The Bottom Line

That brings me to the three interconnected parts of well-being: (1) self, (2) other, and (3) system (see figure I.1). These three components create wellbeing in workplaces (see Compassionate Systems Leadership, n.d.b; K–12 Staff Wellbeing BC Network, n.d.).

Self

Other System

Figure I.1: The three interconnected parts of well-being.

People often think about self-care when others talk about workplace wellbeing. Looking after yourself and your health is essential for well-being, so I will start there, with the self—the first interconnected part of well-being—and address what is helpful about traditional self-care models and where educators need to do better. I will also expand on the traditional model of self-care to include social-emotional learning (SEL) practices like self-awareness and emotional regulation that many organizations teach students, but are often not habits educators intentionally practice as adults. SELf-care tools are practices like noticing where you hold feelings in your body or talking to yourself like you would to a good friend when you make a mistake. These tools are simple but hugely impactful practices leaders can use for themselves and model for their teams.

The second part of the triad—other—is all about the connection and care people have for one another at work. I will explore the power of belonging and connection and how to harness this power in your work teams. The need for connection is true for all successful teams, whether you are leading the district finance department or a school principal leading your school team. The research in this area is fascinating and can help leaders understand which elements contribute to team performance and how to develop, encourage, and model these practices in schools and other workplaces.

The final interconnected and essential part of well-being is the system. This is sometimes the part leaders don’t get to because it seems too big, or they feel too powerless to make change at a schoolwide or districtwide level. What parts of the system add to your well-being? What parts get in the way? These things may be at any level of your system, from the classroom to the ministry of education or district office. What would happen if you started making your decisions and creating your practices and policies through the lens of well-being? At the systems level, even small changes can have a big impact.

Let’s look at how I’ve structured this book to help support you to think, feel, and act for yourself, others, and your organization.

Chapter 1 discusses why well-being matters and how it directly links to some of the main purposes of education. It reviews the powerful research showing how growing well-being links to success, health, and happiness, and how the well-being of the adults in the system has a direct link to positive student outcomes. This chapter also makes the business case for well-being and shows the direct impact that addressing well-being can have on school and district budgets and staffing challenges.

Chapters 2 through 5 focus on each of the three parts of well-being. Chapter 2 introduces the self as the first of the three interconnected parts of well-being. It’s about how you can take care of yourself as an individual and how to promote and support self-care as a school or district leader. It explores promising self-care practices and what the research says about these practices and the best ways for leaders to support them. I expand on the traditional physical health concept of self-care many workplaces and human resources departments practice to also include the important social-emotional skills educators know are also important parts of health and well-being.

Chapter 3 introduces the other as the second part of well-being; it is about how educators support and lift up one another toward greater success. It’s also about the need for connection with others and the importance of belonging. This chapter provides leaders with ways to harness the power of this innate neurobiological need to support and create teams where people are at their best. I will explore what the research says about how belonging and connection can improve wellbeing and impact group function and performance.

Chapter 4 continues the discussion of other with a description of psychological safety and why it is so important to the well-being of individuals and teams. The chapter explains the importance of psychological safety and how leaders can create it, restore it, or both.

Chapter 5 introduces the final part—system—and is about how leaders can make and support systemic change. Through research and examples, this chapter describes ways to have impacts on the system that are immediately actionable and which may appear like small changes, but actually have significant impact. This chapter also describes working toward larger systems change and how to move that work forward and make the changes sustainable over time.

A conclusion shares a call for educators to work intentionally together, and provides a summary of the importance of having all three parts working together.

All three interconnected parts of this work (self, other, and system) will take courage—courage to reflect on your own practice, explore and ask questions, and try new things. This book invites you to feel, think, and take action toward well-being in your workplace. Are you ready to dive in with me?