Associations and the Recovery Mindset
As I continue my recovery from a broken leg, the bone is healed. It’s all the other moving parts that still need to recover and strengthen – the tendons and ligaments that hold the knee joint together as well as the underused muscles that weakened due to 2 months of bedrest.
People are curious as to when I’ll be walking again or climbing the stairs. When it comes to recovery, though, there are no set deadlines, unlike project management. It takes as long as it takes but full recovery is dependent on mindset more than anything else. All the “new” habits need to be overcome, like not using a leg that needs to work again, as well as overcoming the admonitions from health care providers and family to be careful and not to push it.
Encouraging caution can be detrimental to full recovery because it also encourages doing less, or worse, doing nothing.
In my situation, while the bone healing is complete, there are many layers of recovery to go. It takes a toll the longer recovery goes on – it’s like seeing something very close to you that you want to grab but it is just out of reach. Having the resilience of a strong and focused mindset is essential to changing (again) back to the better habits and self-reliant activities of the “before time,” which is pre-injury or illness for an individual and pre-unexpected turn of events for an organization.
My current experience with recovery – it’s still ongoing – is reminding me that much of what holds us back is US. We need to rebuild confidence. We need to calm our emotions. We need to be willing to accept some pain to reach our goal. The pain is not fun but it is part of the recovery process; it’s a sign that you are using muscles and tendons that have not been used for a long time. Sometimes, pain is an indication of progress.
Associations need a strong mindset, too, in order to weather the ups, downs, and unexpected turns that affect organizational success and stability. Association recovery requires letting go of the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mindset because it is not going to get you past obstacles. It won’t allow you to move forward to where you need to be. Associations need to look deeper than the surface to adapt and thrive; you can’t just make it look better -- It has to BE better and that requires a change in thinking. Layers exist in any difficult situation whether it is personal or professional – identifying and responding to these multiple layers requires a flexible and curious mindset.
Organizational culture is the association’s mindset. Are you a culture that is risk averse? Then you likely will play it safe and ignore the multiple factors affecting successful outcomes – and wonder why your organization’s muscles are atrophying. Are you a culture that encourages questioning and risking failure? Then you are more likely to be aware of the multiple levels of performance required to move forward after things go wrong. Your organization’s muscles will recover because your mindset is strong and able to handle the emotional, mental, and physical requirements of recovering from a setback.
Recovery is not for the weak of heart, or the undisciplined of mind. It requires resilience and commitment. Rebuilding strength and confidence for individuals or organizations requires the willingness to examine what we are doing that is holding us back. Resilience comes from sometimes painful experience; the inactive and the “status quo-ers” do not build resilience because they do nothing uncomfortable. Overcoming mental, emotional, and physical obstacles is what builds resilience and leads to recovery, whether it’s a broken leg or a cancelled conference that affects revenue.
