I am struck by Niall's experiences as described in chapter four of "Resonant Leadership" and find myself nodding frequently throughout the pages. While it was a bit discomforting to read over and over that stress is, inherently, a part of our jobs (must it be this way?), the opportunity we have to recognize the Sacrifice Syndrome and seek renewal should be equally as powerful. The authors introduce the notion of mindfulness: "living in a state of full and conscious awareness of one's whole self, other people, and the context in which we live and work" (p. 73).
Last week, I attended the BATDC/POCIS Leadership Diversity conference. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking day. During one discussion, I shared my feelings concerning how to bring back all this good work regarding diversity to my school. It is one thing to have serious and candid conversations with one's allies and another to try to create this dialogue with peers/constituents who may not be aligned with the same ideals and values. Where do we start? And, then, how do we continue this ever so important work?
Boyatzis and McKee offer some suggestions. Mindfulness and awareness. Authentic leadership. Renewal. Hopefulness. Compassion. Collegiality. What else will it take to feel renewed in the heat of the battle, and lead us on the road to sustainable leadership and sustainable schools?
Dana-
ReplyDeleteInteresting questions -- "Must stress always be a part of our jobs?" In a meeting of our Wellness Committee at Burke's on Friday, someone commented that there is good stress as well as bad stress. Back on pp. 40-41, the authors introduce stress into the equation -- p. 41: "Leaders like Karl have tremendous responsibility, and the more senior they are, the heavier the burden. They need to exert influence over others, engaging with them and guiding their behavior towards challenging goals. Good leaders need a great deal of self-control, which takes emotional energy and effort. When you add it all up and throw in a real crisis or two, leaders will experience what we call chronic power stress. In fact, scientists studying stress would call leadership a role involving "chronic stress with periodic occasions of acute stress." The quandary you shared about how to bring the good work on diversity back to your school is a great example of "good stress" -- the challenge of figuring out how to start the discussion, of how to deal with the various personalities of your constituents. All good stuff, exciting challenge, heady, exhilarating. It turns into "bad stress" when there's just too much of it to deal with, when we don't manage to work in renewal & get the sympathetic nervous system activated. I'm aiming for a three-pronged approach: try to figure out how to get my job restructured to shed some of the stress (particularly the stress of having too many little things to do so that simply trying to focus is stressful); maximizing opportunities for collegial support like our group; and making sure that "renewal" is renewal and not just rest -- that I am really fed by the things I use my non-work time for. There's probably a fourth prong, too -- attitude. Really trying to stay positive (maybe not quite like Colleen at Southwest, but recognizing that a smile can be contagious, and making an effort not to lead with whatever stress I'm feeling.
Thanks for your insight, Rebekah. A good start is the fact that KDBS has a Wellness Committee. I like your differentiation between good and bad stress or, perhaps changing the mindset (your 4th prong), exciting, fresh projects that lie ahead. Opportunities that can ignite our inner spark and keep us motivated and challenged. Good luck to us all as we continue the journey to refresh and renew!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is important to distinguish between good and bad stress. It is a job, after all, and there was something exciting about the job that attracted us to it in the first place. That something was probably not the vacation time. When I'm suffering bad stress, it usually means that it's time to ask for help. However, my pride usually prevents me, and the stress only increases. It sounds like Rebekah does better with this.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, Tim! Today I drove home almost in tears - of self-criticism, disappointment in the poor job I'd just done of trying to squeeze too many important issues into a too-rushed meeting -- trying to "cover material" fast and let folks out early for the Giants game. The analogy to covering material is a useful one to have come up with -- given that running division meetings and figuring out how many big issues to serve onto people's plates at one time are some of my particular challenges, drawing a closer parallel to teaching would serve me well. . . anyway, today ended on a stressful note for me, and so I'm in a "what lessons can I learn?" mode. Going to Karen's posting on the biology of stress, it's important to note that I had just indulged in way more sugar than usual at our monthly faculty birthdays celebration. . .
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