Want to Be More Resilient? Drop Your Stones

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Dr. Rick Hanson writes extensively about resilience and provides practical tools for improving our well-being. One of my favorites is his suggestion to "drop our stones." He explains that most of us are lugging around at least one thing, which is a needless burden.

According to Dr. Hanson, a burden may be "holding on to resentments, worrying over and over about the same thing, or trying to make someone love you who won't. Perhaps it's an unrealistic standard you keep failing to meet, an old quarrel you keep rehashing, or something addictive you can't do in moderation, so you're always thinking about it."

It could be an old shame, disappointment, or loss. Or a chronic tension in your body or armor around your heart. Maybe it's a rigid belief or righteous indignation.

Carrying these burdens is like a load on your back, a heavy weight in your hand.

Dr. Hanson is not suggesting we turn away from pain, stop caring about others, or avoid ambitious goals. It's healthy to feel sadness, hurt, or worry. We must keep faith, bet on ourselves, and dream big dreams.

Instead, we want to avoid being sucked into repetitive preoccupations that erode our resilience. Negative brain preoccupations can cause us to ruminate and reinforce negative thinking. We may feel trapped and overburdened.  

To avoid this, we need to drop the stones that weigh us down.

Dr. Hanson suggests we pick one stone we'd like to drop this year. He says to "decide for yourself what, if anything, is reasonable or useful about it. Know in your heart what is worth taking into account and what is just needless, worthless excess suffering."

Then, deliberately carry that stone for a few seconds or longer. Think about it, worry about it, and get sad or mad. You want to know how it feels so that it becomes easier to drop the stone if you pick it up again later.

Then, resolve to stop picking up the stone. According to Dr. Hanson, you want to determine how to disengage from it, stop allying with it, and get hijacked by it. It may keep mumbling away in the background, but at least you can stop adding to its weight. Be strong inside your mind. In the same way, you could step back from someone being harmful, and you can step back from old habit patterns.

Shift your attention to other things, ideally the opposite of your stone. This could be forgiving yourself for old shame, turning toward healthy pleasures and away from unhealthy ones, or seeing the big picture of everything that's working if you've gotten preoccupied with something that's not.

With repetition, you'll be more likely to default to these new objects of attention instead of the burden you’ve decided to drop.

Every year, commit to dropping one more stone. As you shed your stones, feel the lightness that comes. Experience how much room you now have for more positive energy.

Have you dropped any stones? What impact has it had on you?

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To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

How to Maintain Resilience When You Work 24/7

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Many people are required to be available for work 24/7. We carry mobile devices that we regularly check after hours for emails, and we are expected to be able to respond to a text or phone call immediately, even when on vacation. Today's "new normal," with many of us working remotely, has increased the pressure on employees to be available around the clock.

The problem with this work style is that it rarely allows for true leisure time. Employees have less control over non-work activities and less time for recovery.

One study linked extended work availability - not being at work but expected to be available by phone or email - with decreased calmness and energy levels. The possibility of being needed to work was enough to impede recovery.

In this study, participants showed elevated cortisol levels when on-call, similar to cortisol levels due to job stress. The authors speculated that the body was preparing for the anticipated stress.

In contrast, participants who did not think about work or were detached from their work had lower cortisol levels and were more likely to recoup their energies and improve their moods. "Non-work hours during which employees are expected to respond to work issues constrain employee behavior," say the authors of the current study, "and cannot be considered leisure time."

While it is hard to create recovery time given the realities of a 24/7 work environment, doing so will help you maintain your resilience despite the constant stress. Here are some tips on how to make time for recovery when 24/7 is your work reality:

Set Times for Emails

Identify ahead of time how often and at what times you will check your work email after hours. Communicate this information to your boss and your team. Turn off your email notifications. Setting a time will prevent you from continually checking during your time off.

Establish a Duty Roster

Even an informal duty roster can give fellow teammates time off from checking email. Identify who will be reviewing emails and who won't. Inform the person on duty when you want to get a phone call or text about something urgent.

Trust Your Backup

Go on vacation and empower the person who fills in for you. Ensure they are well briefed on issues and give them the authority to make decisions while you're gone. Then, stay off the email (or read your email at a designated time without responding). You must trust your backup if you want to really be off the clock.

Plan in Advance

Schedule your leave as far in advance as possible. Planning gives everyone more time to prepare for your absence. Don't cancel your vacation unless there is a once-in-a-lifetime, dire emergency. Remember, you can trust your backup to address anything that happens while you're gone.

Set Expectations

When starting a new position or when you get a new boss, discuss expectations of work availability. Make clear what works and does not work for you and why.

Take Short Recovery Breaks

Take several short breaks every day that give you quick recovery periods. Eat lunch away from your desk and mobile device. Take a 10-minute walk. Run a quick errand or watch a funny video.

How do you find time to recover in a 24/7 work environment?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

The Amazing Power of Music in a Crisis

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In the first few months after coronavirus spread throughout the world in 2020, there was an explosion of group singalongs around the world. People sang from their balconies in Italy, the United States, and Canada. Others used technology to sing together virtually.

In Columbus, children played cellos from their porch so an elderly neighbor could hear. A Dutch orchestra gave a virtual performance of Ode to Joy.

There's a reason so many people broke out into song during this health crisis. Music, particularly singing, helps people stay resilient despite chronic stress and adversity. Singing with other people is even more beneficial.

Research suggests that creating music together evolved as a tool of social living. Groups and tribes sang and danced to build loyalty, transmit vital information, and ward off enemies. 

Numerous studies demonstrate that music reduces anxiety and stress, and improves mood and performance. Some research suggests that music enhances our immune system by reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the Immunoglobin A antibody. Researchers found that group singing builds social bonds, strengthening the connections we need for resilience.

Singing may promote a sense of happiness and well-being. Researchers found that people feel more positive after actively singing than they do after passively listening to music or chatting about positive life events. SoundFro.com lists 15 ways singing can benefit your health, including lowering blood pressure, improving memory, and boosting confidence.

In This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, rocker turned neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin writes that music is fundamental to human beings. He argues that music serves as an indicator of cognitive, emotional, and physical health and is evolutionarily advantageous as a force that leads to social bonding and increased fitness.

Luckily, we can all sing. During this crisis, make an effort to sing every day. If you’re bored singing along to the radio or YouTube videos, check out online karaoke sites or join a virtual choir. If you can’t carry a tune, no one will judge your performance in the shower! Do you sing during a crisis?

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To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Why You Need to Exercise During a Crisis

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After two years, we are still grappling with coronavirus and figuring out our new normal. We also don’t know what the next crisis will be.

Those of us who maintain our resilience through any crisis will adapt more easily to the unexpected and will recover more quickly once the crisis is over.

Several researchers have found that regular exercise helps build resilience, which is why it's critical to stay active during this crisis.

One study found that aerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, reduce anxiety and depression. A literature review noted that working out reduces anxiety, depression, and negative mood, and improves self-esteem and cognitive functioning. Another study found that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. Several studies show that exercise can improve your immune system.

Researchers speculate that exercise is so powerful because it promotes neural growth in the brain and reduces inflammation. Physical activity may create new brain patterns, promoting feelings of calm and wellbeing. Exercise also releases endorphins, which make us feel good. Exercise can help us sleep well, which is known to have protective effects on the brain.

Most experts recommend that thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking, for three days a week, is sufficient for these health benefits. These 30 minutes need not be continuous; three 10-minute walks can be as equally useful as one 30-minute walk. Even if you don't have 90 minutes each week to exercise, do what you can. One study found that a single, brief spurt of very easy exercise will produce desirable changes in the brain.

If the coronavirus has disrupted your regular exercise routine, think about alternative ways you can keep moving. For example, put on some music and dance for 10 minutes every day. Find a virtual exercise class that keeps you motivated. Go for a solo bike ride or walk around the block.

While moderate exercise is critical during a crisis, avoid over-exercising since some research indicates that stress caused by too much physical activity may be harmful. Consult your doctor before exercising while sick or starting a new exercise routine.

What impact does exercise have on your resilience?

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To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Use Photography to Rebuild Your Resilience

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For many of us, COVID-19 has been traumatic. Years of chronic stress have worn us down and many of us are struggling with low resilience. When I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after my service in Iraq, I used photography to explore my feelings, establish self-awareness, and deal with emotional conflicts. Thanks to photography, I fully recovered.

I’m not the only person who used photography to recover from mental illness. In this powerful TedTalk, Bryce Evans describes how he beat depression through the use of photography. He now teaches people how to use therapeutic photography to learn, heal, and grow.

Several research studies confirm the power of photography for improving wellbeing. One study found that taking a daily photo improved well-being through self-care, community interaction, and the potential for reminiscence. It led to more exercise and provided a sense of purpose, competence, and achievement. Posting the photo online helped people to manage loneliness and grief and to meet new people with shared interests.

Other researchers found that a photography project for women living with HIV/AIDs supported their mental health. It facilitated empowerment and helped women express themselves. It also provided new tools that helped them process past traumas.

Veterans in out-patient mental health treatment who enrolled in a six-week photography workshop reported a positive impact on their recovery. Taking photographs while in recovery improved their personal reflection and organization of thinking. Photography also promoted recovery discussions, communication, social support, and a sense of purpose.

Photography also fosters the five resilience factors in the following ways:

Self-Care

Taking time to recover is essential for taking care of ourselves. While meditation is the best way to rest our brains by focusing on only one thing at a time, I’ve never been able to meditate. Instead, photography is my meditation. Photography is a mindfulness practice that forces me to focus on the present and leaves me feeling calm and rested.

Problem-Solving

Learning to accept what we cannot control or influence is a powerful problem-solving skill. Photography is one of the best ways to develop this skill since we are forced to accept current conditions and adapt our camera settings to create an appealing photograph. When we use our mental muscles to accept what we cannot control in photography, it helps us do the same in other areas of our lives.

Positive Outlook

Reframing is one of the best ways to shift from a negative to a more positive view of any situation. Luckily, photographers reframe all the time. We’ll explore a subject through different frames until we find the most effective photograph. We may take a wide-angle view, or use a macro for a close-up. We’ll look at a subject from different angles to find the most positive image. Learning to reframe will also help us avoid getting stuck in negativity, and instead find a new, more positive way of viewing something.

Meaning and Purpose

Having a passion is a powerful way to bring meaning and purpose into your life. I’m passionate about photography and spend time watching instructional videos, taking classes, and reading books. When I’m feeling stressed, I research possible photography trips or learn a new photography technique.

Social Support

Photographers are great people and a very welcoming community. There are photography clubs and MeetUps in most cities that are easily accessible. Many people take photography tours regularly, making new friends every trip. As an introvert, I find photography related events appealing because I don’t feel as drained of energy afterward.

After a trauma or period of chronic stress, I use photography to rebuild my resilience. Are you a photographer? What impact has photography has on your resilience and wellbeing?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.  

Want an Energy Boost? Learn to Breathe

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I learned to breathe in India. My yoga instructor taught me to take a deep breath, expanding my belly, and then pause and exhale slowly to the count of five. I repeated this four times and felt remarkably calmer and centered afterward.

My instructor called it Pranayama. Others call it controlled or abdominal breathing. It doesn't matter what you call it or what technique works best for you. Any controlled breathing will increase your energy, release stress, sharpen mental clarity, and improve your resilience.

According to the New York Times, science is beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are physiological as well as psychological. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and attention deficit disorder.

A study in China found that eight weeks of intensive diaphragmatic breathing training improved cognition, emotion, and physiological responses. Even a 1-day breathing exercise relieved the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization induced by job burnout. "Breathing is massively practical," says Belisa Vranich, a psychologist and author of the book "Breathe.” “It’s a meditation for people who can’t meditate.”

How controlled breathing promotes wellbeing is still unclear. Some researchers are studying how controlled breathing changes our autonomic nervous system. When we practice controlled breathing, our brain may adjust the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system, slowing our heart rate and digestion and promoting feelings of calm.

Controlled breathing may also affect our immune system. At the Medical University of South Carolina, researchers studied two groups of adults. One group did two sets of 10-minute breathing exercises while the other read a text of their choice for 20 minutes. They tested the volunteers' saliva at various times during the exercise. Individuals doing the breathing exercise had significantly lower levels of several chemicals associated with inflammation and stress.

Have you tried controlled breathing? If so, what impact has it had on your resilience?

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To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Want to Be More Productive? Take Breaks!

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Many people assume that the more time they spend working, the more productive they will be. We worry that if we don't stay on task all the time, we won't be effective. This assumption is wrong.

When it comes to productivity, it is not the number of hours we devote, but the level of energy we bring to each hour we spend on a task. If we have high energy, it will take fewer hours to complete a task.

Building regular breaks into your work routine will reenergize you and therefore make you much more effective. It will also improve your focus, creativity, and concentration.

Researchers recommend taking a short, 10-minute break every 90 minutes. Here are several activities you can do in 5-10 minutes for a quick energy boost.

Stretch

Stretches have the added benefit of countering the harmful effects of sitting at a computer all day. Here's my favorite five-minute full-body stretch.

Go for a Walk

Go outside and walk around the block. Visit a local park. The fresh air and change of scenery will give you a mental boost. 

Have a Healthy Snack

Brains burn glucose, a form of sugar. When we work hard, we use up our glucose, and a healthy snack provides the fuel we need to focus and concentrate. Keep a supply of fruit, yogurt, nuts, or sliced vegetables at work to avoid eating too much sugar from the vending machine.

Make a Cup of Tea

The time it takes to boil water and steep a tea bag is the perfect amount of time for a break. If you don't have a kitchen at work, consider buying a tea kettle for your workspace. Stand up, fill the pot with water, choose the type of tea you want, and spend a few quiet moments while the tea steeps. The added benefit is that you now have a nice cup of tea as you restart your work.

Work on a Jigsaw Puzzle

I'm a fan of having puzzles, coloring books, and other creative outlets at work. Spending 5-10 minutes being creative provides a quick energy boost. Warning - set your stopwatch to avoid losing track of time.

Clean Your Work Area

Cleaning and organizing clear the mind and will also give you a sense of accomplishment. Be careful not to substitute cleaning and organizing for actual work.

Listen to Music

Stream two of your favorite songs. Close your eyes and lose yourself in the moment. Focus only on the music, letting your mind go where the music takes you. When you're finished, you'll be amazed by how much energy this gives you.

Talk to Coworkers

Say hi to a colleague, ask about her weekend, hobbies, or family. Don't talk about work. You may be tempted to chat for more than 5-10 minutes, so watch the time. 

Tend Plants

Plants add life and vibrancy to a workspace. Check the soil to see if they need water, prune the stems, and polish the leaves.

Meditate

There are hundreds of apps now that provide 5-10 minute guided meditations. Go someplace quiet and spend a few minutes resting your brain. Praying offers the same benefits as meditation so if you're religious, build in a prayer break. 

What do you do on your breaks from work?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Sleep Is the Best Kept Secret

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How much sleep do you get? Are you one of over 35% of adults who sleep less than 7 hours per night? If so, you may be missing out on what sleep researcher Matthew Walker says "is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day."

Sleep cleanses our brains of toxins, consolidates memories, prevents an escalation of physiological stress, regulates emotions, and sharpens our minds.

Getting less than 7-9 hours of sleep increases the likelihood of having a traffic accident, reduces creativity, limits productivity, and increases the risk of illnesses such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

If sleep is so great, why don’t many of us make it a priority?

Many people incorrectly believe they are among a rare group of people who don't need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. We think we'll be more productive if we sleep less. We strive to be like the CEOs who brag about being more prolific and accomplished because they need only five hours of sleep. Sleep specialist Thomas Roth spent many years looking for individuals who perform well on less sleep. He concluded that "the number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without any impairment, expressed as a percent of the population, rounded to a whole number, is zero."

People in some professions (e.g., truck drivers, medical professionals, machine operators, and military personnel) are expected to work too many hours, and sufficient sleep is impractical if not impossible. Shift workers and constant travelers throw off their circadian rhythms so much their brains don't know when it is time to sleep.

Some of us have medical conditions that disrupt our sleep. For example, approximately 70% of individuals with PTSD have sleep disturbances. Having low resilience can make it harder to get a good night's sleep.

If you're struggling to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night, spend some time exploring the reasons why you're not sleeping. Once you've identified the cause, develop a strategy that minimizes or eliminates the barriers, and maintains your motivation to change your sleep habits. Make getting a good night's sleep a priority.

For example, if you don’t sleep enough because you feel you cannot spare the time, remind yourself that this thinking is counterproductive. Schedule sleep on your calendar if necessary to carve out sufficient time. Stop doing other things that are lower priorities.

If your work duties limit your sleep options, remind decision-makers that structural barriers to sleep are undermining workplace productivity and effectiveness. Explore options that prioritize an employee's ability to get sufficient sleep. For example, one company I worked with adjusted shift changes from every three days to every month. As a result, employees were no longer continually adapting their circadian rhythms because of a new shift.

If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, read the National Sleep Foundation’s sleep tips, and implement as many of their suggestions as possible. Try out different practices to see what does and doesn't work for you. Incorporate sleep techniques into your daily routine.

If you need some extra motivation, read Matthew Walker’s book Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. In addition to explaining the science behind sleep, he provides actionable steps towards getting a better night’s sleep every night.

Consult your doctor before taking any sleep medications or aids, including dietary supplements (e.g., Valerian) and hormones (e.g., Melatonin). While sleep medications or aids may be useful for occasional sleeplessness, particularly when traveling, many have adverse long-term effects.

Do you get 7-9 hours of sleep per night? What helps you sleep?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Stop When You've Done Enough

American culture often pushes us to do more. We think if we spend more time on a project, we can make it even better. If we put in more hours at work, we'll get that promotion.

Recently, a neighbor encouraged me to add more laps to my morning swim, arguing that if I'm not doing more, then I'm going backward.

While striving to do more can inspire many of us to do great things, it also risks eroding our resilience. Too often, the compulsion to do more or trying to make it even better sucks up the time and energy we should be spending on self-care and fostering social networks, two critical resilience factors.

Attempting to be the best at everything often makes us unhappy and unfulfilled, and risks not being good at anything. This constant need to do more is also one reason we have an epidemic of burnout, and too many employees report they are overworked and exhausted.

Research provides some insights into how to break out of a do more cycle. It turns out that satisficers, people who stop at good enough, are happier than maximizers, people who feel they must always choose the best option.

Psychologist Barry Smith, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, found that people who are satisficers are generally more optimistic, happier, and less regretful than people who are maximizers. He did a study of college seniors looking for jobs and found that maximizers got better jobs but felt worse about the jobs they got than satisficers did.

Stopping when you’ve done enough does not mean submitting mediocre work, shirking responsibilities, or not aspiring to excellence. Instead, it’s determining what excellence looks like ahead of time and stopping once you’ve reached it.

As a supervisor, I regularly saw better performance from staff who knew when to stop than those who tried to be perfect. And, the employees who knew when to stop were able to complete more work because they weren’t bogged down with a single project.

Here are some tips on how you can stop when you’ve done enough:

Define Enough

Sit down with people close to you and talk about your personal, professional, and financial goals. What does enough feel and look like for you? When you get a new work project, discuss with your supervisor what level of effort is required and what result is enough to achieve the project goals.

Write Down Your Goals

After you decide what enough looks like, write it down. Written goals will help you resist the temptation to shift the goal post once you've accomplished enough. Revisit these written goals regularly.

Resist Social Pressure

Recognize that there is a lot of social pressure to do more and use your written goals to help resist this pressure. If people push you to do more, let them know that you are satisfied and happy where you are.

Calculate the Opportunity Costs

Many of us focus only on the positive results of doing more and forget to calculate the costs. If you spend two more hours on a project, what won't you do instead, and is it worth it?

It’s OK to Change Your Mind

It's perfectly fine to change your mind and set new goals but do so with intention and input from people who know and care about you as a person. Make sure you're setting new goals because of what you want, not what society is pressuring you to do.

Don’t Be a Perfectionist

Remind yourself that the need for perfection is rare. Most of us are not brain surgeons or rocket scientists where anything less than perfect can cause death or significant financial loss. Ask yourself whether 80% or 90% is good enough. Evaluate the worst-case scenario if you do 80% and decide whether you can live with that outcome.

Do you stop when you’ve done enough? What helps you be a satisficer instead of a maximizer?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.

Don’t Return to the Workplace Without Talking About Risk

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

I managed many crises during my service as a U.S. diplomat. One of the most important lessons I learned is that everyone has a different threshold of risk. That's the amount of risk a person is comfortable taking when faced with danger and uncertainty.

When people have not yet reached their threshold of risk, they function reasonably well despite the dangers they face. When they exceed their risk limit, anxiety kicks in, fear becomes overwhelming, and they struggle to perform.

I saw this dynamic very clearly after insurgents fired rockets at the al-Rasheed hotel in Baghdad in 2003. For State Department employees in Iraq, this attack changed our perception of the risks we were taking. For many people, that risk exceeded their threshold.

While a few people immediately left Baghdad, many others were pressured to remain in-country despite their discomfort. Staff who remained despite having exceeded their thresholds of risk suffered from high anxiety and struggled with performance. Many became a burden on the rest of the team.

Many organizations are exploring ways to bring employees back to the workplace now that more people are getting vaccinated. Returning to a workplace during this pandemic entails a certain amount of risk given the uncertainty associated with the virus. While putting in place mitigation measures such as wearing masks and regular cleaning may reduce some hazards, it's impossible to eliminate all risks. Even employees who are vaccinated are taking some risks by interacting with other people in their workplace.

Wise supervisors strive to avoid asking employees to return to the workplace when this would exceed their risk threshold. It's essential to recognize that every employee has a personal threshold of risk and to talk with staff about their concerns. While there may be easily identifiable justifications for low thresholds such as underlying health issues or a fear of vaccines, there are also less apparent reasons why someone is more risk-averse.

I learned to explore underlying reasons when one of my employees resisted moving into a new office. I assumed she was jockeying for an office closer to leadership but luckily did not act on that assumption. Instead, I met with her privately to explore her reasoning. She told about a terrorist incident she'd experienced years before and explained that working in an office with windows on the main street felt too risky for her. Her anxiety spiked when she thought about working in that office. An office that was not on the main street felt less precarious. If we had not adjusted and accepted her threshold of risk, her anxiety would have interfered with her performance.

Here are some ways you can ensure that you're not pushing employees beyond their thresholds of risk as you return to the workplace:

Understand and Accept Your Employees’ Risk Thresholds

Some people are more risk-averse than others. When faced with uncertainty, they prefer to minimize loss, even when it reduces possible gains. This may be a personality trait or be influenced by life experiences. Either way, it is unlikely you will persuade someone to be less risk-averse. Instead, accept your employees' risk thresholds and ask what they need from you to mitigate them.

Don’t Push for One Size Fits All

Some supervisors mistakenly think that fairness means treating all employees equally. As a result, they settle on one solution and try to persuade everyone to adopt the same approach. They may reward employees who are comfortable returning to the office at the first opportunity, which pressures others to exceed their risk thresholds. Or, they defer to those with lower risk tolerance and frustrate colleagues who would like to take more risks. Instead, recognize individual risk tolerances and institute policies that allow for flexibility. It is ok if some employees return to the workplace sooner than others based on their preferences. 

Don’t Impose Your Risk Threshold on Others

Some leaders assume that their perception of risk is "right," and when employees differ, they are unreasonable or insubordinate. There is no right or wrong when it comes to risk. That's why managing risk is so challenging. Recognize that your risk threshold is based on your personality and past experiences. Others will have very different, yet just as valid, responses to the same situation.

Don’t Minimize People’s Fears

If you dismiss or minimize your employees' fears, their fear will not go away. Telling someone "not to be scared" communicates that their concerns are not valid. When employees don't feel heard, they often become frustrated and angry. Some people may try to suppress their fear, which drains their emotional energy and erodes resilience. Instead, acknowledge and accept their fears and focus on actions you can take to address the underlying causes.

How are you addressing risk as you return to the workplace?

___________________________

To learn more about how you and your team can thrive in adversity, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And, check out my online Resilience Leadership course.