Introduction
Following some comments about On getting to being okay I decided to do a deeper dive into the Getting Above the Line (GATL) pilot project, which was subsequently delivered in my former department by the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) twice since 2020.
GATL was intended to deliver a relatively simple model of thinking about our emotions with an emphasis on personal responsibility and self-awareness. Neither of these things are easy to master and GATL certainly wasn’t going to deliver mastery in 4 1-hour long sessions, plus some homework. The goal was to offer a simple model that could then be the foundation for self-directed efforts.
The prompt for thinking about GATL was a reflection on the national RUOK day and how it is that so few of us are comfortable talking about our own emotional states, or even thinking about them, with any comfort or ease. Since 2020 there really has been no let up in psychological pressure, so the need for a simple ‘starter kit’ may have grown.
Originally, I was reacting to what colleagues with diagnosed depression were telling about how ‘disclosure’ of that diagnosis slammed back on them as a kind of stigma. I wanted to ‘change the conversation’ but quickly realised that if that was going happen, we needed to become more emotionally ‘literate’ ourselves.
Below I want to reflect more on GATL, its benefits and potential.
Why try?
Quite apart from the fact that I have needed to confront and address my own emotional responses to acquiring a significant disability, and learn how to be more emotionally intelligent, my work background has exposed me to psychiatric disorders in many settings. I am comfortable with ‘mental illness’ as a way of understanding how and why we fail to, or are unable to, respond to experiential trauma in an effective way. I have read widely on psychiatry and psychology as well. I am not asserting I am an expert in these fields, only that I feel comfortable. This matters because the alternative is to feel uncomfortable and to be unable to confidently confront a concern about psychological distress.
I deliberately avoid using the term ‘mental illness’ because it is laden with dogmatic assumptions. There are people who experience levels of psychological distress that are extreme. But the chances of encountering them in the workplace are remote. Mental illnessisn’t a term that is useful when we are mostly considering psychological or emotional injuries. We are most dealing with concerns about emotional health. I don’t like ‘emotional illness’ as a term. I prefer ‘emotional injury’. Experiencing anxiety or depression is natural and normal but not being able to flick the ‘off switch’ and return to ‘normal’ afflicts some of us.
Why this might be the case may be subject to clinical speculation but it’s no stranger than finding you can’t recover from any other injury because of some unanticipated physical condition. This is no better demonstrated, in my view, by the way that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has evolved as a concept. It has evolved from being thought of as something confined only to a response to the risk of physical death to a response to existential harm. This is a much more sophisticated understanding that deep trauma can be triggered by experiences that cause serious emotional harm. This can include emotional abuse, rejection and isolation, sustained bullying and other experiences that cause deep existential distress.
There are those who will disagree with me, maybe even vehemently. But this isn’t an area where there is common agreement. There are people with entrenched dogmatic beliefs, some of whom practise as clinical professionals. My point is that even if you don’t want to explore the field yourself, do understand there is no indisputable authority.
I am firmly in the camp of those who think that the experience of being human isn’t innately the realm of those who have degrees in psychiatry or psychology. We have a rich heritage of wisdom and compassion of our own to draw upon to help us respond effectively to most of our woes.
Most of us don’t have the time or inclination to read so there is great value in having a simple and actionable guide to greater awareness of our own emotional states.
Centres of emotional intelligence
We naturally talk about our head, our heart and our gut when we describe our responses to life circumstances. It is interesting that we also have neurons in our gut and our heart. I like the way the GLF builds on this natural reflex to craft a model of understanding our emotional responses. On their website we can read:
“If you were asked by someone to describe what you ‘think’ with, you’d probably look at them strangely and respond with ‘My brain, of course’. Interestingly, it is not as simple as that. In fact, when we are thinking effectively, we are doing so not just with our brain but with our whole body.
‘Whole body thinking’, or presence, is thinking the balances three centres. ‘Head thinking’ is more rational and logical and provides great insight. ‘Heart thinking’ connects us with our feelings and emotions and brings intuition. And ‘body thinking’ uses our senses and brings ‘gut feel’ or instinct. Each of us is capable of thinking in all three of these ways. However, in the process of developing a personality, we tend to lean more strongly towards one of the
three, which then becomes our primary filter for perceiving what we think is reality. Higher levels of emotional health are characterised by the ability to give close to equal weight to each type of these centres.
Emotional health
The idea of emotional health is at the core of GLF’s approach. This is from their website:
“A person with a high level of emotional health takes personal responsibility for the way in which they relate to and engage with others and the world around them. Emotionally healthy people have a well-tuned inner observer: they are conscious of themselves – their thoughts, their emotions and their behaviours – and the impact they have on others. They are able to recognise and overcome the various influences and constraints they experience (either from others or themselves) through the choices they make and the practices they use.“
Vertical development
Another key way of thinking about emotional health is seeing our acquisition of skills and knowledge as a ‘horizontal’ development that must be balanced by ‘vertical’ development – which I see as gaining depth of insight. GLF’s website sums this up:
‘Vertical development’ is about building our ability to distinguish and let go
of our own limited thinking and perceptions. As this occurs we are more
able to genuinely relate to and engage with others and the world around us.
The Neuroleadership Institute backs this up when it says that we should ‘train’ for insight, not just deliver information. Triggering insight is critical if we want to stimulate our motivation to learn and to change our behaviours. Even having the technical capability to perform a task may not be sufficient to achieve a desired or intended outcome. Without insight and self-awareness we may lack that ‘secret sauce’ that enables us to resonate with others.
Conclusion
“Gaining a full understanding of emotional health is an ongoing journey, even for those of us who have worked with it for a long time.” (GLF website)
We have to start somewhere. The GLF model is simple but sophisticated. The critical ideas can be represented in visual form. The idea of a ‘line of responsibility’ (above which one should strive to stay) is almost ridiculously simple as an idea, though staying above it might be a challenge. But it is better to face that challenge with a method that isn’t going to demand complex ideas and language.
I made myself a graphic which depicted degrees of self-centredness versus degrees of behavioural freedom. They are inversely related. As one grows the other shrinks. I used to have it printed out and visible. Writing this has prompted me to put up a new one. It’s been a while.
At the most basic level, immediately above the ‘line of responsibility’ is ‘Recognition’ (self-awareness) and immediately below it is ‘Automated Response’ (reflex). A simple idea but it is so hard to shift from self-centred reflex to freer self-aware behaviour.
GATL was an effort to bring profound and powerful ideas to people quickly and effectively. Doing so in four one-hour online sessions, plus a bit of homework could only ever be an intro – a starter kit.
Below is some feedback from some participants in the 2020 pilot.
Participant 1
What empowered me from the training was that I learnt to:
- pause and become aware my own and others’ reactions – understanding why I/they react as I/they do.
- identify and manage my own emotions.
- think before acting and manage impulses.
- understand motivations of other people and have empathy.
- initiate strategies to effectively manage relationships and build teams.
- think with my head, heart and gut and that a neat trick is to touch that area to remind myself to stay present in that zone.
Participant 2
I found all of the content useful. I have been trying to implement the strategies/models into my day-to-day life since we started. Once more employees across DCJ have completed the sessions it will be easier to apply these learnings into team practices and truly integrate into DCJ culture.
I think it was also exceptionally positive having participated in the training with a diverse group of people who are not all from the same team. I think that allowed us all to share our honest thoughts and feelings without fear of judgement or retribution. I can see it would be useful to have mixed groups with managers/employees as it will further enhance empathy and understanding of lived experiences.
I felt refreshed after each session. It was somewhat draining because that degree of self-reflection is not natural for me, but it was a wonderfully positive experience and I’d happily recommend participating to anyone.
Participant 4
This is not just a work training opportunity; it is a valuable and enjoyable personal growth and awareness experience!
The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) training workshops can be influential to our organisation, as they reinforce DCJ values and can help bring us closer to creating respectful workplaces. The training concepts embed a foundational understanding and a ‘shared language’ – for us as individuals, colleagues, and for managers alike. Enhancing the way we work together, engage with one another, our stakeholders and clients. Participants will come to better understand their own and others Emotional Health (EH) levels, ‘position’ and responses. The training also promotes conscious awareness of Emotional Health levels on any given day.
Participant 5
I thoroughly appreciated Global Leadership Emotional intelligence workshop.
This course encourages a person’s capability to moderate and control one’s emotions as well as the ability to manage the emotions of others.
This course provided me with a direct insight and awareness into:
- Self-regulation: the ability to manage one’s negative or disruptive emotions, and to adapt to changes in circumstance. Those who are skilled in self-regulation excel in managing conflict, adapt well to change and are more likely to take responsibility.
- Motivation: the ability to self-motivate, with a focus on achieving internal or self-gratification as opposed to external praise or reward. Individuals who are able to motivate themselves in this way have a tendency to be more committed and goal focused.
- Empathy: the ability to recognize and understand how others are feeling and consider those feelings before responding in social situations. Empathy also allows an individual to understand the dynamics that influence relationships, both personal and in the workplace.
- Social skills: the ability to manage the emotions of others through emotional understanding and using this to build rapport and connect with people through skills such as active listening, verbal and nonverbal communication.