Reinforcing Resilience
Author: Stacey Evans
Manager or Leader?
“Managers light a fire under people; leaders light a fire in people.” - Kathy Austin
When I started in my current role four years ago, it was the first time I officially line managed anyone. I put a lot of pressure and expectation on myself regarding what I needed to do to be successful in this role. I thought I needed to have the answers to everything, I thought I had to keep my weaknesses well hidden, I thought I needed to be infallible and put up an impenetrable wall for people to trust I was a right fit to lead the team. Considering the ‘I’ so much was my first mistake…
Since those first days in this role, I quickly learnt, sometimes through conflict, these ideas I had about management were not good. Firstly, working in social care, situations change so quickly, day to day, even hour to hour. Secondly, my team supports vulnerable people with high needs and low resources. Thirdly, it’s not in my character to switch off and not be impacted by situations and injustices we experience on a daily basis. Most importantly, whilst officially I am a manager, the main skill I needed was to be a leader and set a good example for my team to follow. The only way to do this is to build relationships and trust with them.
The Estia Centre’s ‘Developing Your Team’s Resilience’ training really helped me to see how theory can become action and I was able to implement a few things within my team that I can already see have had a positive impact. Here I will demonstrate some of the key learnings that I feel have increased my understanding of my team and their individual needs, to strengthen our resilience.
Promoting Well-being
“If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” - RuPaul
Working in social care can mean you spend the day taking care of others to the detriment of taking care of yourself. It can be hard to maintain boundaries and switch off after a stressful day at work. As a manager, I tend to focus on the well-being of those we support. In our day programme, we have made a point of connecting our activities to the Five Ways to Well-being to benefit those we support, yet it’s not something that, before this training, I considered promoting to my team to manage their own well-being.
One individual in my team has a history of poor mental health which recently resulted in a period of long-term leave. They and I worked together, alongside the rest of the team, to enable their return to their role, including creating and implementing a Well-being Action Plan to support them. As a result of this investment of time and care, I felt the relationship between myself, and this colleague grew stronger as I learnt a lot about them. In turn, they felt hugely supported by the team. But this training made me realise that I had not considered the well-being of the rest of my team as part of this process. Everyone can suffer from poor mental health at any point and as a leader, I could highlight the importance of us all being aware of our needs, how we cope, any triggers that the team can be aware of so they can offer the support we might need. Being proactive instead of reactive improves our resilience.
At a recent away day with my team, I added the topic of well-being to the agenda to enable the team to reflect on what ‘being well’ meant to them. It was clear this was not something many of them had considered and hearing their responses and reflections was really informative. We took some time to start and work on creating our own Wellbeing Action Plans and invited everyone to share anything they felt safe to do so. In creating this space, I was happy to see how open most of the team were to share their reflections and their willingness and desire to continue to use and review their Well-being Action Plans. Everyone agreed they would like to complete them and discuss in supervision, followed by sharing relevant information in our team meeting.
Each member of my team has reflected on their Well-being Action Plan in supervision and ‘well-being’ is a topic that now stays on the agenda both in monthly supervisions and fortnightly team meetings so we can review how we are. Whilst some action plans are more detailed than others, there is a mutual understanding of what each individual might find challenging, which has made it easier to identify if their action plans need to be implemented. It also helps them to identify coping mechanisms and support they can get beyond work which I have noticed improves their resilience as they reflect on these with me. In addition, in highlighting this topic and continuing to invest the time to understand more about each other, I have seen a gentleness in more challenging interactions develop.
Motivation is Key
“It’s not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between 9 and 5. It’s whether or not our work fulfils us.” – Malcolm Gladwell
One of the most enlightening aspects of this training was considering the development of my team. Whilst I know the benefits of ensuring your team develop, both to improve the service you can offer, but also in terms of retention, considering your team’s motivation was a new idea for me. I work with a diverse team of individuals who have different personalities, experiences, abilities and skills, all factors that Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of motivation bases performance on. So in understanding the motivations of each individual, I can understand what makes them tick, what makes them eager to perform and also what impacts their resilience.
As part of our workbook after week four, we were encouraged to do an exercise with three members of our team to ask questions about what motivated and demotivated them and what my role in them staying motivated was. The original three individuals I did this with all had really different responses that reflected their personalities. Generally the examples demonstrate intrinsic motivations and a common theme was training and development – all of them want to grow and learn new things. One individual was clearly motivated by the community aspect of their role – they enjoy interactions, being with people and seeing they have had a positive impact on someone. The second individual was motivated by new experiences, clear guidance and deadlines, as well as space to share ideas and collaborate. The third individual’s main motivation was around training, development and opportunities they could tap into.
Sharing your motivations is a personal and revealing thing and I am honoured my team were so honest with me as I feel I have learnt more about my team’s personality and their values. Most importantly for me though, I feel it has unlocked the window into how to communicate achievements, challenges and change to each person in order. For example, with the individual who is motivated by community, when discussing new projects and opportunities (something they mentioned can cause anxiety for them), I can focus on how they link and connect with this in order to get them on board. If I was to focus on the financial advantages, this would only demotivate them and create more anxiety, pressure and in turn affect their resilience.
Reflecting on Resilience
"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean
I strive to continue to learn and adapt my practice as a leader to benefit my team and the people we support. Due to regulations, I cannot change many of the processes of our work, but I can understand my team to ensure they are equipped and adaptable to developments. This training has enabled me to explore and reflect on what it is to be a good leader and implement positive changes for my team. This has really helped me to reframe and strengthen the relationship between us all and the work that we do. Overall, I discovered there were links between the well-being action plan and individual’s motivations. At times, the things that demotivated an individual could cause them stress and impact their well-being. Whilst some of the information I have learnt about my team has not been a complete surprise, I believe creating space for them to reflect and recognise aspects of themselves means they can identify ‘threats’, utilise the tools they discovered to overcome them, which empowers them to be more resilient.
About the Author
Stacey Evans is a Day Services Development Coordinator in London where she oversee the programme of activity for people with learning disabilities across two sites. Having worked in small and large diverse teams, she strives to create supportive environments to empower individuals in order for teams to flourish together.
References
NHS (n.d.) 5 steps to mental wellbeing (n.d) NHS choices. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/ [Accessed: 7 October 2024)]
Bloodworth, M. (2023) New Year, New Resilience, Estia Centre [online]. Available at: https://slam.nhs.uk/estiacentre-blog/new-year-new-resilience-1971 [Accessed: 20 October 2024].
Fresne , A. (2019) First-line managers can reduce stress with compassionate management, Ellevate. Available at: https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/articles/10361-first-line-managers-can-reduce-stress-with-compassionate-management [Accessed: 31 October 2024].
Guide for employees: Wellness Action Plans (WAPs) (no date) Mind. Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/5760/mind-guide-for-employees-wellness-action-plans_final.pdf [Accessed: 7 October 2024].
Skills for Care (2016) Building your own resilience, health and wellbeing [online] Available at https://www.workingwellglos.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Building-your-own-Personal-Resilience.pdf [Accessed on 31 October 2024]
Sloan, S. (2021) Empower your teams to be resilient, Forbes [online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2021/02/01/empower-your-people-to-develop-resilience/ [Accessed: 20 October 2024]
To manage or to lead? A question for the ages (no date) Birkman. Available at: https://birkman.com/resources/articles/manage-or-lead [Accessed: 14 October 2024].
Mind (n.d.) Guide for employees: Wellness Action Plans (WAPs). How to support your mental health at work. Available at https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/5760/mind-guide-for-employees-wellness-action-plans_final.pdf [Accessed 7 October 2024]
Your Coach (n.d.) Employee Motivation Theories. Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory [Online] Available at https://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/vroom-expectancy-motivation-theory/ [Accessed 7 October 2024]
