Stress In Teams

During the expert session, Kilian engages the audience through a Q&A session, live demonstrations of mindfulness practices, and interactive exercises using the Mentimeter app. These activities help participants explore the impact of social connections on well-being, learn effective coping mechanisms for managing stress and burnout, and discuss strategies for maintaining relationships in remote work environments.

• Cultivating Strong Connections: Maintaining social connections is vital for overall well-being and happiness. In a remote work setting, consistent communication and regular check-ins with colleagues are essential to ensure everyone's emotional health.
• Addressing the Unique Challenges of Remote Work: Young adults, singles, and older adults may face more difficulties adapting to remote work due to the absence of in-person interactions. Employers should prioritize creating hybrid work environments that allow individuals to strike a balance between working from home for personal freedom and maintaining connections with their team members.
• Practicing Proactive Self-Care: Regularly assessing your emotional state and addressing potential stressors before they escalate is crucial in preventing burnout. Prioritizing self-care activities, setting realistic goals, and practicing mindfulness techniques are effective ways to enhance overall well-being and improve resilience.

In this expert session, Kilian Wawoe leads a thought-provoking discussion on managing stress within teams, specifically focusing on the challenges posed by remote work. The conversation explores various strategies to identify and alleviate stress, including prioritization, regular check-ins, and creating a transparent team culture.

Kilian begins by diving into the complex relationship between stress and the human brain, emphasizing the importance of understanding the root cause to effectively manage it. He highlights that stress can originate from any part of our brain – reptilian, emotional, or neocortex – and discusses how each region responds differently.

He shares examples of how simple stimuli can trigger a stress response, bypassing the neocortex entirely. In modern society, information overload can lead to chronic stress, which can negatively impact our cognitive abilities and emotional regulation, eventually causing various health issues or even death. Burnout situations often result in an ineffective neocortex, leading to chaotic behavior and further exacerbating emotional dysregulation.

As the conversation progresses, Kilian emphasizes the importance of a coach's role in guiding individuals towards finding their own solutions rather than imposing them. When dealing with someone experiencing stress, empathy and understanding are crucial before suggesting healthy coping mechanisms like regular exercise, proper nutrition, and social support.

The topic of mindfulness practices, such as meditation and deep breathing, arises as an effective method for managing stress and anxiety. Additionally, practicing gratitude and engaging in joyful activities contribute significantly to maintaining overall well-being.

Symptoms of burnout or stress include feeling overwhelmed, lacking motivation, exhaustion, and physical and emotional disconnection. To prevent or manage these conditions, prioritizing self-care, setting realistic goals, practicing mindfulness, and seeking support are essential. The conversation briefly touches upon the concept of positive psychology, focusing on enhancing well-being, happiness, and personal growth rather than addressing mental health issues directly.

Throughout the session, Kilian stresses the importance of maintaining social connections and relationships for overall well-being. He acknowledges that remote work may make it more challenging to maintain these connections and emphasizes the need for consistent communication and checking in on colleagues. The session concludes by highlighting the significance of hybrid work environments where individuals can strike a balance between working from home and maintaining team connections.

The opportunity for participants to ask questions and engage further is available at the end of this expert session.

Money and Happiness

Kilian gives an intriguing leqture on the effect of money and other incentives to reward behaviour. What really influences people? What works and what doesn’t. Which rewards are socially acceptable and how does this vary in different cultures? Discover whether we look at rewards mostly rationally or emotionally, what makes people tick and how you can motivate others. Join Kilian in this session and learn about the psychology of money and happiness.