This is one of the questions posed for a scoping project that explored the meaning of resilience and wellbeing with senior public sector leaders in Wales.
The study brought together senior leaders from across Wales to discuss resilience and wellness in terms of their current working environment.
Using grays, (2014, 2016) resilience and wellbeing model to structure data collection conversations, resilience and wellbeing descriptors were identified, and through this process leaders were able to evaluate their current resilient/well state.
The dual process facilitated a situational awareness of resilience/wellness and descriptors were defined in terms of thoughts, emotions, behaviors and physical presence.
The focus of the project was to determine whether leaders are experiencing 'overwhelm', and if so, how the development of a 'Sense of Coherence' (Antonovsky, 1979; Gray, 2017), could support leaders in their current working climate.
The descriptors shed light on to what it means to be resilient and well as a leader, and what it means when leaders experience overwhelm. Both of which are equally important when considering how we support our leaders in the here and now. A full report of the project is available from the author.