Building Resilience: Timeless Tips from Experienced Professionals - Scott G

Transcript created with Rev AI. Intro and outro music created with Suno AI.

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Episode transcript:

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Bethany:

All right. Welcome everybody to Building Resilience Timeless Tips from experienced Professionals. Just as a recap, here's how this works. This is a podcast where I, Bethany Rankin, interview seasoned professionals who have successfully navigated the business world or have recently retired on their tips for resiliency in the workplace for young professionals. We have four segments. The first is career trajectory where we'll hear a bit about the industry they were in, how they worked their way up to their last or current position, and the challenges they faced. The second segment is defining resilience. We'll hear about their definition of resilience and how it's changed over the years and pivotal moments that help define how they view and practice resilience. Third segment is tangible and timeless tips. We'll hear their main tips for young professionals and building resilience. And fourth is your favourite piece of advice where we'll hear their favourite piece of advice they've received and how it's helped shape their current outlook on resilience in the workplace. And with that, let's begin. All right, everybody, and welcome to episode five of Building Resilience. Today on the podcast we have Scott G with us. Scott, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Scott:

Hi.

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Bethany:

Alright, so let's get into segment number one, career trajectory. So Scott, can you tell us a little bit about your career trajectory and the industry or industries you were in?

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Scott:

Okay. I've been a classroom teacher in elementary school for about close to 35 years. I started with the Peel District school board in January of 1991, and that's where I did 31 years in terms of trajectory. I did get my principal's qualification courses, but the year that I got those, I got married and I decided to wait. And then we had kids and then I decided not to go that route and stay in the classroom.

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Bethany:

So can you tell us a little bit about your last or most senior level role?

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Scott:

So I retired from a middle school, which is grade to eight, and I was a grade seven core classroom teacher. Core meaning the main academic courses, mathematics, language arts, geography and history and science and technology.

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Bethany:

Awesome. And so what lessons did you learn from your job transitions or shifts in your career?

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Scott:

Well, the only transitions I made would be to different levels of education. So I taught grade four and five for many years. That's the junior level. I taught grade three for two years, that's primary level. And then I ended up in the intermediate level where I taught grade seven and eight. I did teach special education at the junior level as a behaviour teacher. And each division level had its own unique aspects to which I need to learn in order to teach those grades. And those students probably, of course the biggest challenge is teaching students, but as individuals, and learning how they learn. And that's a big challenge. But there's lots of other challenges in teaching. There is a lot of pressure, a lot of stress to produce to come up with, whether it's test scores at certain levels, grade three, grade six, grade nine, grade 10. That would hopefully reflect that the kids are doing well and improving.

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Bethany:

And I'm sure it's a bit of a balancing act too, like managing a classroom and also meeting the needs of some of the individual kids too.

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Scott:

For sure. And some kids have an IEP, which is an individual education plan, not all kids do. So they would get more focused assistance due to the way that they learn and they could have a learning disability, they could a variety of things that would be covered in that. But then the rest of the kids would be considered just in a sense, regular students. But you get all levels. You have to find out how they can learn.

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Bethany:

And I guess you've probably developed a system over the years to meet those individual needs or balance those things.

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Scott:

Yes.

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Bethany:

Alright, well great. And with that, we will move into segment two, defining resilience. So segment two, defining resilience, your definition of resilience now and throughout the years. Scott, how do you define resilience at work?

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Scott:

I look at it as being able to bounce from a difficult event or a set of circumstances that don't go well. An ability to thrive in your work situation, especially when you encounter setbacks. And there's lots, I mean, as teachers, there are lots of maybe daily little, it could be a setback, it may not be a huge thing, but there's lots, because we're dealing with people, we're dealing with kids and everybody's individual. I've learned that to be resilient, you need to be adapt, you need to be flexible. And also it's important to have a positive mindset.

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Bethany:

Yeah, for sure. I mean there's a lot of different stakeholders, I guess you could say. When you're in education, you have the students, you have the parents, you have other teachers, you have administration with the principals. So definitely a lot of dynamics to deal with there. So then how would you say your definition of resilience has changed from the beginning of your career to now?

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Scott:

So part of being resilient involves our own personal wellbeing. And I would say at the beginning of my career, I probably didn't think a lot about my own wellbeing. I just would do everything maybe to the point that I'm overloaded, but that's just what you did. And maybe it might be more quantity rather than quality. And as I progressed in my career, I start to realize that my wellbeing is most important. I couldn't give if I didn't have anything to give. And then as you look at things that you do, you might be more selective. You look for maybe more quality and you don't do as many things. And there's lots of other colleagues that could pick up some of the things that might need to be done. So that's what I would kind of learned over the years. And I look at young new teachers and they've got lots of enthusiasm and they're going to change the world and that's what we want to do through kids. But then you start to realize as you are in the profession long enough, you go, maybe that's, you have a different look at it. And that's really as part of our own wellbeing.

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Bethany:

Well if you're running on empty, you're going to get burnt out sooner. And it's like when you're on an airplane and they're like, you have to put your own mask on before you help others. Exactly.

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Scott:

Exactly.

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Bethany:

Yeah. And I know I've talked to a couple of friends who are new teachers and they have a hard time kind of doing the balancing act and some of them are feeling burnt out. And I've seen too articles online saying how a lot of new teachers are quitting within five years because of the stress of teaching and dealing with students and parents and all of that. You really do have to develop a system of resilience or how to work through these challenges.

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Scott:

For sure. And I've seen many teachers over the years quit because of burnout and in teaching there's a lot of burnout and there's a lot of stress. And like you say, the expectations from all the different stakeholders can really put a lot of pressure on a teacher

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Bethany:

For sure. Can you describe a key milestone or milestones in your career that contributed to your definition of resilience?

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Scott:

I mean, I really can't think of any. I didn't have any. I mean, maybe I was a boring teacher. I just taught for 31 years, but I enjoyed every minute of it. And I mean, I look forward to going into work every day, but I don't have any specific milestone because I stayed as a classroom teacher the whole time.

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Bethany:

Right. And what's come up in some of my other interviews is a lot of people can't really describe a key milestone or milestones, but little events or I don’t know, a progression or like you said, you learn over time how to build up your resilience or build up a system that works for you. Yeah,

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Scott:

For sure.

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Bethany:

And I guess you really love teaching because you retired and then are a supply teacher now!

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Scott:

Yes. I'm teaching in a high school grade nine math as well.

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Bethany:

So in what ways did setbacks or failures redirect your career path?

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Scott:

So I never had any real setbacks. They're definitely obstacles throughout every year and I just, part of resilience is how do you deal with those? And some of them, they're small, some are bigger and might be more school-wide, but we always seem to get through them.

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Bethany:

And I think too, not ruminating on your setbacks or failures and pivoting. And I'm sure for you the lessons you learned with some students or dealing with other teachers or admin helped you get through future obstacles with those.

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Scott:

And I mean, I like humour and I often found humorous situations with kids and it really does help the saying, laughter does the heart like a medicine and it helps you through those difficult, the obstacles.

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Bethany:

So then how did mentorship or guidance shape your career path and definition of resilience?

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Scott:

I never had any mentorship kind of when started, it was kind of like sink or swim and not that I'm totally on my own. There were colleagues that I could go to senior ones and say, gee, I don't know how to do this, take any new job. And some of those colleagues might continue with help longer. And I could see in them there was always that wisdom that they, I'm new and they've taught for 30 years or whatever. And there were things that I could glean from talking to them. Today they do have a new teacher induction program and I think it's two years and it's kind of a mentorship program. And I think they've had that for a few years now, but they didn't have it when I started.

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Bethany:

Yeah, great. And I think for me, when I was in school, I could see that with some of my teachers as well. Sometimes we had a new teacher who was only a couple years in, sometimes one of the senior level teachers would come in and restore order to the classroom or give them some tips there. So then later on in your career, how did you cultivate or foster resilience within your workplace?

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Scott:

A lot of that came with colleague collaboration. We have grade level teams, we have subject specific teams, and then there's other team, other committees like an equity committee or whatever that we would work together. And a lot when you discuss kids and their individuals, there's always issues, problems. And we would work together through whatever came our way. So it was really a lot with colleagues.

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Bethany:

Great. And so moving on to segment three, tangible and timeless tips. Segment three, tangible and timeless tips, your tips for young professionals. So Scott, what strategies do you or did you use to maintain a positive mindset during difficult times at work?

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Scott:

Well, first I mentioned your personal wellbeing, take care of yourself mentally, physically, could be socially. We often had socials that, and not all staff would participate a lot depending on what it was. And I always say have an attitude of gratitude, be thankful, be grateful. It's very easily to gripe and grumble. And sadly, I mean probably in every workplace, but there's a lot of things that come in to education and a lot of teachers can gripe and grumble and it doesn't help. It doesn't help for when you talk about resilience and maybe when you're early in your career, you find those teachers that are the positive. You can tell that they are resilient and you want to glean from them many things that they've learned over their career.

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Bethany:

Yeah, I know I've been seeing a lot online, it's about changing your perspective on something. So instead of saying, Ugh, I have to do X, Y, Z, it's like I get to do X, Y, Z today. So just changing your mindset and viewing it in a more positive light. And apparently it helps for building resilience and actually enjoying certain activities is just switching it to be like, I get to do this today. I get to go into work

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Scott:

For sure. And teachers are kind of notorious for not wanting to change and I get maybe certain ways of learning how to do math or whatever. It's hard for a lot of teachers, here's a new way to do it. And it could be a total paradigm shift and sometimes you need resilience in that to be able to try this and work through that.

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Bethany:

Great. So then, or do you employ any daily habits that helped build or maintain your resilience?

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Scott:

I guess like I say, again, staying positive and try to see what positive in the kids. And I think that's important. If I see positive in them, they see that and they will reflect that not any actual habits. Again, I think it goes back to a mindset and that mindset changes over time.

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Bethany:

Yeah, great. And you mentioned a little bit about work-life balance, having things outside of work like the socials you mentioned. I know for me, I've been trying to schedule things outside of work, especially when I'm really busy at work because it gives me something to look forward to if things are really hectic. So that also helps just connecting with friends or other people. So then what advice would you give to young professionals about bouncing back from failure or missed opportunities?

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Scott:

That song, I fall down, but I get back up again. I think that's important. We find a way to bounce back and quickly, if a teacher is not bouncing back, you'd be surprised how quickly the kids pick up on that. And it does affect the classroom environment and there's lots of bumps in the road and you can't let just one bring you down. And I've seen that happen with many along the way. That one thing maybe is bigger than it really is and if they're missed opportunities, there's always going to be more

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Bethany:

For sure.

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Scott:

There's lots, I mean in teaching, there's so many ways that you can go in a school with things that you do with the kids or whatever.

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Bethany:

And I've seen online for example, if it's not this, it's something better. So maybe if you don't get the opportunity you were hoping for, well then there could be something better for you down the road. So it's important

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Scott:

For sure

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Bethany:

Not to ruminate on it again.

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Scott:

And in education in Peel board, there's 250 schools, so it's 250 work sites. And you can find one that says, Hey, they have this program there, or you just need a fresh start. And of course many teachers make changes and that's an opportunity to maybe try an opportunity somewhere else.

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Bethany:

For sure. So then burnout is a very hot topic these days. So how can young professionals balance ambition and resilience to avoid burnout?

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Scott:

So many years ago we talked about smart goals and much of that was to do with curriculum, but we also used it for ourself. So smart is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. And maybe you come up with a goal for yourself, a personal goal along the lines of a smart goal, here's a specific thing I'm going to do to whatever with this situation and maybe talk with a colleague or somebody to help with that. Most workplaces and education, they have employee assistance program. That's what it is where you can call and you can say, listen, I'm burning out. And they often will say, okay, let's make a goal here. What's one thing? And it might not seem like a big thing, but it's something that if you can achieve it, you've got some success and you might start to feel, okay, I feel better. It's not. And then along with that is managing stress, and that's a big one is to, in teaching, there's report cards, there's interviews, they're dealing with parents dealing with discipline, and there's a lot of stress. I think I've heard teaching is the second most stressful job, but I know we did that, it's a number of years ago. But I still talk about smart goals because you can use that for anywhere in your life or your profession.

 

Bethany:

And I think I've seen it online, for example, you kind of touched on setting achievable or incremental goals almost, and just having a little checklist of easy things to check off or easy goals to manage when you're feeling overwhelmed. So that's not a huge feat, but maybe just incremental steps to get there.

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Scott:

Right, baby steps.

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Bethany:

Yes, baby steps. So then what advice would you give to young professionals in terms of building their resilience and maintaining a positive mindset?

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Scott:

Well, we talk about growth mindset and with that, how can I continually improve? For myself, I was like, okay, how can I do this better? It might be just, maybe it's curriculum and boy, I did this with the class and they're just not getting it, so what can I do differently? And sometimes you collaborate with your colleagues and say, I'm doing this, why aren't they getting it? I'm teaching grade nine math right now, and I talked to the other two grade nine math teachers and there are certain topics that we've done already this year that the kids just don't get. So how do we go back and maybe redo that lesson? And that's part of resilience is because I could just go, oh my goodness, they don't get it. I'm a bad teacher and I get, I'm teaching math, so a lot of kids don't like math, and if I let that affect me, that can bring me down.

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Bethany:

I think that's so important. The growth mindset and what can I do differently? Some teachers that I've had in the past, if the class didn't get something, they'd be like, well, you guys just don't get it. And they wouldn't take the feedback or they wouldn't explain it in any different way. They'd just explain it again the same way. So I think that's so important, being able to take that feedback or understand that the students aren't understanding something and attempting it differently and searching for strategies to do that.

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Scott:

For sure.

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Bethany:

Yeah. So what tips would you give to young professionals in terms of cultivating or fostering resilience within their teams at work?

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Scott:

I guess that's still along the same way, a growth mindset that I'm doing things that will help me to improve. And sometimes it's changing the ways that I'm so used to doing, and that's not teaching curriculum, but it could be how I approach things. And I mean, we do a lot as teams at work and that collaboration, just being able to say, Hey, you know what? I'm really having a hard time with this. And someone might say, Hey, you know what, I've been there. I've done that. I tried this, and that's important with your teams or whatever they are at your work.

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Bethany:

Great. And then we talk about resilience, but I think another important part of maintaining your mental health is also knowing when to walk away from a toxic environment or a job that isn't right for you. So what would you say are some things to consider if someone is contemplating either sticking it out or finding another job?

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Scott:

Well, there's lots of, in the schools I've been in there, I've seen many toxic work environments. If I'm feeling affected by that, I could go to the union and it's not just about a grievance or something, they can almost counsel in a way and how to get through that. I've stuck it out under several admin that were toxic and it takes a lot for me to move on. I do my thing. And sometimes you can kind of separate yourself from that, but you can move on. And at least in teaching, there are lots of possibilities. I was at a school where we had a principal for 11 and a half years. It was absolutely wonderful. Everybody loved him. And then he retired and then a principal came in that was almost like a dictator. And at the end of the first year, 22 staff left. And that's a lot for a school. I decided to leave. I said, you know what? I've been here a long time. I'd been there 19 years. I said, maybe I need to see something different. So I moved to a middle school. So that's always a possibility, especially if it's a toxic environment that affects, that can spread very quickly through an organization. So I mean, getting help for yourself first, depending how it affects you, but then also you can move on. And so many teachers and staff move for that very reason.

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Bethany:

And I think too, being a part or being part of a toxic environment can sometimes help you learn what your boundaries are

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Scott:

For sure.

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Bethany:

What am I willing to put up with or work through and what do I need to just walk away from?

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Scott:

Yeah.

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Bethany:

And then what are your tips for young professionals on seeking support from their bosses when needed?

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Scott:

I guess I would, for myself, I would kind of move up the organization. You definitely are able to go to a principal or a vice principal, maybe before that I might of check things out with a colleague. And if I don't seem like I'm getting what I need, then maybe the vice principal and then maybe the principal together. But you work up that as needed. You may not want to start always going to the principal with an issue because they're looking at how you can handle some of those things rather than always going to them. But I think that's in same in most organizations.

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Bethany:

Yeah, I would say I sometimes take a similar approach. I mean, I have a good relationship with my boss, and so I'll go to her with any questions or concerns that I have. But sometimes if it's just a smaller problem or something that I can deal with on my own, I might just ask one of the coworkers on my level for their opinion.

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Scott:

And I was going to say the principal that I had for 11 and a half years, you could go to him with anything and he was just down to earth and he might direct you somewhere. The one who came in after him, you didn't want to go there because she would make things a lot bigger than they really are. And she liked to micromanage and teachers tended not to go even to her vice principals because she expected those vice principals to be similar management style

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Bethany:

For sure. And I'm a big believer in the fact that I think difficult conversations don't have to blow up to something bigger. I think that, I don't know, I've had colleagues in the past that don't want to talk about difficult issues because I think it's going to blow up or cause a huge issue or a scene or whatever it might be. And I think that you can have a difficult situation, but you can talk through it like a normal conversation. It doesn't have to blow up into something big.

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Scott:

No. And you don't want it to blow up.

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Bethany:

No.

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Scott:

And so I think that's from management style, how do they contain it and deal with

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Bethany:

It? Yeah, for sure. Great. So moving into our next segment and our last segment, your favourite piece of advice. So segment four, your favourite piece of advice. Could you please share your favourite piece of advice and how it shaped your outlook on resilience?

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Scott:

I don't have any specific favourite piece of advice, but I would say to try and enjoy every day. I know that sounds very maybe cliche, but they are students and there's going to be issues every day. And tell yourself why you're there. You're there for the kids. I heard a teacher who won some teacher award and the media asked him, well, what do you teach? He said, students, no, no, no. What do you teach? And he said, students, he said, I teach students first. And I would try to keep myself tell that to myself. And yes, the subjects are kind of secondary. We are trying to help kids really problem solve through a subject, but for life. So that would be the only, I guess, advice I would give. And every day is a new day. You had a bad day yesterday. You go back today and go, hey, it's a new day.

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Bethany:

All right. Well that's a great note to end us on. So stay tuned everybody for the next episode of Building Resilience. And Scott, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Scott:

Thanks for having me.

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Sources Used:

“Gentle pop song for podcast, intro and outro music” prompt. Suno AI, 4 Oct 2024. Version V4, https://suno.com/.

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“Red headed woman interviewing brown haired man for podcast” CANVA AI. 2024 version. 14 October 2024. https://www.canva.com/

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Rev AI. 2024 version. 24 November 2024. https://www.rev.com/services/ai-transcription