CWHP-A Reflections: Unit WWC01

For me, the main take away from this section is that I think I have a pretty good grasp of the root cause of the ill health and performance issues in my organization, it is the answer to the “what do I do about it?” question that became clearer.

Primarily, meeting the leaders where they are. Just because they’re leaders, it doesn’t mean they have a great deal of knowledge about wellness in general or specifically about how lack of well-being in an organization impacts performance. I need to focus more on performance and using language that they relate to in order to get their buy in. I love appreciative inquiry. Very helpful.

I also realize how complicated all this is! Some leaders have great understanding and interest in well-being, while others have little understanding or interest. To some, wellness is a checkbox exercise; to others it’s a “waste of time”; to others it’s critical to success. AND, recruiting those leaders who are committed to staff well-being as Wellness Ambassadors can also be challenging because they’re doing production work, for example, while working hard to provide support for their own staff. Giving a further commitment to the whole organization is asking a lot!

Finally, it’s becoming clear to me why my own well-being and that of my small team is at risk! It’s been a hard road pushing the wellness rock up the hill!! Because the small wins are so satisfying, sometimes I don’t take enough time to appreciate the toll it takes.