Teams providing others a Life Line

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Mother Theresa

There are so many amazing groups of individuals in the world that help save lives, but I wanted to draw your attention to the amazing people at Lifeline Australia.

The concept is simple, but brilliant – that when someone is really struggling, feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping or staying safe and is in desperate need for someone to talk to, to lean on and get support from, that there is always a caring, compassionate person at the end of the phone to reach out to 24/7.

This is a charity that is close to my heart right now for several reasons. Not just because I have worked for them in the past and supported them, but because most recently someone in my past is in a critical condition in hospital overseas having attempted to take his own life. This shocking news has given me good reason to think about Lifeline and what a difference they may have made to my ex-colleague had he loved here and been able to call them.

This is not an article about suicide, but rather one about the people who are on hand at the end of a phone line, text or online chat to support the increasing number of people who live with suicidal ideation and experiencing suicidal distress.

The Team at Lifeline have a tough job as they handle around a million calls a year in Australia and sadly last year during the height of COVID they set new 57-year records with an average daily call rate of over 3300 in September 2020. This translates to over 90,000 calls a day in Australia or one call every 30 seconds! This was one of the ‘hidden’ fallouts from the pandemic and resulting global recession as the public struggled with physical and social isolation and job loss and we saw increased evidence of anxiety and depression.

What makes Lifeline particularly special to me is that the people that handle the calls that come in 24 hours a day are all volunteers, which makes their service all the more impressive and their dedication all the more noteworthy.

“Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, they just have the heart.”

Elizabeth Andrew

I marvel at the type of people that make up the volunteer team at Lifeline and how they keep turning up for their shifts. And as someone who has first-hand experience at managing volunteers and has seen the Lifeline ones behind the scenes so to speak, what has always impressed me about Lifeline was the depth and resilience of their people.

So, consider for a moment the challenge they have. It is hard enough to motivate paid staff to do jobs, let alone emotionally challenging and draining ones like serving as a Lifeline crisis supporter to someone experiencing severe emotional or suicidal distress. So, to get a volunteer to turn up on time for their shift, especially during those anti-social times, is nothing short of remarkable and says a great deal for the commitment, motivation and devotion of these big-hearted volunteers.

On top of that, each crisis supporter sits in their own area which helps preserve the confidentiality and intimacy of the calls they take. This sounds imminently sensible, but also consider what this means for the crisis supporter as they are alone and physically separate from their colleagues. This can put a strain on them as they are effectively alone in facing and processing what they hear and deal with on each call. This is why the supervision and support they also get is so important as their mental welfare is just as important to preserve given the tough calls they handle each shift.

It’s one thing to find the right people to do a job like this, but they also need to be properly inducted, trained and managed and these are areas that Lifeline excels at. Their orientation and training are highly respected, which of course they need to be given the nature of their work. Their systems and processes are designed to ensure a consistent professional service offering high quality care and compassion.

And as someone who has experienced their support firsthand, I cannot tell you how critical their existence is and means for those who are facing a personal crisis or moment (or period) of pain, confusion, or fear. The precious minutes their crisis supporters give the anonymous caller at the end of the line can literally make the difference between life and death.

So, what can business leaders learn from Lifeline about how they can better manage and motivate their teams?

My seven thoughts are:

1.    The importance of a shared common purpose.

2.    How critical it is to have robust systems, processes and procedures.

3.    The vitality of comprehensive training to deliver a quality and consistent service.

4.    The role of compassion and vulnerability in working with and managing people.

5.    How indispensable it is to make the time to check in and support your team.

6.    The fundamental principle that every (part of the operation) person is crucial and indispensable.

7.    Motivation is a daily thing that needs to be cultivated, nurtured and protected not a once-a-year Christmas party.

Ultimately, what makes Lifeline work so well is that whilst each crisis supporter in the moment of each call is working individually, at the same time is part of a team that is working for a common purpose and to a common goal so that “no person in Australia has to face their darkest moments alone.”

“Individually we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Ryundsuke Satoro