15. Maintaining personal resilience

Question 1

Why does a CoSec need to be resilient? (2)

Answer 1

Because boards are made up of driven, ambitious individuals who possess an innate self-confidence and self-belief

Understanding resilience will also allow the CoSec to be able to support others in building their own resilience (with resilience being a key competency of board directors)

Question 2

Why is it that resilience has recently emerged as a highly prominent and widely regarded 21st C leadership competency?

Answer 2

Because the world is becoming more and more VUCA and this is leading to a much more stressful workplace (or at least much more stressed working individuals due to higher connectivity and difficulties to fully switch off)

Question 3

What is VUCA?

Answer 3

Volatile
Uncertain
Complex
Ambiguous

Question 4

3 core elements re. stress that stress and coping models identify

Answer 4

• Demands placed on an individual
• Individual’s appraisal of those demands
• The responses that an individual has to that appraisal

Question 5

3 core elements of stress and coping - demands placed on an individual - what demands might a CoSec face? (3)

Answer 5

• Maintaining independence by balancing different parties’ interest
• Manage a range of dilemmas and tensions, while maintaining trust with conflicting sides
• Need to become involved in behavioural issues as well as technical

Question 6

What does stress theory suggest combination of demands placed on an individual are perceived as?

Answer 6

Opportunities or threats (depending on magnitude, which individual is facing the stress, etc.)

Question 7

What is the concept of ‘eustress’ re. appraisal of demands on an individual?

Answer 7

‘Eustress’ is defined as stress that has a positive impact on an individual

Question 8

Is stress good or bad?

Answer 8

Both
All organisms need some level of stress to survive. It is only when this stress is perceived as overly demanding that it can have more negative consequences.

Question 9

What is the natural human response when appraising demands?

Answer 9

We are naturally weighted to appraise demands as threats, due to inherent survival instincts

Question 10

5 common physical symptoms of stress

Answer 10

• Chest pain
• High blood pressure
• Immunosuppression
• Bodily aches and pains
• Indigestion

Question 11

5 common emotional symptoms of stress

Answer 11

• Depression
• Irritability
• Cynicism
• Panic
• Anxiety

Question 12

3 common behavioural symptoms of stress

Answer 12

• Demotivation
• Insomnia / hypersomnia
• Increased alcohol / stimulant intake

Question 13

Define resilience

Answer 13

The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.

in short - Bouncing back from difficult experiences.

Question 14

Why might ‘bouncing back’ from resilience not be the greatest choice of words?

Answer 14

Critics would say that individuals can often come out of difficult experiences as more resourceful, adaptable and energised than before facing the sources of stress - ie. achieve a breakthrough

Question 15

Jenny Campbell’s 3-stage process of resilience

Answer 15

Breakdown

Breakeven

Breakthrough - involves surpassing pre-stress levels of resourcefulness and adaptability

Question 16

Causal factors of stress for a director (4)

Answer 16

• Lonely and unsupervised work, where each director has to find their own way
• Being part of a team that has difficult personalities
• Unrealistic expectations of a board leading to disillusionment
• Poor or inaccessible board processes such as induction, evaluation, etc.

Question 17

Based on the 3 core elements of stress and coping, what are the three basic methods to build resilience to stress?

Answer 17

• Reduce the demands - ‘problem-focused coping’
• Find ways to change our perception of demands that exist - ‘appraisal-focused coping’
• Develop coping strategies to deal with symptoms of stress - ‘emotion-focused coping’

Question 18

2 well-known frameworks / models for resilience

Answer 18

‘Resilience Prescription’ - Southwick & Charney

‘i-resilience’ model - Robertson & Cooper

Question 19

Southwick & Charney ‘resilience prescription’ - 10-point prescription (characteristics) which summarises what resilient people have in common

Answer 19

• physical well-being
• positive attitude
• strengths recognition
• social support
• coping strategies
• cognitive flexibility
• training in various areas
• facing fears
• role models
• moral compass

Question 20

4 aspects of Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model

Answer 20

• Confidence
• Social support
• Adaptability
• Purposefulness

Question 21

Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model - confidence

Answer 21

Having feelings of competence, effectiveness in coping with stressful situations and strong self-esteem

Question 22

Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model - social support

Answer 22

Building good relationships with others and seeking support rather than trying to cope on their own

Question 23

Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model - adaptability

Answer 23

Flexibility in adapting to changing situations which are beyond our control, and the ability to cope well with change and recover from its impact quicker

Question 24

Robertson & Cooper’s ‘i-resilience’ model - purposefulness

Answer 24

Having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction to help individuals to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks

Question 25

Why might a CoSec use either of the two frameworks of resilience? (2)

Answer 25

- To raise their own self-awareness of their current levels of resilience - To enhance how they can support others (eg. directors)

Question 26

4 core pillars to building resilience (areas that techniques can be grouped into)

Answer 26

Physical (or behavioural) approaches Cognitive approaches Humanistic approaches Social approaches

Question 27

3 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of physical approaches

Answer 27

Eat Move Sleep

Question 28

Physical approach to personal resilience - Eat (3)

Answer 28

- Healthy diet which suits the individual - Limit stimulants such as sugar and caffeine - Reduce level of toxins, irritants and inflammatory foods

Question 29

Physical approach to personal resilience - Move (2)

Answer 29

The more we move, the less stress we experience and the less extreme stress is when it does occur This does not need to be massive amounts of exercise, just moving more where we can

Question 30

What has the trend been in link between sleep and performance in theory

Answer 30

For a while, there has been a consensus that being able to push through on limited sleep was a 'badge of honour' in organisational life. Sleep is now increasingly seen as a secret weapon in corporate performance

Question 31

3 (of many) practical tips for better sleep

Answer 31

- Consistent routine of sleeping hours - Stopping caffeine intake after 2pm - Limited alcohol before bed

Question 32

In what ways can physical approaches develop personal resilience? (2)

Answer 32

- Prevent stress in the first place - Be an antidote to stress when it arises

Question 33

3 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of cognitive approaches

Answer 33

Reframe Build belief Active coping

Question 34

In what ways can cognitive approaches develop personal resilience? (2)

Answer 34

- Shifting appraisals away from seeing them as threats and towards opportunities (reframe, build belief) - Dealing with stressful symptoms in a planful way (active coping)

Question 35

Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Reframe (3)

Answer 35

- Taking a more positive view on life leads to improved psychological outcomes - Avoids pessimistic outcomes such as catastrophising, overgeneralising, and discounting the positive - Methods such as meditation can assist with reframing to protect against stress

Question 36

Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Build belief - belief can be split into which two distinct but related concepts?

Answer 36

Self-esteem Self-confidence

Question 37

4 main methods to build both self-esteem and self-confidence (and therefore self-belief)

Answer 37

- Acknowledging accomplishments - Using role models - Employing positive affirmations - Emotional arousal (by moving or listening to energetic music)

Question 38

Cognitive approach to personal resilience - Active coping (to better deal with stressful symptoms) - 3 techniques

Answer 38

- Proactive morning routines - Active time management (and prioritisation of tasks) - Assigning uninterrupted 'deep work' time (by turning off notifications, etc.)

Question 39

3 techniques to develop personal resilience that fall within category of humanistic approaches

Answer 39

Recognising signature strengths - realising these to full potential Developing a moral compass - practicing ethical self-assessment and enhancing ethical decision-making Finding meaning and purpose in daily activities

Question 40

Social approach to resilience (3)

Answer 40

- Underpinned by recognition that we have evolved as social animals and need other people in environment to be fully human - Social connections release oxytocin which is calming and stress reducing - In board context, think coaching and mentoring support

Question 41

What is the trend and current status re. resilience programmes?

Answer 41

These are becoming increasingly implemented by orgs in order to support employee well-being and performance, but have not reached the boardroom yet in any meaningful way

Question 42

What is required for an org's resilience training programme to be effective? (3)

Answer 42

- Clarity on what they mean by 'resilience' - Interventions designed to build from that definition - (ideally) Some element of one-to-one coaching or ongoing support

Question 43

In addition to individual competencies, the CoSec's (and a director's) resilience will also be impacted by: (3)

Answer 43

- Their role / reporting structure - The chair's style and relationship - Board culture