How can you build resilience to manage stress in Staff Development?

Know your body, mind and emotions. Learn and use strategies to help you reduce the negative reactions to stress... -Deep Breaths -Taking a break -Exercise -A healthy distraction to take your mind off off the stressor. -Remind yourself of all of the more important things in your life to help put the current stress into perspective. I use a variety of herbal supplements and vitamins that are designed to help regulate anxiety and stress (Rhodiola). That has made the biggest and most noticeable difference for me. I feel less stressed and more relaxed.

Although tangible indicators are probably the most important, step aside from time to time and just enjoy the process. Observe, analyze and listen to your gut feelings. Compare your gut feelings with the analyses, understand benefits and putfalls of both, find a way to merge the best of both. Learn from mistakes and do your best to eliminate them, so that you can make new mistakes that will eventually lead you to your goal. Remember, no mistakes, no leaarning and improving.

Recognize and counter signs of stress: Your body sends signals that it’s stressed, including difficulty concentrating, headaches, cold hands, tight muscles, a nervous stomach, clenched teeth, feeling on edge, fidgety, irritable and/or withdrawn. Knowing how your body communicates can help you deal with stressful moments. Learn to not only recognize but also to name these feelings, either to oneself or to a friend. Then, take action to counter their effects

-Always stay in the moment through mediation, family events, comradery -Acknowledging their strengths, their weakness, offers ways to improve without being negative or deeming and encourages them to tell you yours. Just because you’re in position of “power” doesn’t mean you don’t have weaknesses. These are some ideas that come to mind through my own experience. Finally, NEVER take credit for something your employees thought of or did as it can make them lose confidence in the job, themselves, most importantly you, as a leader. I NEVER have any ideas, or solutions I have ALWAYS and will ALWAYS give the individual their due recognition and credit.

For me as a former school leader, and now as a facilitator of staff professional development with 15 years' experience, there is a strategic approach to cultivating a welcoming growth mindset in staff towards it. Firstly, my premise is that all staff development must translate into benefits for student learning and wellbeing outcomes. That is achieved by removing the first person out of all staff goal setting, which also removes stressful judgemental thoughts and replaces them with developmental thoughts. When every staff goal begins with "Students will ..........." it is about students not staff. Then setting timebound targets for students to achieve .... further relieves stress and wins staff buy in. And lastly, the strategy, "I will ...

Understand what motivates you and enjoy the smallest achievement you make. Although rest, healthy diet and exercise are the top priority in rhis sense, motivation can sometimes be the major drive to your goal. Foster competitiveness in yourself, go swimming and diving, bike riding, learn to play a (new) instrument 10 minutes a day. Make progress on amonthly basis, compare how far or fast you swam last month with the current month. Celebrate your achievement, life and opporttunities you have. Small improvements on everyday basis will eventually lead to your better self much quicker than ou think, you just have to be able to notice it.

We all know that we should and we allow other things to sneak in. My recommendation that I follow myself, is to put you in your calendar first. My sleep/wake schedule and my workout time is scheduled. It is amazing how much more often it happens when I make an appointment with myself daily.

Stretching has always improved my state of mind but playing fetch with my puppy also gives me the opportunity decompress even when I only have 5 mins between the next task.

Consider the practice of mindfulness meditation: Mindfulness meditation is a practice in which you focus on the present moment by bringing awareness to your thoughts and feelings without judgment or attachment. By learning to identify sources of stress and developing strategies to cope, we’re better able to maintain balance in our lives. When we can cope with stressful situations, we can better focus our energies on the things that bring us joy and satisfaction. We become more resilient and better able to handle life’s challenges without feeling overwhelmed or distressed.

Before my presentation to the staff, I felt so overwhelmed that I rehearsed the presentation three times. I thought it was necessary to do it to help me make an impact. The presentation felt easy and since then I have made it non-negotiable habit to rehearse my lessons and presentations, no matter how confident I feel about what I am going to do.

It is essential that you build your community of support outside of your current workplace. As you encounter people who serve in the same role as you use them to build your community of support so that when you need advice or guidance, you have someone who understands your position and is able to give support and feedback on the challenges you are facing.

Be careful when you seek support and feedback. There may be coworkers who will use your stress to get the better of you. Make sure you trust someone before you confide in them.

Developing a high quality professional network reduces your stress as a staff developer and can amplify your impact. It offers a supportive sounding board and the opportunity to find mentors and offer mentorship in turn. Reach out to new colleagues in your region or field to say hello, make that contact, and potentially set up a time for a more extended conversation over coffee, a meal, or virtually.

Every next level, requires a next level of you. We all need different coaches at different levels. Whether it happens in a podcast, hiring a professional coach or utilizing your companies Employee Assistance Program, you will feel more energized and accountable talking with someone that you do not have a personal relationship with generally.

Proactively investing in your own development is one really critical way to build resilience around stress management. Staff Development requires acknowledging the triggers, areas of strength, and areas of opportunity across a diverse group of adults. You are best positioned to do this when you equip yourself with new skills, mental models, and evidence-based frameworks. Consider increasing your proficiency in SWOT analyses or the ADDIE model.

Adopting a growth mindset helps with managing stress. If you're stressing about something, learn about it and work on it. Stress is best fought by facing the actual source problem. When growing and learning, set milestones and celebrate every achievement. There's no better way to overcome stress.

Provide a level of consistency and innovation, by weaving foundational ideas with modern and futuristic modalities. Stay curious and open to trends that support the organization rather than what makes you comfortable.

Remember that growth creates stretch marks and tears as the "muscles" grow. It is usually not a linear process and can feel messy. It many times takes a coach to boost efforts so always look for free training or pay to attend a growth day. Humans still learn best by experiential learning so sit somewhere with others doing the same. The synergy is energizing!

Growing your personal capacities and centering a growth mindset create more positive experiences as a staff developer. Learning more about protocols and adult learning strategies through models like Adaptive Schools or Cognitive Coaching can add to your effectiveness in larger workshops and also small settings. It's also useful to develop efficacy routines for oneself so you can better process through adversity and unexpected developments.

This is such a helpful foundation for maintaining a positive outlook and spreading that positivity around you. It will establish positive habits of mind internally, lift up those around you, and contribute to developing a helpful and supportive professional network. When you pay gratitude forward it finds it way back to you, including when you most need it.

Early on in my staff development career I was more sensitive to stress and shifts in the workplace. Over time I've found that acknowledging that challenges will come helps me refocus my attention on what I can control, as well as, what I can learn from every experience. This has undoubtedly helped me to build resilience and encourage others to do the same.

If there is one trait in personality that has kept me going for over 20 years now and something that has brough me numerous awards, rewards and money, it is being optimistic and grateful for very small things, such as a pen or a pencil from the administration.

When the pressure is on, having leaders that acknowledge the pressure means a lot in coping ability. Simple things like encouraging words, even snacks or lunch, flexibility in scheduling can allow a team to feel they can conquer the world.

In my experience, leaders and employers who provide time, space and opportunity for professional development cultivate safe learning environments that can cultivate a growth mindset. Help employees set goals for their personal and professional development. Support them financially through paid coursework or by allowing time during their workday to train, but also supporting them knowing when they get back to their desk their emails and workflow may be overflowing. Opportunities for growth can be motivating and contribute to resilience.

Tuning into the pace of change is important to managing not only your own stress but those around you. It's important to determine a realistic timeline for implementation and understand that if it's a quick turnaround time, you will sacrifice something--typically relationships or your own sanity. Creating systemic supports for change and staff development is critical for a smoother experience. A bit of planning, discomfort management, and system supports will go a long way to reducing stress for you and the staff.

Sometimes the most stressful aspect is, knowing where to start. To answer the question I like to use the Eisenhower Matrix. It categorizes tasks into four quadrants: Urgent and Important (handle immediately), Important but Not Urgent (strategic planning), Urgent but Not Important (delegate or minimize), and Not Urgent and Not Important (eliminate or minimize). The focus is on Quadrant II, emphasizing long-term goals and personal development. By applying the Eisenhower Matrix to your approach to staff development, you're strategically managing your learning and growth.