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How to overcome complex decision fatigue
The coronavirus pandemic – and the response that has been required by the education system – is truly one of the most pressing challenges schools have faced in our time. Many school leaders are experiencing serious ‘carers’ load’ and ‘vicarious trauma’ as a result of their staff and students’ challenges.
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How to be a trauma informed leader
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Leading through disruption and into the future
The coronavirus pandemic – and the response that has been required by the education system, is truly one of the most pressing challenges schools have ever faced. Many school leaders are experiencing serious ‘carers’ load’ and ‘vicarious trauma’ as a result of their staff and students’ challenges.
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Leadership renewal for women in schools
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout amongst teachers, school leaders and staff was at an all time high. As we continue to navigate the impacts of the pandemic, it is important to find opportunities to reflect, reconnect and refocus.The Australian Schools Women’s Leadership Summit provides a unique opportunity for women at all levels of school leadership to connect, share their experiences, build their leadership capacity and prioritise their own wellbeing.The summit, facilitated by Dr Janet Smith and Dr Debra Kelliher, will cover these three key themes:Where to from here?Guiding our schools through the coronavirus pandemic and continuing to prioritise patient care has placed extraordinary demands on school leaders across Australia and the world. This critical juncture presents a timely opportunity to reflect and learn from our recent experience and rethink the way we have done things in the past.Relational agencyHigh functioning teams are essential to the busy work of schools, yet as a team leader in a school do we know why effective teams work and why there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’? We’ll look at what makes a healthy team, the concept of ‘relational agency’ and the characteristics of trust – the essential foundation of a team. Useful for both team leaders and team members in schools.Inspiration and insights from inspirational women leadersDuring the summit, participants will hear from several inspirational education sector speakers about their leadership/career journeys and the key elements that have contributed to their success.Speakers include:Tanya Plibersek MP, Shadow Minister for Education, Shadow Minister for Women, Federal Member for SydneyDr Briony Scott, Principal, Wenona SchoolKristen Douglas, National Manager & Head, headspace SchoolsDr Jessa Rogers, First Nations Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology; Managing Director, Baayi ConsultingAnd more! The pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on school leaders, who have been on the front lines dealing with unprecedented disruption for over two years. This summit will provide opportunities to be inspired by experts, connect with other school leaders, recharge leadership strategies and envisage and plan for the future. You can find out more and book your seat here. WE NEED MORE LEADERS LIKE YOUYou’re here because you know that great leadership enables better teaching and learning. We’re here to help you be a great leader within your school community. For more leadership news, plus event updates and expert tips, subscribe to our mailing list. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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Understanding and increasing your Social Capital
Our Wellbeing with NESLI series brings you essential wellbeing tools and downloadable resources that enhance the wellbeing of teachers, school leaders and school communities. In this edition of Wellbeing with NESLI, we look at Social Capital.Social Capital is an important factor when considering the wellbeing for your teachers, school staff and school leaders. A school community that enjoys robust social capital for everyone will lead to better student outcomes and boost morale across students, teachers and staff alike.There are three critical dimensions to social capital in the school community. These include:Bonding Social Capital: the day to day, interpersonal interactions that you and your teachers and staff have with each other. You can see this by looking out for friendly conversation, shared interests and a genuine connection and conversation between individuals.Bridging Social Capital: the social interactions and cohesiveness experienced between teams – not just the individuals in a team, but in inter-team cooperation and cohesion. You can see this by looking out for teams that work well together to support the outcomes of the other teams, and are able to identify opportunities for collaboration.Linking Social Capital: the social interactions that occur between different levels of seniority in the organisation – for example, the rapport between a junior member of staff and a member of your school’s leadership team. You can see this by looking for open collaboration and communication between different levels of leadership teams and individuals.This Social Capital poster provides a handy summary.To delve a little deeper, download the Social Capital Dimensions resource here to find out about three other types of social capital to look out for, and to complete a self-assessment of your own social capital.NESLI’s Staff Wellbeing Toolkit builds social capital within schools through a flexible, self-paced program. Find out more here.Downloadable resources:Social Capital posterSocial Capital Dimensions resource WE NEED MORE LEADERS LIKE YOUYou’re here because you know that great leadership enables better teaching and learning. We’re here to help you be a great leader within your school community. For more leadership news, plus event updates and expert tips, subscribe to our mailing list. SUBSCRIBE NOW
By Suzi Finkelstein
The coronavirus pandemic – and the response that has been required by the education system – is truly one of the most pressing challenges schools have faced in our time. Many school leaders are experiencing serious ‘carers’ load’ and ‘vicarious trauma’ as a result of their staff and students’ challenges.
This series of ‘recharge’ blogs explores themes and models that school leaders, teachers and staff can refer to in times of stress, to replenish their leadership capacity. In this blog, we look at how you can manage your day to overcome complex decision fatigue, a phenomenon that is more prevalent than ever as we grapple with carers load and the associated impact in schools
What is complex decision fatigue?
Have you ever noticed that your ability to make decisions dwindles as the day goes on? It’s easy to attribute this to being tired, but it’s actually more involved than that – every time we make a decision, our ability to consider our options and potential consequences depletes a bit. Complex decision fatigue refers to the effect that decision making has on our cognitive state. The term was coined by Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist, to demonstrate the emotional and mental strain that is created by making multiple decisions throughout the day.
Interestingly, researchers have found that with smaller, routine decisions, our ability to make decisions is not greatly depleted. It is when we must focus on more complex or less routine situations that our capacity to make decisions can begin to fade. Over time, complex decision fatigue can also lead to stress, headaches, irritability, and increased anxiety.
Signs of complex decision fatigue
There are several signs to look out for that might indicate that you, or your teachers and staff, are struggling with complex decision fatigue:
Tips for overcoming complex decision fatigue:
There are many things you can do to minimise your risk of experiencing complex decision fatigue.
Automate your less complex decisions
By having a work uniform, planning and preparing your meals in advance and creating a predictable routine before and after work, you minimise the amount of decisions you have to make each day. Even though these decisions are less complex, they still save brain space for more complex decision making.
Optimise your schedule
Do you feel freshest first thing in the morning? Try to keep it free, and use that time to strategise, plan and make decisions. Conversely, if you find you think more clearly in the afternoons, prioritise that time for complex thinking and decision making. Leave your more mundane or ‘routine’ tasks for times where you feel tired or need a break.
Practice positive wellbeing
While our capacity to make complex decisions is depleted BY making complex decisions, you can still take steps to proactively increase your ability to think critically and decisively. Eating well, sleeping and having rest times will help you overcome complex decision fatigue.
While prioritising your wellbeing is sometimes the last thing on your mind, it really couldn’t be more important. Use these tips to reduce fatigue and increase your energy and enthusiasm in the classroom.
WE NEED MORE LEADERS LIKE YOU
You’re here because you know that great leadership enables better teaching and learning. We’re here to help you be a great leader within your school community.
For more leadership news, plus event updates and expert tips, subscribe to our mailing list.
