is produced by hq forcomd. opinions expressed · kirkpatrick model of evaluation. the kirkpatrick...
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Commanders’ Guide to Resilience is produced by HQ FORCOMD. Opinions expressed
in this publication do not necessarily express the views of the Australian Army or the
ADF. While every care is taken to examine all material published, no responsibility is
accepted by the ADF, the Australian Army or the author for the accuracy of any
statement, opinion or advice contained in the text. The contents do not necessarily
reflect Service Policy and, unless stated otherwise, should not be construed as
orders, instructions or directives.
Author: Major Michaele Bond
Correspondence, or enquires regarding distribution, may be addressed to:
Health Branch, HQ FORCOMD
Victoria Barracks, Paddington
Sydney, NSW 2021
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Commander Forces Command
Foreword
As part of the evolution of the Army leadership
approach, we need to provide a more transparent and
supportive work environment. Developing resilience at all
levels is integral to this evolution. I have directed that our
training and support systems build resilience to improve
individual, unit and organisational capacity to prepare for
chaos, to withstand shocks and to recover quickly.
Psychological resilience in Army members is critical for
minimising the adverse effects of exposure to stressful
situations and maximising the effectiveness of Australia's
military capability. The aim of building resilience is to
optimise health and well-being through developing and
sustaining positive mindsets; to enhance self-motivation, self-
regulation and assist to lever strengths and build
psychological resources.
Part 3 of the Guide focuses on enhancing your own resilience
and performance. I commend this Guide to you, to assist you
in building and maintaining resilience within yourself.
FA McLachlan
MAJGEN
COMD FORCOMD
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GLOSSARY BattleSMART (Self Management & Resilience Training).
BattleSMART is the primary vehicle for delivering resilience
training in the Build phase. Trainees are provided with an
introduction to a range of techniques and skills that will assist
them in regulating physiological and emotional arousal,
particularly during stressful situations. These techniques and
skills are divided into two broad groupings; self-awareness
and skill building.
High Performance Environment (HPE). A HPE involves the
development and maintenance of high performance across a
variety of tasks under conditions of extreme stress. A unit can
facilitate a capacity for adaptability and potential growth
through proactive development of positive psychological
resources such as individual and team resilience, and good
mental health in service members and their families.
Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation. The Kirkpatrick model of
evaluation is a well- known training evaluation tool. It
consists of four evaluation levels: Reaction, Learning,
Behaviour and Results.
Leadership Self-Complexity (LSC). LSC is a superior level of
cognitive and emotional capacity. LSC facilitates adaptive
decision making. Adaptive decision making includes solving
problems creatively, dealing with changing or unpredictable
work situations, and handling emergencies or crisis
situations.
Mental Toughness (MT). MT is the psychological capacity of
an individual to deliver high performance on a regular basis
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despite varying degrees of situational demands. MT is
considered to be an important individual protective factor
within the resilience process, however they are separate
concepts. MT is a personal attribute whilst resilience is a
process that occurs between an individual and their
environment over time.
Organisational Culture. Organisational culture is based on a
way of thinking that permeates the organisation’s day-to-day
routine decisions and activities. The “right” culture for an
organisation is related to values and context rather than a
“one size fits all” approach.
Psychological Capital (PsyCap). PsyCap is an individual’s
positive psychological state of development that is
characterised by: confidence (self-efficacy), optimism, hope,
and resilience.
Psychological (or mental) Fitness. Psychological fitness is the
integration and optimisation of cognitive, emotional and
behavioural abilities and capacities to optimise performance
and strengthen resilience.
Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC). PSC in a unit is the climate
for mental health and psychological safety. A healthy PSC has
an appropriate balance between leadership concern for their
members’ mental health and their performance.
PULSE (The Profile of Unit Leadership, Satisfaction and
Effectiveness). The PULSE is a survey instrument designed to
inform unit commanders on the factors that impact the
behaviour and motivation of personnel in their unit. The
survey addresses a range of issues related to the human
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dimension of military capability including the core elements
of leadership, teamwork, job satisfaction, communication
and motivation.
Resilience. Resilience is the capacity of individuals, teams and
organisations to adapt, recover and thrive in situations of
risk, challenge, danger, complexity and adversity. Resilience is
not a static state – it is a process that is flexible and
responsive to training, and involves interaction between an
individual, their life experiences and current life context.
Resilience Program. A resilience program targets any of the
factors that research has shown to improve resilience and
healthy responses to stress, and provides a means for helping
individuals to incorporate resilience factors into their daily
lives.
Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy represents a person’s belief that
they can successfully organise and carry out a behaviour or
course of action. This includes regulating motivation, thought
processes, emotions and behaviours, or it may involve
changing environmental conditions.
Self-Awareness. Self-awareness involves how you relate to
and function within your own environment. Emotional and
cognitive awareness are two underlying mechanisms that
comprise self-awareness. Emotional awareness includes
awareness of your own emotions and the emotions of others.
Cognitive awareness, or metacognition, is awareness and
regulation of your cognitive functioning and the factors that
affect it.
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Situational Awareness. Situational Awareness requires you
to be able to maintain a sufficient level of awareness of your
own environment.
Social Resilience. Social resilience is the capacity to foster,
engage in, and sustain positive relationships and to endure
and recover from life stressors and social isolation. It
emphasises an individual’s capacity to work with others to
turn adversity into advantage.
Stress Inoculation. Stress inoculation is a process used in
training aimed at protecting an individual from reacting
negatively to real time stress exposure. A critical component
of stress inoculation is the requirement for increasingly
realistic pre-exposure through training simulation.
Team Resilience. Team resilience is based on the dynamic
processes of social resilience, and enables a team to develop
the capacity to cope, recover and adjust positively to
adversity.
Thriving. Thriving is the psychological state in which
individuals experience both a sense of vitality and a sense of
learning. Thriving is associated with positive health, and
viewed as an everyday experience where individuals do not
merely survive, but adapt and grow through their daily, lived
experiences.
Performance Enhancement. Performance enhancement is
the deliberate cultivation of an effective perspective on
achievement and the systematic use of effective
psychological skills.
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Contents
PART 3 - ENHANCING COMMANDER RESILIENCE
AND PERFORMANCE
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………… 9
Leadership Self-Complexity and Leader Adaptability ............ 10
Psychological Fitness ............................................................. 12
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL FITNESS & LSC ... 12
CO’S PERSONAL RESILIENCE TOOLBOX .................................. 18
ACTIVITIES .............................................................................. 30
RESILIENT BRAIN .................................................................... 30
EMOTIONAL BALANCE ........................................................... 31
Cognitive Reappraisal .................................................... 31
Emotional Suppression .................................................. 33
ADAPTIVE COPING QUESTIONNAIRES…………………………………34
Success (Mastery) Imagery ............................................ 38
Rebounding (coping) Imagery ........................................ 39
BROADEN AND BUILD ............................................................ 40
Meaning and Purpose .................................................... 40
CRISIS PREPARATION ............................................................. 40
On-line Resources .................................................................. 42
RECOMMENDED READING .................................................... 45
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………… 46
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“If you want to inspire devotion, be devoted. If you want to inspire
belief, believe. If you want to motivate, be motivated. You can’t fake
any of it. If you want to lead, get yourself right first.” i
INTRODUCTION No matter how good a person is at what they do, all healthy human
beings have an inner flow of thoughts and feelings that include
criticism, doubt and fear. This is the brain doing its job by trying to
make sense of the world, anticipate and solve problems and avoid
potential pitfallsii. Being a CO draws on, and integrates your beliefs,
self-concept, sense of competition and cooperation, and all the life
experiences you’ve had until now. Even when the focus is on more
tangible activities like tactics and budgets, the unit is where all the
emotional issues are played out.
In addition, the defining requirement of military leadership is to
effectively exercise leadership skills and maintain a high level of
performance under constant challenging and potentially life-
threatening circumstances. It is acknowledged that different
command roles will pose different types of challenges, i.e. not all
involve operational service or high-risk activities. However, the
constant present in your role as a CO is ambiguity and change, so it
is critical that you have the resilience to deal with this. You also
need the interpersonal skills to be able to draw on the power of the
unit to come up with innovative ideas and different perspectives,
and to get things done. Sometimes, the same state of flux that
requires you to be flexible, can also keep you rigid. This type of
scenario manifests itself in tunnel vision and a lack of situational
awareness. The result is a distracted CO who makes premature
decisions and implements simplistic solutions – also known as
“smart people acting dumb.” iii There is usually an accompanying
increase in stress and emotional strain which further compounds
poor leadership behaviour and directly affects the unit.
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The aim of this part of the guide is to help you to stay “smart",
manage stress more effectively and maintain your emotional
balance. This will ensure that you thrive as a commander and
enable your unit to do the same.
Successful execution of all command positions rest on the ability of
the commander to adapt – leaders who are flexible and pragmatic
will more effectively build resilience in their people than those who
maintain a rigid and institutional approach.iv
Leadership Self-Complexity and Leader Adaptability To accomplish your role as a CO, you need a superior level of
cognitive and emotional capacity known as Leader Self-Complexity
(LSC). LSC is important because it enables adaptive decision making.
Adaptive decision making includes solving problems creatively,
dealing with changing or unpredictable work situations, and
handling emergencies or crisis situations. LSC facilitates adaptive
decision-making by enabling you access to a greater mix of relevant
knowledge, skills and self-regulatory structures, which in turn
facilitates a deeper understanding of problems and increased
adaptability.v A greater level of LSC will also assist you to integrate
knowledge about yourself with knowledge about your social
environment so you can more effectively regulate your own
emotions and influence the emotions of others.
Cognition and emotion are not opposing concepts, they are
connected and interdependent.vi In the contemporary military
experience, the impact of emotions has direct relevance to an
individual’s ability to effectively accomplish combat tasks.
Cognitive Functioning. A higher level of cognitive functioning
enables you to monitor both your internal and external
environments, manage intense mental and physiological reactions,
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and respond effectively in complex environments. The individual
experience on operations is personal and variable. Some individuals
are innately more resilient whilst others struggle to cope with the
challenges they face. However, the basic brain functions and
biological processes that occur in the human body in response to
stress are essentially common to all. So, while it’s not possible to
train for the specifics of every potential decision you might have to
make, it is possible to train for the overall process and get used to
performing it under stress.
Emotion Regulation. Recent neuroscience research has discovered
the following aspects of brain function that relate to the combat
experience:
1. Stress can compromise the brain’s cognitive abilities
because the brain shifts metabolic resources to the emotion-
response areas
2. Stress degrades the executive functions of working
memory, compromising learning, memory, attentiveness, and
problem solving
3. Individuals can intentionally moderate their emotional
responses, possibly through spill-over from motor-control efforts.
These findings suggest that you can improve your performance by
incorporating emotion regulation into your leadership approach.
You need to recognise and accept that that you have influence over
your own emotional states. The key is to practice and experiment
with different emotion regulation methods, test and refine during
training, and then determine the combination that produces
optimal arousal levels. Steadmanvii refers to this as a leader’s
“cognitive battle drill” that can be used in multiple situations.
Strategies for achieving this are outlined later in this guide.
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Psychological Fitness An accompanying concept to LSC is psychological fitness. It’s
defined as “the integration and optimisation of cognitive, emotional
and behavioural abilities and capacities to optimise performance
and strengthen resilience.”viii
There are two key groups of interventions that can be implemented
in order to promote psychological fitness:
1. Self-awareness - this is related to your own understanding
of how you respond to stress, the differing emotions you
experience, and the accompanying thought processes.
2. Skill-building – this is associated with the promotion of
positive emotions, happiness, confidence, self-esteem, and well-
being.
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL FITNESS
AND LSC There are five main internal resources that underpin the
development of the Commander’s Toolbox. These are processes
that you can identify and improve.
1. Awareness (situation and self). Most factors that
contribute to resilience in relation to performance rely on your
ability to focus your mind appropriately. You need to be able to
maintain a sufficient level of awareness of your own environment
(situational awareness), and how you relate to and function within
it (self-awareness), before you can respond effectively. Both self-
awareness and situational awareness are composed of various
psychological and cognitively oriented factors that influence
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information processing abilities, and play a critical role in resilience
and performance.
2. Beliefs and Appraisals. Beliefs are defined as
psychological states in which you hold an idea to be true. In
contrast, cognitive appraisals represent a process through which
you evaluate a situation or experience. Pre-existing beliefs play an
important role in influencing your appraisal process. For example,
your belief about your ability to control the environment can
impact how much confidence you have in your ability to complete a
task, and how you might debrief or evaluate it.
a. Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy is your belief that you can
successfully organise and carry out a behaviour or course
of action. This includes regulating motivation, thought
processes, emotions and behaviours, or it may involve
changing environmental conditions.
b. Hardiness. Studies have also shown that a profile of beliefs
or attitudes known as psychological hardiness can
influence your coping appraisals, health, and performance
in response to stress. This attitude profile incorporates a
strong belief of control (that you can influence events),
commitment (that life is interesting and meaningful), and
challenge (you value change as a normal part of
experience).
3. Coping. A core component of resilience that relates to
performance is your ability to cope with stress. Coping can be
broadly defined as thoughts and behaviours that you use to
manage the demands of stress, and to maintain optimal levels of
energy and capacity to work.
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4. Decision Making. Decision making is defined as the
thoughts and behaviours you use for evaluating and choosing
courses of action to solve a problem or reach a goal. Decision-
making factors include problem solving, goal setting, adaptive
thinking, and intuitive thinking. These factors are inter-related with
those in the awareness, belief and appraisal subdomain.
5. Engagement. Engagement refers to your enduring
identification with the organisation, unit, and your mission.
Engagement is illustrated by high levels of energy, discretionary
effort and full involvement in mission tasks. There is evidence that
engagement is associated with resilient responses to stress,
whereas lack of engagement is associated with burnout.ix
Note; Effectiveness of performance enhancement techniques vary
across different individuals and environments. The following points
need to be taken into consideration.
Self-Guiding Principles
1. Practice Makes Permanent. Performance strategies are
most reliable and effective when you adopt and practice them
under multiple training conditions. Your cognitive performance can
be improved through education and training scenarios that include
mental challenges. Deliberate and creative integration of cognitive
components into complex environments during collective training
enables you to habituate to cognitive thinking under stress, and
have the opportunity to develop your own personal methods
(cognitive battle drill) for achieving your mission. Remember:
Practice makes permanent.x
2. Maintain an appropriate perspective. Achieving the
perfect balance of emotion regulation and cognitive functioning is
unrealistic. As identified previously, cognition and emotion are not
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in opposition to each other, rather; thoughts are guided and
informed by emotional responses. Particular kinds of judgments
you are required to make are necessarily emotional. Therefore,
your goal is not to be emotionless and unfeeling; your goal is to
manage your emotions so they don’t overwhelm and deplete your
cognitive resources.
3. Acknowledge Stress. Denying stress, bottling it up or
worrying about it is counterproductive. Avoiding stress is
impossible but you can adjust your relationship with stress. You
need to firstly accept that it exists and is not going away in a hurry,
and then understand that “stressed” is not who you are. Part of
being resilient is understanding that you can recover if and when
post event symptoms occur. If you are well prepared, you will
anticipate such symptoms and have an action plan for restoring
balance.
Approach your individual development with metacognition
(awareness and understanding of your own thought processes.)
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The following model, table and activities are adapted from Schiraldi
(2011)xi to fit the ADF environment and FORCOMD’s approach to
resilience and performance. The model depicts five different areas
that you can target to improve your LSC and psychological fitness.
The accompanying table outlines practical strategies that you can
take in each of these areas. Each activity identified in the table is
detailed at the end for ease of use.
1. The Resilient Brain - Optimising your overall health
practices enables the brain to function more quickly and
proficiently. The Resilient Brain operates at optimal efficiency; it
adapts quickly to challenges and regulates moods even under
duress.
2. Emotional Balance - Improving your ability to regulate
your emotions enables you to stay composed and more focussed
under pressure.
SELF
Resilient Brain
Emotion Balance
Adaptive Coping
Broaden and Build
Crisis Preparation
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3. Adaptive Coping - Adaptive coping means you adjust to
changing circumstances and use whatever is available to your best
advantage to solve problems, meet challenges and work towards
your goals.
4. Broaden and Build - By broadening your perspectives and
actions, you are better able to build important and lasting physical,
intellectual, psychological and social resources. Consciously
generating positive emotions both fuels psychological resilience
and underpins optimal functioning.
5. Crisis Preparation – An acutely stressful situation or crisis
can potentially overwhelm your usual coping skills and emotional
stability. While no amount of training and experience can “bullet
proof” you, intelligent preparation can ready you as much as
possible. The two key areas to focus on here are job performance
and emotional coping skills.
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CO’S PERSONAL RESILIENCE TOOLBOX
Resilient Brain
Sleep
Nutrition
Exercise
Adequate sleep contributes to optimal cognitive
performance.
Sleep deprivation degrades accurate perception of
the environment, causes lapses in moral judgment,
and impairs the ability to accurately judge risk.
The ideal amount of sleep varies for each individual
– know how much you need and make it a priority.
Acquire a copy of “Fatigue Management During
Operations: A Commander’s Guide.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Food is important and should not be an
afterthought.
Inadequate nutritional intake can have negative
effects on cognitive functions like decision-making
and risk taking.
Do not prioritise work tasks over meals.
Hydrate – drink water often and steadily.
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Regular aerobic exercise enhances cognitive
function. Include strength and flexibility exercises.
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Cognitive
Practice to
maximise
brain
readiness
Recreation &
Lifelong
Learning
Add complex motor movements e.g. martial arts,
tennis, rock climbing, kayaking.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mental practice is the cognitive rehearsal of a task
in the absence of overt physical movement.
Visualising proper actions creates more permanent
neural circuitry that the mind will more readily
revert to during performance; i.e. this is a form of
cognitive muscle memory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Recreation (music, reading, interest group) reduces
stress and improves energy and mood levels.
Learning helps to build neural pathways – make it
non-work related e.g. musical instrument,
meditation.
Activity – Make a Plan
Emotion Balance
Breathing to
calm body
and mind
Under stress, breathing is often rapid and shallow
as your muscles tighten in preparation for fight or
flight. It helps retain fine motor skills as well as
ensures the brain has an adequate influx of oxygen
to perform.
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Cognitive
Reappraisal
to cultivate
positive
emotions and
attitudes
Affect
(Emotion)
Labelling
It can help you to regain your composure in the
midst of an emotional event “Stop, breathe, look
around, think”.
Can be paired with a calming word e.g. “relax”,
“calm” or “slow down”.
Note; Breathing strategies are taught by the
BattleSMART program. They need to be practised
and further tailored to suit the field and/or combat
environment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reframe a situation into a different context to alter
the initial emotional reaction that you are
experiencing.
It is often a natural process but is considered most
effective at lower levels of emotional stress.
Activity – Devil’s Advocate Drill
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Putting feelings into conscious thoughts or words
has the effect of exerting more control over your
emotions.
Make room for, and label your thoughts and
emotions and see them for what they are;
information rather than facts or directions.
Labelling allows you to create distance from, and
gain perspective over your mental processes.
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Use Emotion
Suppression
Appropriately
Limit
Cognitive
Dissonance
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Emotional suppression is generally ineffective in
regulating emotion. It occurs when you actively
avoid a specific emotion or deny its existence.
However, it can be helpful in high stress scenarios
where you experience strong emotions.
achieve time-sensitive, cognitive tasks. Suppressing
emotions (adopting a cold or stoic mentality) may
be a viable option to preserve mental stability until
the conditions allow a healthier emotional
response.
Note; Don’t bottle up or ignore your feelings once a
crisis is over. Buried feelings don’t go away – they
cry out for attention in other ways and may
contribute to higher rates of post-traumatic stress
and decreased psychological fitness. Go toward and
face distressing emotions, not away from them.
Activity – Journal Writing
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The mental stress (discomfort) that occurs when
you simultaneously experience two or more
contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.
This concept is relevant to decision-making in
combat e.g. when facing an uncertain and risky
tactical scenario, any post-decision cognitive
dissonance reduces mental functioning such as
assimilating new information or formulating
alternative plans.
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Self-Calming
Strategies
You can protect against this by quickly and
resolutely accepting your decisions (not second
guessing), and move on to the next task.
You can calm your emotional response to a
stressful situation by applying active control over
motor processes e.g. steadying your hands or
performing the automatic routine of checking your
weapon, could be part of your personal strategy to
prepare for, or react to a combat event.
Other examples are positive self-talk or cue words.
Choose specific words or phrases to elicit a
particular emotional state. These words or phrases
can activate your resolve and remind you of
performance principles e.g. “Focus”.
Adaptive Coping
Active Coping
Anticipate and prepare for difficulties. Turn towards
a problem and acknowledge it.
Accept negative thoughts and reframe problems as
challenges.
Make decisions without perfect knowledge (which
we never have). Take reasonable risks and prepare
to make mistakes.
Be realistic about your personal and situational
limitations (what can and can’t be done).
Strengthen realistic optimism – this is the way you
choose to think about life.
Recognise emotional needs and the need for
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Enhance your
Self-efficacy
emotional survival skills. You may block out
emotions to get through a crisis, but make sure you
address them as soon as you can so they don’t stay
stuck.
Use calming/arousal regulation skills to help you
see your options clearly, and then act.
Activity – Questionnaires: Optimism, Optimistic
Actions, Active Coping.
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Build your confidence – ensure you have the skills
and resources you need and know how to apply
them effectively. Note; your confidence needs to be
realistic – know what you’re capable of.
Perfectionism degrades confidence – focus on
doing a good/excellent job not a perfect job.
Combine mental and physical practice
Enhance arousal regulation and distraction
management ability.
Deliberately practice all forms of leadership skills.
Getting appointed as a CO is only the start of the
process.
Have the confidence to “fail”. You are fallible and
will make mistakes. If you reframe failure as
“efforts towards success”, then failure will become
less intimidating.
Activities:
Success (Mastery) Imagery
Rebounding (Coping) Imagery
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Be Flexible
Be Creative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the ability to adapt to changing situations -
realistic optimism.
Move on from “what if” to “If or when X happens,
then I will…”
Coping: Know what you can control and what you
can’t, have fluid strategies for both scenarios. The
broader your repertoire of coping strategies the
Emotions: Know when to suppress pain/distress,
when to rely on yourself and when to allow others
to help.
Don’t over-rely on past training and experience – it
won’t completely prepare you. And sometimes new
ideas are developed and the rules change. Pay
attention, continue to learn and don’t get stuck in
the old way of looking at things.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can develop your creativity.
Pay attention to what is going on around you e.g.
problems and opportunities, available resources,
barriers to success and what is needed.
Pay attention to what is going on inside of you e.g.
inner resources, intuition and ideas.
Don’t narrow your focus under pressure – this
limits your ability to see new possibilities.
Reframe a problem as a challenge and an
opportunity for growth.
Access the synergy of others.
Maximise time and energy.
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Make a creative environment where people are
supportive, respectful and united in their goals;
seek mentors in and outside of the military.
Broaden and Build
Gratitude
Humour
Moral
Strength
Gratitude helps you to recognise the good things
that happen despite adversity and the
opportunities there are to live life well.
Keep a gratitude journal – start with writing down 5
things you are grateful for in the week including:
what went well, what you have, things you learned
etc.
Express gratitude to others frequently.
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Humour is a learnable skill. It is a way of looking at
life with clarity, acceptance, playfulness and
optimism.
Actively create it during adversity to reduce stress
and lift your mood.
Be more mindful of things that make you smile.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Live and command in line with your values.
Decide in advance to act morally before adversity
occurs.
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Meaning and
Purpose
Balance
Have a system in place for correcting and accepting
the “mistakes/wrongs” that you may make.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Much of meaning and purpose is about developing
our strengths and investing them in something
larger than self.
Be clear on your purpose as a commander and
what the role means to you and set your goals in
line with this.
Look for other ways to add meaning to your role
other than that mandated by the Army.
Activity – Job Description.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ensure you have a life outside of work - actively
engage in a wide range of interesting and enjoyable
activities.
Balance technology with quietness.
Develop value driven goals.
Create a sound time management plan and stick to
it.
Explore meditation, mindfulness training, yoga – be
open to what these practices can teach you and
how you can implement them into your life. These
practices are evidence based and regularly used by
27
athletes, business executives and other militaries.
Crisis Preparation
Job
Performance
Skills
Anticipate and train for the unexpected.
Stress impairs performance on complex tasks. High
levels of physical fitness, good anxiety regulation
skills and hardiness protect against this.
Train for, and in conditions that imitate real life
crises. Gradually introduce more and more
challenges that inoculate not overwhelm.
Take an honest, non-judgemental look at your skill
levels. Ask a trusted peer/mentor to provide
feedback to improve your awareness of where you
need to improve to achieve task mastery.
Stay mindful and maintain a flexible mindset.
Stop to process events – reinforce successes, make
needed adjustments to reduce job strain, and
anticipate contingencies.
Practice needed skills thoroughly and repetitively.
Include mental rehearsal as well as physical
rehearsal.
Make general mental skills training part of your
normal working routine.
28
Emotional
Coping Skills
Improve your pulse rate conditioning. High
performers strive for a low resting pulse rate that
can rise quickly (but not too high – above 145 beats
per minute causes deterioration in performance)
and can also recover quickly.
Incorporate non-work balance e.g. exercise,
recreation, time with family and community,
meditation.
Activity – Mental Rehearsal for flexible pulse rate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope for the best, prepare emotionally for the
worst.
Symptoms can be managed before (prevention and
training), during (coping skills), and after the crisis
(coping skills and intervention).
Be realistically confident in your coping ability.
Expect to cope well with stress but remember that
no one is invincible. Ensure you have an action plan
for possible post-crisis stress reactions.
Stress symptoms are normal (they are not a sign of
weakness) as the body prepares for difficult
challenges. Pay attention to stress symptoms calmly
and without judgement. When they become
excessive, view them as a warning sign and enact
your action plan.
Incorporate emotional processing into training.
Work through the moral aspects of the combat
zone in advance in order to prevent long term
29
psychological and spiritual damage.
Be clear on the meaning of your mission and
reconcile the necessity of potential conflict and
violence.
Determine in advance what you consider ethical
behaviour and adhere to this.
To prepare for post-crisis stress symptoms, follow
this formula: anticipate symptoms, recognise them
and be prepared for them.
Activities:
Emotional Inoculation Exercise
Know Thyself
30
ACTIVITIES RESILIENT BRAIN
Make a plan. With a written plan you’ll more likely stick to a
regime that optimises brain health and performance. Try to make a
plan that is realistic and you can sustain for a long time (see
example below).
Exercise Aim for at least ___ minutes of aerobic
exercise 5-6/week. You can also add strength
and flexibility exercises.
Sleep I will commit to getting ___ hours of sleep per
night (aim for more than you need). I will go
to sleep at ___ and wake at ___ (keep timings
as consistent as possible, even on weekends).
Eating Ensure that you have 3-5 meals/day to
maintain energy levels. Make a meal plan to
sustain you through busy periods.
Make a written list of any factors that might impair your
ability to function at your best. Consider: unhealthy dietary habits
and/or alcohol usage, niggling medical concerns, recreation and
learning, self and family organisation. Now, outline the steps you
will take to address these factors.
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EMOTIONAL BALANCE
Cognitive Reappraisal
The Devil’s Advocate Drill. This activity is an effective way to test
your cognitive reflexes under pressure. Read the distorted thought
on the left. See how many rational responses (replacement
thoughts) you can come up with. There can be more than one
answer. Add more distortions if you know you have experienced
them in the past and identify their replacements.
Distortion Comment Replacement Thoughts
My worth equals
my rank/position
This all-or-none
fallacy can lead to
excessive focus on
work at the cost of
family.
My worth as a person is
innate and independent
of my rank/position.
My worth equals
my PAR
This leads to
unhealthy shame
when your report is
not “perfect”.
Human worth does
equate to perfect
performance. I’ll try my
best but recognise that I
have limitations.
I am invincible What happens when
you realise that you
are not?
I am a vulnerable, fallible
human – and still capable
of performing well.
I’m inadequate. This thought can lead
to fear-driven
perfectionism and
anxiety.
I am imperfect and
human, and that is ok. My
peace of mind comes
from knowing that I am
making the effort to do
my personal best.
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One mistake
means I’m inept.
Many famous leaders
experienced
numerous serious
military defeats
before triumphing.
A mistake makes me
human. You can’t do this
kind of work without
being criticised or
upsetting someone. I’ll do
my best and not get too
attached to the outcome.
I must not feel,
admit to, or show
fear.
Fear happens.
Sometimes it
encourages others to
know that a leader is
feeling fear, but
pressing forward
anyway.
Fear is normal. Survival
isn’t about not feeling
fear – it’s about
acknowledging it and
then turning it into
productive and focussed
behaviour. Some fear
may enhance my
judgement and
performance. Even
freezing is normal; if it
happens I’ll breathe and
focus on what I need to
do.
To function
effectively, I must
suppress all
feelings.
It is not possible or
healthy to always
suppress your
feelings. It wastes a
lot of energy and
doesn’t resolve them.
I can acknowledge
feelings, calm them, carry
out the mission and then
address them later.
This crisis is
overwhelming.
This could lead to
prematurely giving
up.
It might be partly solvable
if I persist and move
ahead in small ways. If
not, I’ll accept it.
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Emotional Suppression
Journal Writing. With practise, you can get used to acknowledging
feelings as part of what makes us human, and become comfortable
expressing them in constructive ways. Often the military
environment requires you to function while keeping your feelings in
check; so you need to process them when the time is right. Writing
privately about feelings is one way to do this without risking the
negative judgements of others. Writing promotes the ability to feel
emotions fully and appropriately and then move on.
Getting ready to write – find a time or place when you won’t be
disturbed, ideally at the end of the day. Promise yourself that you
will write for a minimum of 15 minutes a day for at least 3-4
consecutive days. Write continuously, don’t worry about spelling or
grammar.
What to write about – any past trauma or adversity that still
troubles you, including the loss of a loved one, a break-up, or
anything else that you’d like to forget, avoid or resolve. Something
that you are dreaming about, or a current situation that you are
worrying about. Writing is good for adversities you can’t control,
especially if you can’t accept this.
Let go – explore your deepest emotions and thoughts. The purpose
is to be completely honest with yourself.
Use a wide range of emotions, both negative and positive and
name them e.g. I feel angry because… Try to add insight words e.g.
realise, know, understand.
Note; you may feel sad or depressed for a short while after writing.
If this feeling persists after a few hours or you get too upset writing
then stop writing, change topics, or if the writing really isn’t helping
with a traumatic event then speak with someone.
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ADAPTIVE COPING
Optimism Questionnaire
Think about a difficult time you have experienced. Tick any of the following
optimistic thoughts that went through your mind. When you have finished
go back and circle the number of an item/s if it seems like a thought you
could choose for a difficult situation in the future.
1 I’ll improve upon my past.
2 I find something to enjoy or appreciate each day, no matter what.
3 I expect the future to be better (not perfect but better).
4 What I choose to do will make a difference.
5 I think about what’s the best thing to do.
6 There’s a connection between what I do and what happens to me
7 I’ll bounce back well.
8 I enjoy challenges for the strengths they require. They’re not
stumbling blocks, but stepping stones to growth.
9 When having a tough time, I notice my strengths as well as the
things I’d like to improve.
10 I enjoy difficult challenges – I view them as a test of my skill level,
not my worth as a person.
11 I choose achievable goals and am confident I can reach them.
12 I believe in myself.
13 I am open to new ways of thinking, new ideas and new evidence,
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14 I don’t worry over things that are beyond my control.
15 I’ll keep learning and improving from challenges and failures.
Optimistic Actions
Tick those that generally apply, then circle those that you could use in
difficult situations in the future.
1 I persevere as long as it is reasonable to do so; I generally don’t
give up when things get difficult.
2 I seek help from others when I need it.
3 Challenges get me going – I either do something or let go of the
worry.
4 I set realistic and specific (not vague) goals for myself.
5 I plan things so that a good solution will likely happen.
6 I consciously aim to improve my performance.
7 When a problem occurs I usually come up with at least a couple of
things to do about it.
8 I make a plan of action to solve problems and then follow the plan.
9 I work at having good friendships and other social relationships.
10 I accept situations that I can’t change without undue stress.
11 I try to make small changes and improvements when large ones
aren’t possible.
12 I gain inspiration and motivation from wherever I can.
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Active Coping Style
Optimists tend to be active, rather than passive. Tick those that generally
apply to you, then circle the ones you want to cultivate.
1 I take a breather in order to perform better over the long haul
(e.g. leave, recreation, exercise, sleep, fresh air and sunlight,
reflect and plan).
2 I set realistic, specific goals and then take steps to meet them.
3 I come up with several different solutions to a problem.
4 I prefer to exert effort, rather than wanting to sit back and relax all
the time, knowing that this:
Strengthens me in the long run
Leads to psychological fitness
Keeps me emotionally balanced
Stretches me (when balanced with rest) so that I’ll be
ready when a crisis occurs
5 I have a tried and tested problem-solving method I follow.
6 I don’t focus on what’s wrong, but what I can do.
7 I manage time so that time doesn’t manage me.
8 I seek counsel when needed (from family, friends, mentors).
9 I naturally take rational action (e.g. gather needed information,
make a plan, take action, take small steps forward when I can’t do
it all at once, seek help).
10 When people do things that upset me, I discuss it with them, and
try to negotiate, compromise or accept them as they are.
11 I constructively acknowledge feelings – write them in a journal,
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talk it out, meditate etc.
12 I take responsibility for what I can control or improve (my
thoughts, feelings, actions).
13 I acknowledge external factors that play a role in my performance
(fatigue, overload, task difficulty, situation). There is often a fine
line between making excuses and respecting mitigating
circumstances.
14 I accept myself – self-regard is an active choice.
15 I seek to understand my feelings.
16 I try to empathise with others – to understand their viewpoint and
feelings.
17 I work at being healthy.
18 I work at having good friendships and other social relationships.
19 I can shift gears, or change my thinking and focus so that I don’t
stew over spilled milk.
20 I seek out other people for support or encouragement.
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Success (Mastery) Imagery 1 Lie down or sit comfortably. Start by spending 5 minutes to relax
and compose yourself. Use abdominal breathing, relaxation or
mindfulness.
2 Imagine yourself succeeding – coping and performing well – for
about 15 minutes.
Start by seeing yourself in a stressful or adverse situation. You
notice that your breathing is calm and regular. Though you are
perspiring, your thinking is clear and your body is relaxed and
effortless. You are moving with confidence and composure.
Sense this inside your body.
You see yourself executing your task effectively and smoothly,
with great concentration. You notice what you are focussing on
with clarity. You sense all parts of your body moving calmly and
strongly. You enjoy the feeling of being in the flow – fully
absorbed and meeting each challenge with efficiency and
confidence.
3 Practice this exercise frequently so that the mentally rehearsed
execution comes naturally when it matters the most. It is usually
best to rehearse one movement or aspect of successful
performance frequently before moving on to another aspect.
Then you can put the pieces together.
Imagine yourself from the inside/internal perspective – seeing
hearing, feeling and sensing what you would normally experience in
the actual situation; then imagine yourself as though you are the
subject in the activity and you are also filming yourself with a
sophisticated camera, zooming in and out, using the slow motion
or single frame advance facility, rewinding as necessary, rotating
the camera around yourself as you execute the activity, enhancing
the focus, bathing yourself in a bright, energising colour.
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Rebounding (coping) Imagery
Rebounding (coping) imagery is mental rehearsal that adds the skill
of recovering from common states that interfere with performance,
such as high anxiety, tension, negative thinking or poor decision
making. It begins with five minutes of relaxation as success imagery
does. You vividly imagine your challenging scenario, but then you
notice yourself experiencing one more of the states previously
mentioned. You remain calm and without judgement you simply
see yourself correcting these states, as shown in the table below.
This type of imagery is particularly helpful as faltering then
recovering is more typical of real-life situations.
For this state… You see yourself…
Anxiety Pause and mindfully accept the feeling
without judgement, let awareness of
the anxiety dissolve, then return to
proper task execution.
Muscle Tension Stop; calm your breathing and relax
your muscles
Negative thoughts, such as…
I can’t
What if it doesn’t work?
I should be coping better
There’s too much pressure
Calmly think:
I can do it
I can make it work
I am coping well
I enjoy concentrating and finding
solutions
Fatigue, perspiration, elevated
heart rate
Regulating breathing; thinking, “I feel
relaxed”
Making a mistake Quickly regaining composure and
concentration, and executing the next
task successfully.
Then complete the steps of success imagery as detailed previously.
40
BROADEN AND BUILD
Meaning and Purpose
Job Description. Rewrite your job description so that others would
want to apply. Highlight the benefits and the aspects that bring out
your strengths, skills, values and satisfaction. Reread this when you
feeling negative about it.
CRISIS PREPARATION
Job Performance Skills
Mental Rehearsal for Flexible Pulse Rate. See yourself responding
effectively to a crisis situation. Your pulse increases appropriately,
and decreased quickly after the crisis (mastery image).
Alternatively, practice rebounding imagery. See yourself getting
overly aroused in a crisis situation, but you remember to do your
tactical breathing to quickly lower your pulse rate to the ideal range
(around 140 beats per minute or less), while you tell yourself “It’s
normal to react like this; just calm the breathing and focus on the
task.”
Emotion Coping Skills
Emotional Inoculation Exercise. This exercise integrates emotions,
thoughts and behaviours. You need to consider:
1. what you will likely encounter
2. where you stand in terms of current coping ability
3. the options you have for coping.
41
This activity can be done individually but works best with a partner
(trusted peer.)
Identify an emotionally stressful event – the most stressful you
could possible face as a CO. Now, answer the following questions:
1. Describe the objective facts of the event.
2. What feelings attend this event?
3. Given your current thinking, how would you likely respond
to this event? Fully describe your behaviours and coping
attempts. Explain in detail the thoughts that underlie your
feelings and behaviours – before, during and after.
4. How would most people in your profession respond to this
event? Describe thoughts, feelings and behaviours before,
during and after the event.
5. What would you consider an ideal response to this event?
Discuss thoughts, feelings and behaviours before, during
and after the event.
6. How would you feel if your response was less than ideal?
Finally, process what you have written and exchange your
responses with your partner. Discuss observations about what the
other person has written. Share what you’ve learned from your
partner’s writings.
Know Thyself – Action Plan. Reflect and identify previous post-crisis
stress symptoms you have encountered, and may encounter in the
future. Detail the actions you have used successfully in the past and
plan to use in the future.
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On-line Resources
ADF Health & Wellbeing Portal
http://drnet.defence.gov.au/VCDF/ADFHealthWellbeing/Pages/ADF
%20Health%20and%20Wellbeing%20Portal.aspx
This is the Joint Health Command ADF Health & Wellbeing Portal
‘Fighting Fit'. ‘Fighting Fit’ is a resource for all current and ex-
serving ADF Members and their families. The portal will direct you
to a wide range of Defence websites containing information on ADF
Health and Mental Health services and supports, as well as
referencing a number of reputable external resources.
Commanders Guide to Mental Health Support
http://drnet.defence.gov.au/Army/DPPA/Pages/Comd%20Guide_
Mental%20Hlth%20Sp.aspx
This document is designed to provide you with information that can
assist in managing unit personnel experiencing mental health
difficulties. The guide is a simple, quick reference point to key
information.
Alcohol and other drugs
From Force Protection Alcohol
http://drnet.defence.gov.au/Army/DWSA/Cultural%20Reform/Pag
es/Force-Protection-Alcohol.aspx
This links to further information on:
• Army Alcohol Policies and Resources
• The Stepped Care Approach
• Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) Program
• ADF Alcohol Management Strategy
43
Resilience
1. HighRes (website and App). The Department of Veterans’
Affairs (DVA) High Res website is an eToolbox to help serving and
ex-serving ADF members and their families manage stress and build
resilience. The website offers a range of interactive tools, self-help
resources and videos that help users cope better with stress and
bounce back from tough situations. The companion High Res app,
featuring easy-to-use and effective tools to manage stress, is free
from the iOS App Store and Android Google Play. High Res is
accessible through DVA’s At Ease mental health portal.
2. The Right Mix https://www.therightmix.gov.au/ This is
another DVA website designed to help you gain a clearer
understanding of the impact of alcohol on the important things in
your life. This site provides tips, tools and strategies that can reduce
the impact of drinking on your lifestyle. You can also download the
companion ON TRACK with The Right Mix app to track your alcohol
consumption and spending habits.
The following are apps developed by Defence and DVA:
PTSD Coach App
Learn about and manage symptoms that commonly occur after
trauma
http://at-ease.dva.gov.au/veterans/resources/mobile-apps/ptsd-
coach/
Op Life App
The Operation Life smart phone app has been developed by the
DVA and Defence to help serving and ex-serving members of the
ADF at risk of suicide.
http://at-ease.dva.gov.au/veterans/resources/mobile-apps/op-life-
app/
44
Other Apps. The following apps are examples of web and mobile
apps related to management of stress and mental health issues are
provided below. There are also many good apps on sleep cycles and
meditation, available through your app store.
Smiling Mind App (meditation/mindfulness)
Headspace App (meditation/mindfulness)
Breathe App (Reach Out – relaxation)
Brainy App (Alzheimers Australia – how to keep your brain healthy)
MyCompass (Black Dog Institute - Builds resilience)
Breathe2Relex App (US DOD - Information on stress management
and the effects of stress on the body)
E-couch App (ANU - Interactive self-help app for depression,
anxiety, relationship breakdown, loss & grief.)
Mind Health Connect Apps Library (Resources from leading health-
focused organisations in Australia. Search “Online Programs”)
MoodGym App (ANU - Skills for preventing and coping with
depression.)
Tactical Breather App (US DOD - Gaining control over physiological
and psychological responses to stress.)
Relevant websites
Australian Government Mental Health Portal ‘mindhealthconnect’
https://www.mindhealthconnect.org.au/
An easy way to find mental health and wellbeing information,
support and services from Australia’s leading health providers,
together in one place.
Headsup
https://www.headsup.org.au/ Information on creating a mentally
healthy workplace
45
RECOMMENDED READING
ADF Health & Wellbeing: Commander’s Guide (2014).
David, Susan. (2016). Emotional Agility. Penguin Random House:
Great Britain.
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit – The Power of Passion and
Perseverance. Penguin, Random House: UK.
Greitens, E. (2015). Resilience – Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a
Better Life. First Mariner Books: New York.
Harvey, S.B., Joyce, S., Tan, L., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Modini, M.
& Groth, M. (2014). Developing a mentally healthy
workplace: A review of the literature. A report for the
National Mental Health Commission and the Mentally
Healthy Workplace Alliance. 1-73.
Jones, G. & Moorhouse, A. (2007). Developing Mental Toughness.
Spring Hill: Oxford, Great Britain.
Schiraldi, G.R. (2011). The Complete Guide to Resilience – Why it
Matters, How To Build and Maintain It. Resilience Training
International: Ashburn, VA.
46
REFERENCES
Part 3 Enhancing Commander Resilience and Performance
i Greitens, E. (2015). Resilience – Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life. First Mariner Books: New York. ii David, Susan. (2016). Emotional Agility. Penguin Random House: Great Britain. iii David, Susan. (2016). Emotional Agility. Penguin Random House: Great Britain. iv Castro, C.A., Adler, A.B., McGurk, D. & Thomas, J.L. (2006). Leader Actions to Enhance Soldier Resiliency in Combat. In Human Dimensions in Military Operations – Military Leaders’ Strategies for Addressing Stress and Psychological Support, 3-1 – 3-14. v Steadman, A.S. (2011). Applying Neuroscience to Enhance Tactical Leader Cognitive Performance in Combat. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: Fort Leavenworth, KS vi Steadman, A.S. (2011). Applying Neuroscience to Enhance Tactical Leader Cognitive Performance in Combat. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: Fort Leavenworth, KS vii Steadman, A.S. (2011). Applying Neuroscience to Enhance Tactical Leader Cognitive Performance in Combat. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: Fort Leavenworth, KS viii Bates, M.J., Bowles, S., Hammermeister, J., Stokes, C., Pinder, E., Moore, E., Fritts, M., Vythilingam, M., Yosick, T., Rhodes, J., Myatt, C., Westphal, R., Fautua, D., Hammer, P., Burbelo, G. (2010). Psychological Fitness. Military Medicine, 175(8), 21-38.
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ix Bates, M.J., Bowles, S., Hammermeister, J., Stokes, C., Pinder, E., Moore, E., Fritts, M., Vythilingam, M., Yosick, T., Rhodes, J., Myatt, C., Westphal, R., Fautua, D., Hammer, P., Burbelo, G. (2010). Psychological Fitness. Military Medicine, 175(8), 21-38. x Steadman, A.S. (2011). Applying Neuroscience to Enhance Tactical Leader Cognitive Performance in Combat. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: Fort Leavenworth, KS xi Schiraldi, G.R. (2011). The Complete Guide to Resilience – Why it Matters, How to Build and Maintain It. Resilience Training International: Ashburn, VA.