SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL. IT IS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS.
Winston S. Churchill
Before we dive into all the reasons why resiliency is important and how we can cultivate a resilient mindset, let’s put into context what resiliency is. To better understand, we have interviewed two groups of people- college students and working professionals. In this post we our main takeaways and the full interviews with college students. Enjoy!
Resiliency: Through the Eyes of College Students
We interviewed three college students from entirely different colleges and backgrounds. They will remain anonymous in this post. Below are the full interviews.
Interview 1:
Interviewee Profile: Female student, Bachelors Degree in Law from University of Edinburgh
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: Resiliency is not giving up in the face of repeated and constant failure.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: During my 3rd year in college I had to manage applying to jobs with my normal class workload. In the beginning, I felt unable to give my all to both and I felt lost in the mountains of tasks I had to do, causing me to experience a significant amount of stress.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: I went to lot of career counseling to cope with that stress and to see what I could do to manage my time more effectively. To cope with daily stress I try to take one thing at a time, prioritize tasks, keep busy, and definitely meditate everyday.
Q: Did you find career counseling useful in helping you manage your stress?
A: It was helpful, having a professional walk you through techniques you can use is definitely useful. It does get difficult when counselors are spread thin because they need to cater to so many students though.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: I have had numerous conversations with friends about resilience as some of them felt overwhelmed in that space too. It helped to know I was not alone.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: It is important, you need to be able to accept failure as a mere obstacle, learn from it, and move forward positively instead of it becoming an absolute block in achieving your goals. Life never works in your favor all the time and the ability to recognize that and keep trying is very important.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: I do not think enough is done to foster resilience in college. There needs to be more seminars and talks about how to manage your time effectively. I feel there is just an expectation that all students will know how to cope and adapt, but that is not the case. In my experience, law is a very competitive degree and there is the attitude that every person is looking out for themselves. It is easy to feel lonely and that you are not doing compared to your competition and that mindset just fosters stress and anxiety instead of resilience.
Interview 2:
Male student, Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: The ability to stand back up and return to a positive mental state when you face a major difficulty.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: I failed my first test for my CS1331 class in my freshman year and made a C in the class. It was stressful because it made me question whether I was cut out for the field or the school.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: Socializing with friends and just studying the material longer and harder. Telling myself I failed that test not because of incompetence but a lack of preparation and experience.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: Yes it is a topic that has come up before.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: Yes, I think resiliency is more important than IQ or talent because everyone gets knocked down from time to time. It is not necessarily the smartest that get to the top but often the most resilient.
Q: Is there someone you look up to because of their resilience? Why?
A: I look up to Steve Jobs. He got kicked out of his own company, made a competing company called Next which got acquired by Apple and eventually became CEO of Apple again. I think his story is very inspiring.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: No, I don’t think enough is being done especially since there are some majors that are not capped and that have difficult weed out courses. In my opinion, having deliberate obstacles like that does not encourage resiliency. I reflect often on the Japanese proverb, “Fall down seven times, get up eight”. We should put that up somewhere on campus as a daily reminder.
Interview 3:
Female student, Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Georgia Institute of Technology
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: I think resiliency means to fight against a difficult situation to get better.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: I transferred in from another college and my first semester at Tech was super stressful. I didn’t know anyone and I found the teaching style and curriculum difficult compared to my previous college. In a nut shell, adjusting to a new environment was super stressful.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: I tried to meet as many people as I could and had one-on-one meeting with professors to help me through my classes. Now, I try to stay as positive as I can anytime I am faced with challenges.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: This has not been a topic that has come up with people. A lot of people I talked with did not really care about this.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: I think resiliency is very important because everyone goes through a tough time or situation. If you don’t know how to handle and cope with the situation, you might feel trapped and unable to move on.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: No, not at all. I think resiliency needs to come from student organizations that can influence students. For example, fraternities and sororities can host events on this topic to reach a larger audience. Similarly, classes such as GT1000 (introductory freshman classes) can be focused on this topic to help guide freshman as they acclimate to college life.
Main Takeaways:
- Students understand what resiliency is and are able to articulate it. Their definitions are similar to psychology definitions that define resiliency as the ability to cope and adapt to stressful situations and to bounce back from those situations.
- Techniques that students use to cope with stress include socializing, seeking community, counseling, sharing experiences with confidants and meditating. All of these are experiences or environments that students actively seek and were not solutions initiated by colleges.
- All students agreed that resiliency is very important. Some have had conversations about resiliency with friends and others have not. Raising awareness and fostering conversations on this topic is an area of improvement in the college environment.
- All students believed their colleges were not doing enough to foster a resilient mindset in students. Some believed the structure of classes and college environment made learning stressful to the point that failure was not a viable option as it prevented students from learning that failure is part of life and something to learn from.
- Possible solutions that can be implemented in colleges are talks or seminars on the topic of resilience that both highlight its importance and ways to build it within ourselves. The involvement of student organizations is a potential way to reach a large audience and to influence the way students think across the board.
This Blog post is a second part of the five part blog series. Read part one here.
About the Author:
Roshni Ramaswamy has recently graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a proud mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. She is a Project Engineer at Environmental Planning Specialists. She enjoys sharing her perspectives on mentoring, resilience, academic life, professional development among a myriad other topics. Follow Roshni at the link shared for her viewpoints.
Women In History: Influential Social Change Makers of the World
/0 Comments/in InternationalWomensDay, Leadership, Women Leadership, Womens History Month, Wonder Woman /by adminSocial issues are the problems that are faced by the society on a daily basis. Sometimes we are able to solve them or sometimes we lose the battle. This doesn’t mean we should stop and embrace defeat. We should challenge the problems and face them head-on. The moment we give up is the moment we let someone else win. Below are some of the many influential women who are battling social changes and making the world a better place.
What can we say about RBG, that hasn’t already been said at numerous occasions. Being appointed to the US Supreme Court in 1993 by then President, Bill Clinton, she has been serving this great nation with ferocity. She has been referred to as a “pop culture icon” by the media and various industries. Her views on Abortion where she mentioned that the government has no role in making a choice for a woman has been the most cited case in the courts. Her Gender Discrimination case where she mentioned that VMI’s (Virginia Military Institute) male-only policy was wrong and it needed to changed was the case that won her 100 most influential people in the TIME Magazine. Ruth has been fighting cases ferociously and setting an example on how to lead.
Malala Yousafzai
Magnanimous Malala is a survivor of a Taliban shot since age 15. It took her 2 years to assess her life and since then she has been an advocate of basic human rights like education for women and children, especially in her village in Pakistan. After she was shot and underwent surgeries, Gordon Brown, the UN special envoy for Global Education met her in her hospital room and told her that they were launching a petition in her name. It was launched in the same name as she used while fighting battles internally and externally. ‘I am Malala’. The Malala fund now has enough money to open schools around the world and educate girls and children.
Emma Gonzalez
Gun control has been America’s biggest issue since I can remember. Emma Gonzalez has been an activist for Gun Control since she survived the deadly attack at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. She has been advocating for change in issues through social media and also through the website, neveragain.com. The hashtags #neveragain and #enoughisenough has gained international attraction and people have shown support and helped the movement through pledges and donations and marches. This has been possible because of Emma and her bold steps.
Michelle Obama
The First African American First Lady of the United States. She is a lawyer, a university administrator and a writer. But firstly, she is a Mom. She is a Mom in chief and has given priority to family while handling social issues. She has been outspoken on LGBT rights and have supported them with her husband, Barack Obama. She and her husband came out publicly in favor of same-sex marriage in May, 2012 and have changed the law since then. Her book, ‘Becoming’ is a must-read and NY Times Bestseller on how to be a mom and handle changes in the society.
Ellen DeGeneres
Women in History: Influential women in politics across the world
/0 Comments/in InternationalWomensDay, Leadership, Womens History Month /by adminPolitics, a multifaceted word that has made everyone feel that they are a part of something. In this modern nation, we strive to be better and help everyone. The word sometimes gets a bad rep but, in its entirety, politics is how the world is run. Influenced by women all over the world, Politics still favors men, but we will talk about some of the amazing women below and why there should be more women like them running the political parties and making policies.
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
These days we can’t talk about Politics without talking about Nancy Pelosi. Her views on important matters like immigration, LGBT rights, Monetary policy, Foreign affairs have been for the people. Prior to being the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, she was he House Minority Leader and also the Chair of the California Democratic Party. She is known for speaking her mind and standing against the policies which do more harm to the general public than good. She has supported LGBT rights since 1996 and voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. She has supported the use of medical Marijuana. She voted for the No child left behind act. These are just a minor portion of the acts that have been supported by her. It goes to show that Nancy Pelosi has been working for the people, which politics should be about.
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Merkel is a leader in German politics, currently serving as the chancellor of Germany since she was appointed in 2005. She was named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2015 for her generosity and leadership after the act of allowing more than 1 million Syrian refugees into Germany. She is looked up to as a highly respected female in power who bears freedom onto her people. She is frequently referred to as the most powerful leading woman in the world. Many see her as a symbol of freedom and power, inspiring women all over the globe.
Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen
Leyen, a German politician and President of the European Commission, is a rising female power in politics. She has a heavy background in medicine and is a well disciplined and licensed physician. Her involvement in German politics starting in 2005 has led her to hold the title of the longest-serving cabinet member under Angela Merkel. Her presidency of the European Commission is an honorable achievement and the height of her career. Her rise to power despite her late entry into the field of politics is a message to women who strive for success, at any age.
Sheikh Hasina Wazed
Sheikh Hasina Wazed
Since 2009, Sheikh Hasina has held the position as the 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Her previous office position was Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001. Her road to her successful achievements in the political field did not come easy. Her early advocacy of democracy ultimately landed her under house arrest many times. She was politically active throughout her years in her university in the 60’s. Her fight for her beliefs started young and carried through until she had enough voices behind her to make a difference. In 1975 however, her family was assassinated by military officials. Her return back home, she became a beacon of hope to those who disapproved of military violence and wanted to speak out on important human rights issues.
Zainab Ahmad
Zainab Ahmad
Ahmad is an American prosecutor who focuses on terrorism. Working with the United States Department of Justice since 2008, she started out with gang violence and related issues around Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, and then moved on to the bigger cases of terrorism. Her job often requires her to travel and interrogate witnesses, requiring a strong force of will and dedication. She battles with negotiating with international officials and long hours of face to face conversations with violent individuals. Her daily job requires her to face the very individuals that the public fears, to prepare for a safer tomorrow.
Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed
Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed
Ahmed was appointed as Nigeria’s Minister of state for Budget and National Planning in 2015, and the Finance Minister in 2018. She is one of the county’s most influential female leaders. Her goals are to offset the estimated 80-billion-dollar public debt while also giving a boost to national revenue through value-added taxes. Starting work in 1982 as an Accountant in Kanduna state, and then working in telecommunication, she has come a long way. Ahmed has always tried to publicly serve her country, working many jobs that fed her rise to the top. She now holds the power to make huge shifts in the entire nation’s financial areas.
Share your love for women’s nonprofits this month
/0 Comments/in Giving, Valentine's Day, Volunteer, WINGS Mentee, WINGS Mentor, WINGS Mentoring Program /by adminPhilanthropic giving by individual Americans has been steadily increasing. According to National Philanthropic Trust, Americans gave $427.71 billion in 2018 (a 0.7% increase from 2017) and the largest source of charitable giving was by individuals at $292.09 billion (68% of total giving).
Nonprofits helping women and girls may have been gaining visibility, but they receive a small percentage of the charitable dollars. According to The Women & Girls Index: Measuring Giving to Women’s and Girls’ Causes by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that in 2016 more than 45,000 organizations dedicated to women and girls received a total of $6.3 billion — only 1.6% of charitable giving.
The WINGS team believes it is time to change that. Here are 4 ways you can show your love for women’s organizations this month:
Donate your time and talent by volunteering
Over 77 million (30%) adult Americans volunteer their time, talents, and energy to making a difference. Most women’s and girls’ nonprofits can use volunteers’ expertise and support all year long. This month is a good time to reach out your local women’s or girls’ organizations to determine where they could use a helping hand.
Donate your Treasure
Philanthropy is not just the domain of the wealthy. Small financial contributions are impactful. According to the study, Women and Giving by Fidelity Charitable, 55 percent of millennials support a wide variety of causes, but may be diluting their impact by giving to too many charities. This month is a good time to make a list of your giving priorities and save the majority of your giving budget for 2020 for the issues you care most about.
Become a voice for the organizations you love
According to the study by Fidelity Charitable, 51% of millennial women encourage others to donate to the charities they do by posting success stories on social media to inspire friends, family and potential donors. Donate your voice this month to advocating and educating others about women’s and girls’ issues. You could start small by sharing a post or a news article as way to inform and inspire.
Leverage your personal and professional Network for a cause
According to the Millennial Impact Project, 75 percent of Millennials say they share content on social media. Recognize the incredible influence and potential your network carries. This Feb, recognize the influence you have online, in social networks, in your relationships, and at your workplace. Introduce two people in your network to a women’s organization you are passionate about.
About the Author:
Sheeba Madan Loewinger is the Business Manager at Little Silver Foot Care. She has a multi-faceted background in marketing and communications. She is a mentee of the WINGS Signature Program 2019 cohort.
Dr. King’s dream inspires us to have equal rights for women to lead
/0 Comments/in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Inspiration, Leadership /by adminDr. King’s dream inspires us to have equal rights for women to lead
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday honors the minister, civil-rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner whose accomplishments have continued to inspire generations of Americans. Dr. King’s philosophy and leadership style continues to inspire WINGS leadership.
WINGS CEO and Founder, Varsha Waishampayan, left a successful career on Wall Street to start a women’s leadership development non-profit when her father echoed Dr. King’s sentiment. Her father told her,
Chairperson of the WINGS Board, Dr. Bob Eng wishes men, women, and children across the country and around the world celebrating Dr. King’s birthday: “WINGS joins like-minded men and women around the globe to advance the cause for a more just world…much remains to be done to reach Dr. King’s dream.”
Dr. Bob Eng, Chairperson, Board of Directors, WINGS for Growth opines on Dr. King’s legacy
Dr. Eng adds, “A visionary and leader who fought for a more just world, he is a towering role model for all of us. Many of his words ring as stirringly today as they did when he spoke them. ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’”
Dr. Dilek Uzunalioglu, WINGS Mentee ’19 opines on Dr. King’s leadership style
For the WINGS team, Jan 20 this year is not just a day to celebrate the phenomenal Civil Rights activist’s life and legacy, it is also a day to reflect on his leadership style that continues to inspire. The WINGS 2019 cohort mentees are inspired by Dr. King’s leadership style. R&D leader, Dr. Dilek Uzunalioglu, says, “Leadership is about developing a purpose, explaining it clearly and further building it by listening and asking questions, finally motivating the crowd to accomplish the purpose successfully. I believe the following quote from Dr. King says it well: ‘A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.’”
Santhi Nithi, WINGS Mentee ’19 opines on Dr. King’s leadership style
Dr. King’s leadership style was truly transformative. WINGS Mentee and Consultant Senior Project Manager, L’Oreal, Santhi Nithi continues to be motivated by his vision. She says, “I believe in Dr. King’s transformational leadership that sets a vision to the team, makes the team believe in their capabilities, dream big on what is possible, and make their work fit in the broader company strategy by empowering them and giving them authority to take actions on what they believe in.”
Dr. King placed emphasis on character and lived his life with courage and integrity. Dr. King wrote, “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” We at WINGS believe that integrity is an important aspect of a mentee’s character and is worth striving for. Leaders with integrity help build trust and strengthen businesses as they are able to attract investors, customers and talented professionals.
As we commemorate this special day, the WINGS team would love to hear about what inspires you most about Dr. King’s leadership style.
About the Author:
Sheeba Madan Loewinger is the Business Manager at Little Silver Foot Care. She has a multi-faceted background in marketing and communications. She is a mentee of the WINGS Signature Program 2019 cohort.
The Power of Giving
/0 Comments/in Giving, Holidays, Women Leadership /by adminThe Power of Giving
Charitable giving is in full-swing this time of the year, and Americans have a reputation for giving generously to charity. According to Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018, American individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $427.71 billion to US charities in 2018.
We all know giving helps others and is good for the giver. Whether we provide support to family members, friends, and neighbors, or donate time, talent, or treasure to charities or non-profits, having positive social interactions is essential for good mental and physical health. Scientists also believe that altruistic behavior releases endorphins in the brain, producing the helper’s high. Reciprocity since time immemorial has been an accepted concept. When you give, you’re more likely to get back. Studies by sociologists suggest that when you give to others, your generosity is likely to be rewarded by others down the line.
Giving also strengthens bonds in a community. When you give to others, they feel closer to you and you feel closer to them. You also spur a ripple effect of generosity through your community. According to a Harvard University study, seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give – in other words, giving is contagious.
So, it would seem intuitive that everyone would want to give. And many indeed do give informally.
Informal giving in many communities in the US:
So where are the foundations for giving laid? In the US, philanthropic habits and practices are instilled mainly in the nuclear family. A comprehensive review of more than 500 studies on why people give conducted by researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that giving is more common among people who are:
A passionate advocate of giving and paying-it-forward and Founder and CEO of WINGS for Growth, a women’s leadership development non-profit, Varsha Waishampayan, says giving gave her a great sense of accomplishment and purpose in life.
About the Author:
Sheeba Madan Loewinger is a Marketing and communications professional with a multi-faceted background encompassing content development and editing, She is a mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. Follow Sheeba at the link shared for her viewpoints.
WINGS for Growth Will Introduce “Change Agents” as it Launches “101 Women on Deck” on March 14, 2019
/0 Comments/in #101WOMENONDECK, 101WOD, 101womenondecknews, News, WINGS Media /by adminResilience – Does your environment help create resiliency in you? (Day 5)
/0 Comments/in Corporate Mentoring Program, General, Inspiration, Leadership, Mentorship, WINGS Mentee, WINGS Mentor, WINGS Mentoring Program, Women Leadership /by adminEnsure your environment helps in creating resiliency in you
Making Changes in Colleges & Workplaces
Link: https://www.academicimpressions.com/blog/building-student-resilience-grit/
In our final post, we showcase some real cases of how resiliency can be taught and incorporated at colleges and at the workplace.
Case Study 1: Morrisville State:
Similar Case Studies:
Case Study 2: Deloitte:
http://ceoroundtable.heart.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/ucm_496856.pdf
From these examples, it is evident that implementing resilience is a matter of priority. There are simple yet effective steps we can all take at our organizations to achieve this. Our hope is that through these examples and the previous posts in this series, you have learned about the importance of resiliency and how it can be incorporated into your life. Resilience is also a prime goal of the WINGS mentoring program- you can learn more here: https://wingsforgrowth.org/
Thank you for reading!
About the Author:
Roshni Ramaswamy has recently graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a proud mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. She is a Project Engineer at Environmental Planning Specialists. She enjoys sharing her perspectives on mentoring, resilience, academic life, professional development among a myriad other topics. Follow Roshni at the link shared for her viewpoints.
Resilience – How Can We Cultivate Resiliency (Day 4)
/0 Comments/in General, HowDoILead, Inspiration, Leadership, Mentorship, Personal, Self Reflection, WINGS Mentee, WINGS Mentor, WINGS Mentoring Program, Women Leadership /by adminHow Can We Cultivate Resiliency?
Part 1: Start With Yourself
We have learned two main things from researching and speaking with individuals on the topic of resiliency:
This brings us to our main question- how? How do we cultivate resiliency? We have broken this down into two parts. In this post, we discuss how we can develop resiliency in ourselves and in the next and final post, we discuss how resiliency can be cultivated in colleges and the workplace.
Why You Should Start With Yourself
Resilience enables us to develop techniques that allow us to overcome challenges and adversity (link: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/the-importance-of-building-resilience) We should focus on starting with ourselves because we are most in-tune with what our stressors are and what works best for us to handle those situations. There are several types of resilience that exist in ourselves:
We should be focused on building our learnt resilience. Below are some tips on how you can do this.
10 Ways You Can Build Resilience
These tips are based on the book, ‘Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges’ by Dennis Charney and Steven Southwick. Their book presents 10 factors that can help anyone become more resilient. These factors are based on research and true stories of individuals that have overcome extraordinary odds. (Link: https://news.yale.edu/2018/05/03/resilience-science-mastering-lifes-greatest-challenges)
Here are some additional resources you can use in your path to increased resilience!
About the Author:
Roshni Ramaswamy has recently graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a proud mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. She is a Project Engineer at Environmental Planning Specialists. She enjoys sharing her perspectives on mentoring, resilience, academic life, professional development among a myriad other topics. Follow Roshni at the link shared for her viewpoints.
Resiliency: The Professional Take (Day 3)
/0 Comments/in Corporate Mentoring Program, General, Inspiration, Leadership, Personal, Self Reflection, WINGS Mentee, WINGS Mentor, WINGS Mentoring Program, Women Leadership /by adminIn this post, we showcase interviews we conducted with professionals of various ages and backgrounds to understand what resiliency means to the working professional. As before, our interviewees are anonymous.
Interview 1: Male professional, Manager in Imports & Exports Industry
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: Resiliency means overcoming challenges and to move forward from them.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how often do you experience stress at your job? Would your colleagues agree?
A: I rate 8 out of 10. My job is quite stressful as it involves working with company management and customers directly and I have to manage all of those relationships. I think I experience more stress than my colleagues because of my role.
Q: Can you describe a stressful situation you experienced at work? How did you cope? How do you cope with daily stress?
A: We had some terrible miscommunication with a customer and it fell on my shoulders to mend the relationship and to enjoy the orders that were placed went through. It was a time sensitive situation that became very stressful as there was pressure from all sides. I spoke to colleagues to gain clarity and to identify a plan to manage the situation. I also referred to my boss for advice. I like to unwind by watching TV or movies and to read.
Q: Do you believe your boss or management understands the stress you go through at work? Have they ever helped with stressful situations?
A: I think my boss understands there are difficult times at work but that is rarely discussed with me. There is an expectation that I need to get the work done no matter what and I have not been extended help or support many times. I think this is a place for improvement.
Q: Has resiliency been a topic of discussion at your workplace? Do you think it is important?
A: Resiliency has come up at my office but because I am a manager it is expected of me that I should be able to handle everything and that I should be able to take on the emotional stress that my team faces. I think resiliency is very important, especially at the management level. I believe it is assumed that managers don’t feel stress and its effects but that is false and more support needs to be provided to management.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in employees? If not, what can be done?
A: No. There are several ways resiliency can be fostered in employees such as:
Interview 2: Female professional, English Teacher at an Elementary School
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: Resiliency means to bounce back in the face of challenges and adversity.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how often do you experience stress at your job? Would your colleagues agree?
A: I would rate a 6 on that scale normally. There are times in the year that are more stressful than others, especially when it comes to preparing for exams or grading projects and assignments. I think my colleagues would agree with my assessment, though I think they experience additional stress due to varying job roles.
Q: Can you describe a stressful situation you experienced at work? How did you cope? How do you cope with daily stress?
A: I have had many stressful experiences at work. One incident that comes to mind is when I was asked to prepare a group of students for a public performance at short notice. I was entrusted with complete planning, organizing and execution. The expectations of the performance and outcome caused me anxiety and stress and I had a couple of sleepless nights. To cope, I tried to remain as positive as possible and over-prepared so nothing would be left to chance. I meditate and turn to religion to cope with daily stress.
Q: Do you believe your boss or management understands the stress you go through at work? Have they ever helped with stressful situations?
A: It depends on the person, one of my bosses is more understanding than the other. I believe it is because she started in the role I am in now. However, I think ultimately it comes down to delivering results and keeping our students and parents happy which can take a toll on teachers. Some members of the management team try to be understanding of deadlines and stressful periods during the year but we still get tasks piled on us last minute.
Q: Has resiliency been a topic of discussion at your workplace? Do you think it is important?
A: Yes, stress and resilience has been something I have discussed in the workplace. Usually when I am faced with a stressful situation, I go to my colleagues for emotional support and encouragement. This helps me adapt and stay positive. Resiliency is a very important quality to ensure we bounce back from obstacles.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in employees? If not, what can be done?
A: I think more can be done to foster resiliency in the workplace. Employers have a responsibility to foster resiliency in the workplace by understanding their employees’ needs and mental state and by encouraging employees through difficult times.
Interview 3: Female professional, Engineer
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: To me, it means sticking around during difficult situation.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how often do you experience stress at your job? Would your colleagues agree?
A: I would say typically 6/10. My colleagues would definitely agree with that assessment- we get a pretty fair share of workload. There are times in the year that are more stressful than normal.
Q: Can you describe a stressful situation you experienced at work? How did you cope? How do you cope with daily stress?
A: One of my ex-managers did not know how to properly train new employees and humiliated us often. What helped me through that situation was having other wonderful managers that balanced the stress and had a better understanding of us as employees and individuals. I used to pray to deal with daily stress but don’t anymore. I struggle to cope with daily stress now.
Q: Do you believe your boss or management understands the stress you go through at work? Have they ever helped with stressful situations?
A: Yes, I believe the management at my workplace does. I once went to my boss regarding the ex-manager I mentioned earlier and how difficult it was to work with them. My boss explained to me that different people have different working styles and that put things in perspective for me. No one is perfect and I learned to adapt once I understood that.
Q: Has resiliency been a topic of discussion at your workplace? Do you think it is important?
A: Yes it has come up. What I mean is that my colleagues and I have discussed difficult situations we have been in and have encouraged each other to stick through it. I am not entirely sure if resiliency is important.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in employees? If not, what can be done?
A: Yes, I think so. The managers at my workplace try to keep us motivated by giving us promotions, pay raises and mentorship. We also tend to have a close relationship with the managers so that allows them to gauge our stress levels and they are understanding if work needs to be reshuffled.
Main Takeaways:
About the Author:
Roshni Ramaswamy has recently graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a proud mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. She is a Project Engineer at Environmental Planning Specialists. She enjoys sharing her perspectives on mentoring, resilience, academic life, professional development among a myriad other topics. Follow Roshni at the link shared for her viewpoints.
Resiliency – Voice of the Students (Day 2)
/0 Comments/in General, Inspiration, Leadership, Mentorship, Personal, Self Reflection, WINGS Mentee, WINGS Mentor, WINGS Mentoring Program, Women Leadership /by adminSUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL. IT IS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS.
Winston S. Churchill
Before we dive into all the reasons why resiliency is important and how we can cultivate a resilient mindset, let’s put into context what resiliency is. To better understand, we have interviewed two groups of people- college students and working professionals. In this post we our main takeaways and the full interviews with college students. Enjoy!
Resiliency: Through the Eyes of College Students
We interviewed three college students from entirely different colleges and backgrounds. They will remain anonymous in this post. Below are the full interviews.
Interview 1:
Interviewee Profile: Female student, Bachelors Degree in Law from University of Edinburgh
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: Resiliency is not giving up in the face of repeated and constant failure.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: During my 3rd year in college I had to manage applying to jobs with my normal class workload. In the beginning, I felt unable to give my all to both and I felt lost in the mountains of tasks I had to do, causing me to experience a significant amount of stress.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: I went to lot of career counseling to cope with that stress and to see what I could do to manage my time more effectively. To cope with daily stress I try to take one thing at a time, prioritize tasks, keep busy, and definitely meditate everyday.
Q: Did you find career counseling useful in helping you manage your stress?
A: It was helpful, having a professional walk you through techniques you can use is definitely useful. It does get difficult when counselors are spread thin because they need to cater to so many students though.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: I have had numerous conversations with friends about resilience as some of them felt overwhelmed in that space too. It helped to know I was not alone.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: It is important, you need to be able to accept failure as a mere obstacle, learn from it, and move forward positively instead of it becoming an absolute block in achieving your goals. Life never works in your favor all the time and the ability to recognize that and keep trying is very important.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: I do not think enough is done to foster resilience in college. There needs to be more seminars and talks about how to manage your time effectively. I feel there is just an expectation that all students will know how to cope and adapt, but that is not the case. In my experience, law is a very competitive degree and there is the attitude that every person is looking out for themselves. It is easy to feel lonely and that you are not doing compared to your competition and that mindset just fosters stress and anxiety instead of resilience.
Interview 2:
Male student, Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: The ability to stand back up and return to a positive mental state when you face a major difficulty.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: I failed my first test for my CS1331 class in my freshman year and made a C in the class. It was stressful because it made me question whether I was cut out for the field or the school.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: Socializing with friends and just studying the material longer and harder. Telling myself I failed that test not because of incompetence but a lack of preparation and experience.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: Yes it is a topic that has come up before.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: Yes, I think resiliency is more important than IQ or talent because everyone gets knocked down from time to time. It is not necessarily the smartest that get to the top but often the most resilient.
Q: Is there someone you look up to because of their resilience? Why?
A: I look up to Steve Jobs. He got kicked out of his own company, made a competing company called Next which got acquired by Apple and eventually became CEO of Apple again. I think his story is very inspiring.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: No, I don’t think enough is being done especially since there are some majors that are not capped and that have difficult weed out courses. In my opinion, having deliberate obstacles like that does not encourage resiliency. I reflect often on the Japanese proverb, “Fall down seven times, get up eight”. We should put that up somewhere on campus as a daily reminder.
Interview 3:
Female student, Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Georgia Institute of Technology
Q: In a brief sentence, explain what resiliency means to you.
A: I think resiliency means to fight against a difficult situation to get better.
Q: Describe a time that was particularly stressful in college. What happened? Why was it stressful?
A: I transferred in from another college and my first semester at Tech was super stressful. I didn’t know anyone and I found the teaching style and curriculum difficult compared to my previous college. In a nut shell, adjusting to a new environment was super stressful.
Q: How did you cope with that stressful time? What techniques do you use to cope with daily stress?
A: I tried to meet as many people as I could and had one-on-one meeting with professors to help me through my classes. Now, I try to stay as positive as I can anytime I am faced with challenges.
Q: Have you had conversation with colleagues/friends on the topic of resiliency?
A: This has not been a topic that has come up with people. A lot of people I talked with did not really care about this.
Q: Do you think resiliency is important? Why? Or why not?
A: I think resiliency is very important because everyone goes through a tough time or situation. If you don’t know how to handle and cope with the situation, you might feel trapped and unable to move on.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to foster resiliency in colleges? If not, what do you think can be done to cultivate a resilient mindset in students?
A: No, not at all. I think resiliency needs to come from student organizations that can influence students. For example, fraternities and sororities can host events on this topic to reach a larger audience. Similarly, classes such as GT1000 (introductory freshman classes) can be focused on this topic to help guide freshman as they acclimate to college life.
Main Takeaways:
This Blog post is a second part of the five part blog series. Read part one here.
About the Author:
Roshni Ramaswamy has recently graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a proud mentee of the WINGS Signature Program. She is a Project Engineer at Environmental Planning Specialists. She enjoys sharing her perspectives on mentoring, resilience, academic life, professional development among a myriad other topics. Follow Roshni at the link shared for her viewpoints.