of the way we’ve approached “solving” the burnout issue within healthcare.  Within our work at SixSEED Partners, as we take an ecosystem and system-integration approach to dealing with complexity, we advocate individual AND system responsibilities to create a generative culture and resilient leadership.  Well-Being/ Resilience is not only an individual challenge; it is a cultural one as well.

I most agree with these writers that the mirror has to be turned inward.  We need to abolish blame-filled cultures and ask our individual and collective selves, with courage and compassion:  “how am I / are we contributing to the challenge I /we see before me/ us?”  And we must ask this question when we are rested and healthy.  We cannot see the horizon if we’re still buried beneath the earth.

Let’s hear from you

If you’d like to chat about a methodical and systemic approach that supports the individual and systemic change and resilience, we’d love to hear from you. Please message us on our LinkedIn page or send us an email here.

#culture, #systemintegration, #wellbeing



Acknowledgment: Centre for Creative Leadership


#learningagility #leadership #resiliency

Team Spotlight: Meet Cliff

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Cliff Kayser is the CSO for SixSEED Partners. For the last 25 years, Cliff has been a practitioner and teacher of applied behavioral science theories and applications – most specifically in the area of values and polarity values dynamics. Cliff most enjoys working in partnership with clients who embrace or are ready to embrace both technical and adaptive approaches to leadership.

He says, “With the commitment to supplementing adaptive with technical in a ‘both/and’ leadership approach, generative and sustainable results will follow – and those results are measurable.” Cliff is a founding partner of SSP and appreciates healthcare for its role as a catalyst for well-being and love – worldwide. Current healthcare-related initiatives include work with a foundation in the Middle East and North Africa as part of Ain Shams University to use polarity thinking as part of leadership development for medical educators. (See published research on this work here!) Learn more about Cliff here.

Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Work

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“How does our executive team become more proactive and less reactive? We are so busy putting out fires, but we’re not really moving forward on what the organization needs from us.”

If you have been asking yourself the same question, you are in good company. This year is a prime example that the one constant in life is change – which brings with it unknowns and an increasing pace of so many variables in the day-to-day and the big picture.

The Challenge

For the client who asked the question above, her clinical organization had acquired several other practices as a strategic move to keep each practice viable in this current economic climate. As a result, there were some key leadership changes, along with a need to establish a new organizational culture and vision. Instead of proactively working on those elements, the executive team was instead spending many hours reacting to perpetual fire drills, like EMR integration and compliance issues.

The Diagnosis

In an earlier blog, we introduced the concept of an Outcome Orientation. Just like a compass, this mindset puts our focus towards the results we want to achieve, instead of the alternate mindset of getting rid of the problem(s). One way to “diagnose” which orientation we are operating from, is by asking the 3rd Vital Question from David Emerald’s 3 Vital Questions™ (3VQ) framework: “What Actions are You Taking?” 

If the answer involves merely reacting to the problems of the moment, without any intentional actions focused on continuous improvement or forward progress toward the prioritized outcome, your diagnosis is clear: you are operating from the Problem Orientation. And just like the example, when we are operating from this orientation, we can feel stuck, frustrated, and burnt-out. We are also more likely to be experiencing and contributing to workplace drama from this orientation.

The Tension 

Once you have your diagnosis, you can proactively choose to take a different set of actions. 

How? By harnessing the inherent energy that is in the gap between the Outcome you want to achieve and the Current Reality that exists. This inherent energy, called Dynamic Tension follows the fundamentals of physics: to create movement between two points, tension is required. The pivotal key is developing the skill to “hold the tension” in a way that the rubber band doesn’t snap (too big a gap/tension) or fall off (too small a gap/tension) when the default reactive patterns show up again. In our experience, when clients become aware of the need and positive attributes for this kind of tension, this understanding can liberate them to work on becoming proactive.

The Shift to Proactive Actions

Once you’ve defined the Outcome you want and assessed your Current Reality, you have started working on the 5-step Action Planning Process to create proactive actions! Similar to climbing a ladder – one does not reach the top by starting at the first rung and jumping to the top rung. By using this foundational structure, however, you are able to identify baby steps – one rung at a time – resulting in incremental, deliberate, and long-term actions.

As we have been applying the planning process with the executive team from our client example, we can already see a lift in their individual energy, more cohesion as a team, and a change in their approaches for their expanded organizational culture. This is another great example of why we integrate the 3 Vital Questions™ framework within our SixSEED Partners solutions for all of our 6 service “seeds”!

Are you driving, or being driven, by change?

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In a recent blog, we highlighted the different stages of change and asked the first of 3 Vital Questions™ (3VQ) to help navigate the drama we can often feel within any Change Process:  “Where are you putting your focus?” 

Through working with clients, and in self-reflection, it’s always enlightening to notice how the answer to that first vital question drives our internal emotions, which leads to the type of actions we take next. A great example of this came from a recent conversation with a client, who was just starting out in a new role within his system. He shared he was feeling overwhelmed and didn’t feel in the driver’s seat. His strategy to gain control was to focus on de-prioritizing certain initiatives, but he was not feeling good about sharing that with his CEO. Through our conversation, we explored shifting his mindset to focusing on what he IS prioritizing during this timeframe. He instantly noticed his self-criticism decreasing and his energy enthusiasm for the meeting with his CEO increasing. He was amazed at the difference. 

The Difference

When you are inside a Change Process – whether it’s something big or small – have you ever noticed how you are feeling or acting in specific moments? Have you heard yourself think things like, “they didn’t even talk to me and just decided” or “these meetings just keep showing up, so I don’t have time for self-care”, etc.?

Have you had other times where you said things like, “it’s not ideal, but how can we all pull together to make this work?” or “the weather turned out different than I planned, so I’ll adjust to still get a workout in”, etc.?

Do you notice the different tone of who is in the driver’s seat in these examples? Taking notice of the tone and/or word choice is an important clue and vital skill to develop. 

“The way of seeing yourself and your life experience determines how you relate to the world around you. Your orientation defines your reality.” – David Emerald

The Second Vital Question

So, how can you develop this skill? By pausing to ask “How am I relating to myself/to the experience/to others?”

Try asking yourself the above question in your next opportunity and take notice of what you find. If you notice yourself more like a passenger – without the hope or belief you can do something in that situation – that’s an indicator you are relating from the “Dreaded Drama Triangle” (DDT), originating from work by Dr. Stephen Karpman. Inside this dynamic – both with ourselves and with others – we reliably take on certain roles, all of which create a cycle of toxic cycle in the experience.

Alternatively, if you notice yourself more like a driver – with belief you have some options for how you will get to the destination – then, you are relating from “The Empowerment Dynamic*” (TED*), developed by David Emerald. Operating from this dynamic, we again reliably take on certain roles, as shown in the diagram. However, unlike with the DDT roles, coming from the TED*. These roles, puts us in the driver’s seat to create action steps towards the long-term result(s) we want to achieve.

How to Shift Gears

By knowing about these different dynamics, we now can choose. For our client mentioned in the earlier example, he began by taking his foot off the gas pedal long enough for us to look at the 1st and 2nd Vital Questions. Once he saw where he was putting his focus (1st Vital Question), he was able to see from the 2nd Vital Question that he was still operating as a “passenger” in the situation. Once he put himself in the driver’s seat internally, he was able to approach his conversation with his CEO more effectively and confidently.

To effectively lead ourselves and our teams through any change, asking this 2nd Vital Question is another key step to shift gears into the driver’s seat to get to the ultimate destination.  

At SixSEED Partners, we work with our clients to navigate their current and future situations using each of the 3 Vital Questions™, which, when used collectively, improves the well-being of individuals, teams and the overall dynamics within a company’s culture.

What’s your Focus during Change?

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According to Benjamin Franklin, “Change is the only constant in life. One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life”. 

Or maybe you have heard another famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi about being “the change you wish to see in the world.”

The Challenge

These quotes, while both motivating, are proving challenging  as we navigate this year, which has brought so much unprecedented change to everyone. 

What is our definition of success in this kind of complexity and uncertainty?

Our clients are searching for this answer as they navigate these unchartered territories. The answer to this question has several textures to it as well; whether looking at an individual leader’s capacity, a team’s effectiveness, an organization’s culture, or the well-being of people at all of these levels. And for an added layer of complexity – now within a virtual paradigm where children and animals are also co-existing. 

What Stage Are You In?

While Mr. Franklin is correct, it was work started by Dr. Prochaska and collaborators in the 1970’s that brought us more understanding about how we humans actually respond to change – it’s not a Yes or No response, and it’s not static. We go through stages of change in a sequential and dynamic process! 

The Stages of Behavior Change

As we look around at ourselves and others throughout the pandemic journey, there are classical examples of transitioning through each stage as we approached the necessary behavior changes for health-safety measures, like wearing masks, hand washing, and social distancing. As you look at the Stages of Behavior Change cartoon, you can narrate your own journey for those elements, beginning with not contemplating doing those things at the onset, to the stage you may be in currently. 

Understanding about these stages is one tool we use when supporting our clients to begin creating the behavior changes they want – for themselves and their teams. One way we discover with clients from what stage they may be operating is by using  3 Vital Questions™ (3VQ), developed by David Emerald at the Bainbridge Leadership Center. 

The First Vital Question

To do this yourself, begin with “Where am I putting my focus?”.  By asking this question, we can become aware if we are putting our focus on what we don’t want and are afraid of happening – or – what we do want and the possibilities of what we can create inside of the current conditions. While this may sound simple, there are sophisticated neurological maps and behavioral patterns that are in play within our “human operating system” to learn to identify. As our clients become more aware of how to answer this vital 1st Question in their own situations, they can identify their mindset and readiness for change. Then the 2nd and 3rd Vital Questions are important for understanding how they are relating to that focus and what steps they can take to get move along the change process towards their own success. Through this 3VQ process, we can not only transform our workplace drama, but also upgrade our own internal operating system to help us navigate increasing complexity and change. 

What Is Next?

If you find yourself in the same conundrum and questions for how to approach the changes you are navigating, internally and with others in your teams, we know from experience that working with all 3 questions can be a game changer! For that reason, the 3 Vital Questions™ and Stages of Change framework are one of SSPs integrated solutions within all of our 6 service “seeds”.

What dimensions do you or your team need to be grounded?

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As populations around the globe are now wearing face masks to adjust to the “normal” for today – and the foreseeable future, everyone has needed to adapt! Add on the additional stressors of economic instability, schooling uncertainties, politics and systemic injustices – the level of disruptions we are facing is unprecedented in our lifetimes.

As we’ve been working with our clients, we’ve been hearing their emotions during these past few months, such as overwhelm, fatigue, stretched, irritable, grieving, needing a vacation but having no idea how to take one safely, etc.  The metaphor of “difficulty taking a deep breath” seems all encompassing for these feelings during these times.

Our Response

This reality is what sparked Joy Goldman, CEO of SixSEED Partners (SSP), and Rick Auman¸ Exec VP of Consulting Services as Healthy Companies International (HCI), to come together and provide a webinar focused on how to return to being grounded and healthy – not just as leaders, but as people!

Participants from multiple industries joined this 90 min webinar, after which several commented “how quickly the time went by”. The reason? Joy and Rick masterfully integrated their facilitative skills and gave basic information about the 6 Dimensions of Grounded Leadership. This led into smaller break-out sessions for the participants to think and process their own meaning and fill-in a scorecard for how well they are currently balancing these dimensions themselves.

The Result?  

The self-assessment helped participants further understand and explore the meaning of these dimensions in their context. Several participants were not necessarily surprised to find that their Social and Physical Health were below a healthy threshold for them, but they were surprised to see their declining Spiritual Health. 

By seeing these in relative “imbalance”, participants were then able to create SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound) goals for one particular aspect that could immediately support their health and resilience. The real work there, naturally, comes after the webinar.

How important did participants think their being grounded is to effectively managing their current disruptors? Everyone said either Very Important or Essential! 

SixSEED Partners feels the same, which is a key reason we are certified deliverer of HCI’s Grounded Leader model. That, along with their Grounded Leadership online portal, is one of SSPs integrated solutions we deliver for leadership, team and systems development. 
We are grateful to the shared learning with Healthy Companies and all those who joined. We look forward to continuing to build on this foundation to make healthcare healthier – together!