20 April 2021 Resilience Resources In difficult times, resilience makes all the difference. We hope you find these resources helpful. Books on Resilience Positivity – Fredrickson Here is a link to one of Barbara Fredrickson's websites which has information on positive emotions and a self-test: https://www.positivityratio.com/index.php More detail on the broaden and build theory can be found here: http://peplab.web.unc.edu/research/#broadenandbuild The Emotional Life of your Brain – Davidson and Begley This is a link to a questionnaire to explore your emotional styles. https://hminnovations.org/hmi/resources The Resilience Factor – Reivich and Shatte (The 7 abilities, including an assessment in here) The Resilience Club – Angela Armstrong Bounce Back – Susan Kahn Resilience – A Practical Guide for Coaches – Carole Pemberton This contains the assessment Jo referred to in the webinar. Other Resilience Resources for Business Analysts and Business Change Professionals Mindtools https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/resilience-quiz.htm The 4S Resilience Plan Resilience is the ability to bounce back or in more poetic terms, find ways to overcome the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". 1 Resilience has a regular mention in BA circles as a key quality for those who find their position squeezed or role under-valued. The not so good news is that we will need still greater resilience as we face down the many bitter effects of the current epidemic. The better news is that resilience can be learned and developed. One way to develop resilience is to learn from past challenges that we have overcome. We may choose not to want to relive challenging aspects of our lives but reflecting on these times in a structured way can provide for greater self-efficacy. We can define self-efficacy in terms of the belief and confidence required to succeed in challenging times. Improving self-efficacy is one strand of a broader range of tactics we might employ. A useful model to consider in respect of self-efficacy was developed by Dr Lucinda Poole and Dr Hugo Alberts and is called the 4 S's. 2 The model invites us to develop a personal resilience plan that is based on the past experience of bouncing back from difficulties. Any plan will be unique to the individual and all the more powerful for its very personal content. The 4 S's are headed as follows: Supports that keep you upright. The individuals that provide genuine support. Strategies that keep you moving. Think how you cope with negative thoughts. There might be a go-to song, film, or place to visit that will always have you looking forwards. Sagacity. The wisdom we have gained from past experience that bring an element of confidence to future challenges. Solution-seeking behaviours. The behaviours have we employed in the past, for example seeking out more information to help quantify the real problem. _____________________________________ 1 Shakespeare – Hamlet Act III scene I 2 Dr Lucinda Poole and Dr Hugo Alberts quoted in Positive Psychology.com – 3 Resilience Exercises. https://PositivePsychologyProgram.comThe model is illustrated below in a simple grid. You can then complete an exercise by twice completing the grid. Your first completed grid is based on a past situation and provides a picture of the elements that got you through on that occasion. Your second grid is an opportunity to identify what may work to overcome the current challenge using both past and new insights. An example of the first grid is below. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. Scribbling your way through a model may not be your first thought when facing tough times. The 4S's is though a simple and effective means of improving self-efficacy. It won't answer all the immediate issues we face but may play some small part in giving a sense of control and finding a way forward. 3 ________________________________ 3 Thanks to N. Hewitt for highlighting this model and its usefulness. Tips for Building Resilience when Working from Home With lots more remote working from home it is sometimes hard to create boundaries between work and home. A tip from a colleague in a recent meeting was to create a commute by talking a walk at the beginning and end of your working day to help create that delineation. Protective factor - pet As a meditation practitioner, I have found and experienced meditation helps to strength the resilience muscle, maybe even as simple as slowing the breath and noticing one's thoughts and feelings. I have found that taking a walk around my Garden during the working day is a welcome change of scene. Looking at the greenery is great to refresh myself. We have set up What's App groups to stay in touch. Regular virtual team check in's - not for work discussion, but general catch up. And, some great sessions catching up over virtual coffee breaks with wellbeing topics and even Bingo. All helps to stay in touch and feel generally supported as a team. We have started our meetings at 5 past and finishing 5 mins early. Newer versions of Outlook allow this by default in the settings I walk during phone calls We initially found that meetings were taking longer. For example, 1 hour turned in to 2, so we turned it on its head and are trialling making meetings no longer than an hour with a definitive purpose. Better for calendar management and focus / engagement We are having success with a 30 min breakfast club call on a Friday - looking towards the weekend and no talk about work allowed! Team quiz on Zoom was fun Our company hosts a run/ride out on the last Friday of every month. It's a nice way to get everybody together. Bring your pets to work call on zoom once a week. Online book club Going out for a run Ask your team how you would recognise they were starting to fall into reduced resilience – what to look for. Build your support network – someone you can pick up the phone to at any time, or talk through any concerns Find what works for you! Encourage your teams to try different coping mechanisms to see what works for them to keep their resilience up. Be kind to yourself Give yourself the confidence of an up to date BA toolkit. Find out more about AssistKD's business analysis training courses. Share this page
