Pinnacle Proactive

Failure – essential for building business resilience

Was your school the springboard for your success at work? Did it teach you valuable lessons such as that it is normal and acceptable not always to succeed?

Wimbledon High School for Girls, one of the country’s top independent schools, is holding a Failure Week this week, deliberately to expose the positive aspects of failure. And rightly so.

For every product that is launched and proves a success, there will be many more that did not make it beyond the drawing board. Some will have progressed to design stage, they might even have been launched, but then they flopped.

Behind every pitch that leads to new business are hours, even days, spent on proposals that were unsuccessful.

In hospitals, not every life will be saved. Firefighters will not always gain fast control of the flames. Paramedics in ambulances will not always reach an accident in time. Police will not solve every crime. Business profits will fall as well as rise.

Yet, in businesses where failure is not managed well, it can infiltrate the corporate culture increasing absenteeism and reducing confidence. It can lead to bad decision-making, affect leadership and compromise teams – or drive people to retreat, taking sickies to hide their stress or depression. It diminishes morale and affects performance. It can affect decision-makers and leaders just as much as ordinary employees. It can devastate sole-traders and others who are self-employed.

It need not be like that.

Working at peak performance, attaining success and satisfaction, must include an element of “daring to fail and daring to get it wrong”, as the school’s headmistress (a former management consultant) said. We see this clearly on the sports pitch and the tennis court – and in particular in media interviews afterwards, when most sports people respond by framing their failure in one match in a wider context – of the tournament or their overall performance during that sports year. There are lessons here for the world of work.

Businesses that invest in building resilience among their people – fostering a culture that encourages everyone to see the positives in the negatives and to consider failure a part of learning and refining – will be much better able to withstand the knocks that everyone, and every business, faces. By helping individuals, teams, leaders and decision-makers to see their failures differently - through coaching, training or counselling - businesses will be better able to expand their capacity for growth and success.

If you would like your people, at whatever level they are in your business, to build their resilience do get in touch.

07/02/2012 | Posted in Training, Team building, Success, Stress, Resilience, Presenteeism, Performance, Morale, Leadership, Feedback, Confidence, Coaching, Absenteeism,

Work-related stress: a hidden cost on your balance sheet

These statistics make stark reading. In Europe, the cost of lost productivity due to mental health disorders, including sick leave absenteeism, is €136 billion (over £113 billion). In the UK, over two thirds of organisations are unaware of the effectiveness of counselling in treating work-related stress or depression; and just under a quarter (24 per cent) had noticed an increase in stress-related absenteeism due to the economic downturn.

Not many businesses will record lost productivity in great financial detail. Even those that do fail to take account of other losses – invisible costs such as:

a change in team spirit and co-operation;
increased tension or resentment;
a reduction in creativity;
reduced enthusiasm when trying to win new business; and
the effect that any or all of these, and other hidden costs, can have on a business’s overall corporate image.

Sometimes, relatively small changes to working practices or training and coaching are all that is needed to have a significant impact on these hidden costs. Workplace counselling, for individuals or teams, also produces huge benefits. But it is often difficult for a company’s decision-makers to see what changes are needed to improve performance, and who could benefit from training or counselling.

Even if a chief executive or line-manager can identify needs and options, recommending them can be uncomfortable. Sometimes, junior staff know what is needed – but, if there is no forum for raising suggestions, or if the corporate culture is not conducive to doing so, their unspoken ideas become lost opportunities. Working with an outsider, a specialist in managing workplace stress, makes change possible. And it makes change happen.

The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) has published a helpful guide to understanding the impact on business of workplace stress.

Every business operates differently; stresses in one workplace are likely to be very different from stresses in another. Success is measured differently, too. We work closely with our clients to develop strategies specific to their business and their people, providing each one with a detailed analysis of the causes of stress in their workplace, achievable recommendations for change, and support as they introduce those changes. If you would like strategic advice on how to reduce stress in your workplace – or if you have employees who are struggling with stress at work – do get in touch.

25/01/2012 | Posted in Training, Team building, Success, Stress, Strategic advice, Productivity, Presenteeism, Performance, Counselling, Coaching, Analysis, Absenteeism,

Incident in Norway leaves a legacy of trauma and stress

While the world’s media focuses on the shocking activities of Anders Behring Breivik and their effect on the people who died, those who escaped, their families and friends, little is being said about the people who were directly involved in responding to the incident and rebuilding the country’s reputation: paramedics, police, decision-makers and leaders including Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg and the King and Queen of Norway.

What has been said has been extremely critical – specifically of the time it took the Norwegian police to arrive on Utoya, the island where so many young people were killed. Anger is a natural response to bereavement and, in dramatic and unpredictable incidents such as this, it is expected. It is essential, therefore, to be prepared for it – and to cope with that anger while you are also facing a trauma (finding and dealing with the bodies as well supporting and rescuing the distressed people who survived).

The same is true of the paramedics who were called to the scene. Their job means they are constantly under stress – ready to race to someone whose life is at risk, applying knowledge accurately at speed, making quick judgements, giving life-saving advice and treatment. And they face traumas day in and day out as they deal with the sad and tragic outcomes of their work.

Police and paramedics receive intensive training that includes building their resilience so they are better able to cope with stress and trauma. But it is impossible to predict whether an incident will prove too much to cope with and, if a person does reach their coping capacity, when it will happen. Offering support to people in stressful or trauma-filled jobs will reduce the time they are absent from work, help them return to peak performance, and rebuild their resilience.

People who cannot face returning to work might also need help to rebuild their confidence and self-esteem so they can find other work or cope with a life without work.

In addition, some people might be able to cope with the effects of stress and trauma while at work – but find that it is affecting their personal relationships and self-esteem or causing anxiety, addictions, eating disorders. And that could, in turn, begin to have an impact on their performance at work.

As for the prime minister and the king and queen, all leadership roles involve dealing with stress. Making decisions that impact on others, responding to crises, ordering actions or inaction, taking the responsibility and the flak – all require resilience. And they need to make these difficult decisions while remaining outwardly calm and in control. People in positions of authority at the top of organisations also need to build resilience so they can manage their stress, spot stress in others and minimise its impact on the business by offering training or support.

Finally, it isn’t only people who are connected with a traumatic incident who can be affected by it. People not there at the time might identify with aspects of it – or feel more vulnerable as a result. It is important for businesses to be aware of the potential psychological effects on others – and to offer them support and resilience training.

If you or your staff need to manage stress and cope with trauma, or are under-performing or absent because of the effects of stress or trauma, do consider providing courses that build resilience or professional psychotherapeutic support to bring them back up to peak performance. We provide training, coaching, mentoring and counselling specifically geared to people at work who face stress and trauma – including EMDR which is recognised by NICE as particularly effective for treating trauma. Do get in touch.

29/07/2011 | Posted in Trauma, Stress, Resilience, Presenteeism, Performance, Leadership, Counselling, Confidence, Coaching, Absenteeism,

Anger management counselling - to help individuals and businesses succeed

Picture the scene: it’s your regular office meeting; the agenda includes sensitive issues, discussions will be detailed and probably contentious; someone will blow their top. If they don’t explode with anger during the meeting, there are likely to be hot-headed discussions afterwards, whether between two protagonists or by drawing more people in support of, or against, the proposition.

Some of your colleagues will retreat, avoiding conflict at all costs; others will give in to unreasonable demands, for a quiet life; sparks will fly between some; sarcasm will spill from the quicker-witted or sharper-tongued; some might resort to swearing or shouting; doors might slam, desks might be thumped – and so might people; a few will shrug or laugh it off; one or two will deftly defuse the tricky situation using calm, diplomatic words and finding amicable solutions.

The effect of anger – and the effect of anticipating it – can have far-reaching ramifications, seriously affecting people at work, reducing their morale, performance and effectiveness (driving them home or to drink or drugs, or into eating disorders or addiction) and affecting the success of the business.

How do you manage anger, whether you are the one who is dishing it out or if you are on the receiving end? What’s the best course of action in either case – and how do you achieve it?

Anger has its ramifications but it would be wrong to see it only as a cause. It is a symptom. There is always a reason why anger is triggered – long-standing disappointments or resentments; frustration; grief (of a person, or loss of a job or status); stress (from having too much to do, or not enough); being held back or unsupported; promotion to an unmanageable level; unachievable demands. It can also be a side-effect of drugs, or of medical or physical conditions such as depression, pre-menstrual tension or the menopause. Exploring the route that leads to the root of its cause is essential if it is to be managed successfully to reduce its impact on the performance of individuals and teams as well as on the organisation and business.

Anger management counselling is increasingly used at work – one to one and in groups, for individuals or teams. Exploring the reasons for the anger, helping individuals deal with their angry feelings in a constructive, rather than destructive, way, or showing how anger can be useful when it is channelled towards a positive outcome can help reduce the occurrence of anger and its effects.

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can be a particularly effective form of anger management counselling. It helps individuals recognise the thoughts that trigger the anger and, because it is a practical therapy, learn to change their thinking patterns and therefore their behaviour. It might also be necessary to use other therapies – providing what is best for each individual or depending on the situation.

If you would like advice on how to minimise the effects of anger in your workplace, do get in touch. We will help you identify what is needed, for individuals and for the business; advise you on practices and policies to adopt for the longer term; and provide the most appropriate professional support and guidance for each individual or situation.

16/05/2011 | Posted in Absenteeism, Conflict, Counselling, Morale, Performance, Stress, Success,

Stress at work

Today is Stress Awareness Day and MIND (a leading mental health charity) has just released research showing that millions of people take sickies to cope with stress at work – and that they lie to their bosses about the reasons for those sickies. I suspect that most of us have been in this position at some stage during our working life.

Taking a day off might help to some degree – giving you a chance to wind down, or up, or both, whichever is right for you – but it doesn’t solve the problem for the long term. The same pressures will continue; it takes corporate, not individual, action to change the level of stress at work.

For many organisations, facing up to the fact that stress is an issue can be hugely counter-cultural and intimidating. It is often the case that the people creating stress for others are under stress themselves – and they can be as reluctant to be honest about this to their bosses, as their staff are about being honest to them. The merry-go-round of stress goes merrily round with people at every level unable to stop and get off.

It doesn’t have to be like this. While a certain degree of stress is good for each of us – it drives us on, inspires us, encourages achievement, helps us aim high – an unmanageable level of stress can adversely affect individual and corporate morale and performance. At the very least, it increases the number of sickies we take.

More and more organisations realise that they need policies to manage stress in the workplace. Some policies might be relatively easy to introduce (reducing noise, for example) but others require greater corporate effort (training leaders to recognise stress in themselves and others, and how to minimise or overcome it). Getting outside help, including to formulate and implement those policies, is one way for business leaders to reduce their own stress (delegating is an important stress-reliever) as well as the stress their staff feel – so everyone can concentrate on their own, and the business’s, success.

How did you cope on Stress Awareness Day?

13/11/2010 | Posted in Success, Stress, Performance, Morale, Leadership, Absenteeism,

Workplace trauma leaves a legacy

Two inquests are currently dominating the news – reminding us that traumas leave an unpredictable legacy. It is impossible to know exactly how people will be affected by a trauma – and it is impossible to know exactly when its effects might emerge.

In the case of the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005, the inquest highlighted resentments and misunderstandings between specialists – ambulance, police and firefighting staff all had expectations of each other that went unfulfilled, leaving them all feeling blamed for others’ shortcomings. And it made those specialists relive their experiences – bringing some to tears in the witness stand.

As for the death of barrister Mark Saunders, killed in a siege in May 2008, a specialist firearms police officer is accused of playing a game with the evidence he gave at the inquest in September 2009.

What both these situations show is that it is important not just to support people’s mental and emotional health years after they have experienced a trauma; it is also important to help them develop resilience before they experience a trauma including by recognising when they might be vulnerable to pressures and stress, how those vulnerabilities might emerge, and when and how to seek help.

While it might not have been possible to predict a random bombing, it is possible to predict that community leaders such as the police, firefighters, paramedics and ambulance staff will face traumas of some sort – and that they will react differently to them. With specialists such as firearms officers, it is possible to predict that some will behave oddly before, during or after a trauma, perhaps as a way of managing their anxieties, the overwhelming nature of their responsibilities, or the difficult decisions they had to make while under pressure.

It is not for us to pass judgement on the way the people involved in these two high-profile cases behaved during their traumas or afterwards – or to imply whether they are innocent or guilty. What we can say is that the way they behaved is entirely predictable, in an unpredictable kind of way, and that organisations can help their staff face, manage and recover from a trauma – if they take professional advice, including from mental health specialists, to develop policies that help their people build resilience and learn how to manage stress or anxiety caused by anticipating or experiencing trauma.

05/11/2010 | Posted in Resilience, Policy development, Leadership, Communication, Stress, Success, Training,

Managing workplace trauma: lessons from the Chilean miners

The world is in awe of the way in which the Chilean government, the mining company, the miners and their families (and, for that matter, the world’s media) have handled this staggeringly unusual crisis. It would be wrong to be complacent while the rescue operation continues but it would be wrong, also, to focus only on the miners' release and the immediate aftermath. The miners who are already above ground are now in medical care; checking their physical health is a priority of course.

So is managing their mental health and the Chilean government has already said it will do all it can to support the miners for the long term which must include understanding and treating their psychological reactions.

What about others? Everyone closely involved in the operation could be affected by this internationally-followed crisis – the rescuers who travel down the mine to assess the health and welfare of the miners before they are transported above ground; the people deciding who should be rescued first, last and in between; the people who built and tested the rescue pod or who created and lined the shaft; the families waiting, uncertain whether the crisis would end in tragedy or joy; wives, partners, mistresses (as reported by the media), children, parents who find their husband, lover, father, child has changed having lived for so long with uncertainty, underground; the head of the mining company; the media observing it all; even the president of Chile. All could be affected by this incident, and in unpredictable ways – or not affected at all and be accused of callousness or indifference. That’s the effect of trauma.

Even the word trauma conjures up dramatic incidents, but a trauma cannot be measured on any scale other than the one by which the person affected measures it. Something others perceive as trivial or inconsequential could have a massive impact for the person experiencing it. No one else should be your judge and jury; if you feel you have experienced a trauma, you’ve experienced a trauma. And that means you could be struggling with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The effect of trauma can come and go, be ever-present, last for life, or disappear soon after it emerged. The good news is that much more is known, now, about PTSD and the way it can be treated. One particularly effective treatment, recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), is EMDR (to continue with the acronyms – this one stands for eye movement desensitisation reprocessing). The effect of EMDR is thought to be similar to REM sleep, during which the brain makes sense of the day’s events, reprocessing the memory and releasing problem emotions and associations.

EMDR could help the Chilean miners and others associated with them, just as it could help anyone who has experienced a trauma, whether the cause of the trauma was obviously dramatic to a wide-eyed world or invisible to everyone but you. The point is to seek help and rebuild your resilience, not suffer in silence believing you ought not to be affected.

13/10/2010 | Posted in Trauma, Stress, Resilience,

Using alcohol as a prop

So, Tony Blair has published his memoirs and confessed that he fell into the habit of using alcohol to support him through the stresses of being prime minister. The revelation immediately generated a debate, among journalists and the public, about whether this was anything worth writing about – many of us think nothing of drinking a whisky or G&T followed by a couple of glasses (or half a bottle) of wine each evening.

As Mr Blair said, he was drinking at the upper limit of what is considered appropriate but an interesting question is whether he underestimated his alcohol intake – just as many of us do when asked by our GP or in surveys.

The difficulty, in a nation where drinking is so much a part of our culture, is that it is very easy to kid ourselves that we can handle what we drink and that what we drink is not too much. I am not implying that Tony Blair was pulling the wool over our eyes or his own; he defined his alcohol intake as “not excessively excessive” and we have to take that at face value.

But what made his confession so interesting was that he recognised his drinking had become a prop. For many, this objectivity is not possible. We drink (or turn to drugs, eating, self-harm, bullying) to cover up, disguise or distract us from difficult emotions (or workplace struggles such as stress or an overbearing corporate culture) – without being aware that that is what we are doing.

The first stage on the road to recovery is to discover and unravel those feelings so we can learn how to manage and respond to them. And many of us need not a quick-fix prop but professional support to plan the best route for the journey through our complicated, 21st century lives - building resilience so we can manage without turning to career-limiting coping strategies.

03/09/2010 | Posted in Stress, Resilience, Leadership, Bullying,

We also provide Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), Counselling, Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional freedom technique (EFT), Existential counselling, Gestalt therapy, Humanistic psychotherapy, Hypno-birthing, Hypnotherapy, Integrative counselling, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Person-centred counselling, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalytical therapy, Psychodynamic therapy and Sensorimotor psychotherapy services.

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