It is amazing how powerful our belief in ourselves can be. It is also surprising how often we don’t realise that many of our greatest difficulties come from our lack of belief in ourselves. This can be around our ability to get ahead and perhaps apply for a particular job, or go for the Board Room promotion, or take the plunge and make a success of our talents by starting up our own business. Actions like these are the more obvious areas to look for the difficulties created by this lack of self belief. Invisible and lurking behind situations, we can find lack of self belief strong and active and sometimes quite damaging.
The more concerning issue around self belief is how it can contribute to our ability to cope and as a result to the level of stress we may suffer. In times of change and economic unrest it is more important than ever that people are resilient, but this is a resilience that many have not had to call upon in the past. For most people life has been pretty much under control, family and social life is good or getting there. Work life has been alright, for some great for others manageable but in general it will have been enough to satisfy aspirations. That is until we have all had to face the damage of our uncertain economic times. These times have affected everyone at some level including those who are not employed. Many have found themselves in organisations that have had to restructure and reorganise. Major changes have had to take place in both Private and Public sectors. In many cases the speed of this change has been too fast to come to terms with in advance of its implementation.
This leaves us with those people who are the implementers of change and those who are on the receiving end of the changes, the effect on both is not very different. Those who are part of the process of change will be carrying the worry of the impact the changes may be having on others, and the concern that much is resting on their shoulders. The efforts to plan, negotiate, compromise, anticipate, juggle, have vision, have strength and at the end of it all still have the uncertainty whether they will themselves be in employment in six months time, can generate so much stress and so many questions around the ‘self’. These mammoth tasks demand resilience and strength, commitment and self belief. Underlying all the survival behaviour will be the self belief in their own ability to cope, because no matter what position the implementers hold the impact of continuing economic change will still be greater than they are, and so the stressful demands will continue.
Those who are on the receiving end of change will feel the stressful impact of losing control over their destiny. Many will find the stress of waiting is worse than the actual changes. The loss of control is seriously damaging to self belief and that impacts directly on the ability to cope, made more difficult where there is uncertainty and lack of information. The impact of lack of information is more powerfully negative than the actual changes when they finally take place. Self belief dissolves and is replaced with all the questions around weaknesses, gaps and perceptions.
Resilience and ability to cope is the key to survival and these are generated through the bolstering of our self belief. People at all levels in organisations are affected in the same way and are in need of the same support. The size of the challenge is irrelevant it is the belief in our ability to cope that will have an impact on the stress we suffer.
Self belief can be generated through having an element of control. Where possible people must be involved in the planning and decisions that have an impact on their jobs and their lives. This involvement creates empowerment and this creates strength. It is accepted in general that organisations have had to react with unprecedented speed to limit the damage that the economic downturn has caused but the need for people to be given control and to feel in control has not changed.
Being in control reduces stress and increases resilience. Lack of resilience creates stress and ill health and that leads to great economic lose. Ensure all the people in the organisation are in the information loop. Where there is no information to pass on, tell them, that in itself is information. Where there is free flow of information and communication there will be less possibility of speculation. Speculation leads to focus on weakness and false perceptions of possible outcomes.
Control over ones destiny comes from being recognised as capable and responsible enough to be involved in decisions.
Information and communication grows belief and trust in the system.
The resulting empowerment produces a self belief and confidence in our ability to cope, the key to ensuring people continue to be productive and less likely to suffer from stress.
