Change Resilience with Renée Safrata
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I’m writing this post having just returned from Iceland on the 6-year anniversary of my mother’s death. If ever there was to be a post from me about reflection, and pausing for reflection–this is it.
Both of these experiences have created different opportunities for reflection, and have made me realize how important it is to take the time to reflect.
Reflecting, pausing, and writing things down is something that I plan on doing quite often, but rarely actually follow through with.
One of the reasons I enjoy writing these posts is because it forces me to sit down and reflect with intention. And, truthfully, that’s the thing that is often missing for me… the intentional part of pausing, thinking, and writing.
Like so many of us, despite knowing how valuable it is for me, I often don’t make time for it. Other things, absolutely. But, this can often feel like, “What’s the point?” And (note to self), sometimes the point is clarity, understanding, more openness, in general–and that is not a goal to scoff at!
Today, I sat down to write a post commemorating my mother, as well as wrote a long response to a friend about my experience in Iceland. In doing both of these things I really paused to think about each of them and to be intentional about what I wanted to say.
Iceland was a bit of a whirlwind. I set out with one of my best friends on a road trip around the island, hotels pre-booked and a rough(ish) itinerary decided. I’d also booked a number of restaurants ahead of time (if you get a chance to eat at Dill in Reykjavik I highly recommend doing so). But, a lot of our excursions and specifics were left to how we were feeling at the time. Like all things in life, there were ups and there were downs.
We saw incredible scenery and got to really catch up with each other while we were together. We laughed, we discussed hard topics, we disagreed about many things (and agreed about more), and, ultimately, we enjoyed each other’s company. We saw whales and puffins up close (one of those things was much easier to photograph than the other), we were driven back to our hotel one night by police officers, we pointed out every lamb on the island as we drove by them, and had to skip many things we would have really enjoyed, due to a lack of time.
But maybe most importantly for me, I realized some areas where I still have a lot of work to do on patience and acceptance of how other people do things, as well as how genuinely happy I am in my life these days and how much I actually wanted to come home. For perhaps the first time ever, I had an incredible trip and was happy being away. But, I was just as happy to come back home.
In the 6 years since my mother died, my life has almost completely changed. Many of my relationships have changed (some have evolved and grown into something more, some have ended and shrunk into something less, and some are entirely new and fulfilling, in the best ways). My home has changed, my animals have changed, my work has changed… In essence, I and my experience of the world have changed.
It’s fascinating to think about time and how it both shrinks and expands based on our perspective at any given moment. I think about how my mother would react to a given situation quite often–what she would think of people, how absurd she would be in the world today–and it no longer makes me sad in any way, but grateful that I had her and that I have these memories of her.
I have endless stories to tell about her and, maybe more importantly, lessons I’ve learned from how she did things. Unfortunately, many of those lessons were hard-won as my mother was not great at not repeating them so I had the (mis)fortune of learning from watching her learn many things the hard way.
My mother was both incredibly resilient when it came to change and, also, incredibly resistant at the same time. She had a foot in both worlds always. As a result, I work hard at being aware of the moment where, when, and why I’m resisting things to see if I can accept them instead and focus on what is in my control. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it.
And, this is where the lesson comes full circle for me and I recognize that so much of what I’ve already written is the result of pausing and reflecting. And, so much of whatever change resilience I have comes from taking the time to reflect on things in general.
In this week’s episode of Leading Through Crisis, we are talking to the founder and CEO of Vivo Team, Renée Safrata about change resilience, as well as how to be patient and enjoy the unknown.
“Right now, every day, change is a constant.” As leaders, we need to be aware that our employees and team members are going through the same thing. So, how can we steady the internal and external ship with the unknown being huge? That’s what leading through crisis–and this episode–is about.
Some takeaways and specific learnings from this conversation:
Why saying “yes” is important
The difference between big yeses and small yeses
Why having built-in time for reflection and learning is key
Balancing short and long-term planning/goals
Why you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) do it alone
The benefits of implementing a decision tree
I love Renée’s brain and how she thinks about things. And, clearly, that third point resonated with me!
To see what resonates for you, and to build your (and your team’s) competency for change resilience, listen in.
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Over the past 30+ years, Renée has worked with thousands of companies and executives throughout North America and Europe, helping them to connect, adopt new behaviors, and become confident members of highly functioning teams.
Human connection and talent development are at the core of everything Renée touches. From one-on-one and team training to speaking engagements, she clearly demonstrates how this philosophy of connection is what ultimately drives productivity and directly contributes to company results.
After a successful career in interior design, Renée shifted to consulting where she helped CEOs, executive management, and entrepreneurs build focused and results-oriented teams. Recognizing the ongoing shift and future demand for digital workplace learning, she began researching and analyzing the market to develop the business plan for building out Vivo Team’s analytics and methodology.
She now has over 10 years of experience leading a remote team and creating and delivering educating, entertaining, and unique virtual learning experiences.
To learn more or to connect with Renée visit vivoteam.com or search Vivo Team Development on all social platforms.