This is the second part of my resilience series. Today, I want to introduce you to two equations that illuminate resilience from distinctly different viewpoints and offer a fluidity that keeps my exploration organic and adaptable.
The first of the two was inspired by research into the resilience of paramedics.
đźź° Resilience equals
âž• Preparedness to do the job (training and experience)
âž• General Health (physical, mental and emotional health)
âž• Life Satisfaction (personal and professional)
This equation comes from a professional and organisational perspective. If organisations want to improve the resilience of their employees, they must consider Preparedness, General Health, and Life Satisfaction.
The second is inspired by Gabor Maté’s book “The Myth of Normal” when he wrote in chapter eight, “An inherent expectation is a wired-in need, something that if denied interferes with our physical and psychological equilibrium, leading to poorer health outcomes—physically, mentally, and socially.” That sentence opened my eyes to another equation.
đźź° Resilience equals
âž• Physical resilience (including fitness and mobility, immunity, diet)
âž• Mental resilience (including emotional resilience)
âž• Social resilience (including colleagues, friendships, family)
This equation looks at resilience from the individual’s perspective.
I thought long and hard to find a solution to combine the two perspectives into a simple model, but the mixture kept escaping my attempts to solidify it. Like water, the two perspectives kept taking the shape of the container I put it in without offering more clarity. For some, not being able to put something into a cohesive model can be frustrating. However, as someone who has a core value of curiosity, this fluidity excites me. I love the organic nature of working with that apparent chaos. The two equations overlap each other in mysterious ways and raise questions about each other’s limiting views and beliefs, and yet, I sense order and equilibrium that wants to be explored and discovered.
Keeping the two equations separate allows me to use them as complementing and extending checklists. I’d like to explain this on the example of Preparedness to do the Job.
Identifying gaps in Preparedness for the Job
When reviewing whether the employees are prepared to do the job, I can ask which parts of the training and ongoing professional development invest in the physical, mental, and social resilience of the individual. The process opens my eyes to weak points in the training effort. The research into the resilience of paramedics I read mentioned, for instance, that the initial training offers very little, if any, preparation for the mental and emotional impact that those professionals will face daily once deployed. After speaking with professionals of other professions who have to deal with traumatic scenes or traumatised people regularly, I dare to assume that it is true across the board.
Training is typically good for preparing people for the processes and tools needed to perform the job. However, organisations rarely cover subjects that help people build and sustain healthy relationships with colleagues or navigate conflict healthily (both critical for Social Resilience). Nor do I see an in-depth provision and, more importantly, practising tools and resources that help people prevent mental and emotional breakdowns (Mental Resilience). Instead, the focus is often on signposting to provisions for if and when people need extra support. Those provisions are often purely responsive, meaning they only spring into action when there is a crisis. They don’t prepare for the crisis.
Can you see how mixing those equations can help us reveal gaps in our training efforts?
What’s next: Join the Resilience Round Table
Over the next six months, I want to explore each of the six factors in more depth. I invite you to post questions and challenges to make this exploration and the resulting newsletters/articles more relevant. Please don’t hesitate to challenge my thinking.
I also invite you to join my Resilience Roundtable, a 90-minute Zoom meeting on the third Tuesday of the month at 4 pm London time to discuss employee resilience. My focus is primarily on professionals who face trauma as part of their day jobs and L&D professionals—health and social care, emergency services, lawyers, mediators, etc.
That said, don’t feel excluded if you have something to contribute.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88127884851?pwd=vyog2bm6cuu31AtG1zavShQbjYbdf1.1
Remember, post questions and challenges to make this exploration and the resulting newsletters/articles more relevant. Please don’t hesitate to challenge my thinking. This is a discussion, an exploration, an adventure to change the future.
