The Power of Metacognitive Resilience
When participants finish one of our Meseekna simulations*, they often focus their attention on the period leading up to a crisis situation. We hear “how could I have seen this coming? What could I have done differently from the beginning? I thought the crisis was going to be that, not this! ”
A majority of participants will also reflect on their management of the actual crisis, while others will shrug and suggest “It happened too fast! I didn’t have enough time to react.”
The participants that demonstrate the strongest overall performance (the superstar entrepreneurs, the rockstar surgeons, the beloved leaders) always choose, unprompted, to also reflect on the post-crisis period. They spend time analyzing critical issues reflective of superior metacognitive thinking such as…“When was the crisis truly over? What fallout do I still need to take care of? What did I miss doing? How is everyone now?”
These participants demonstrate metacognitive resilience preceding, during and critically after a crisis.
We often define resilience in emotional terms: the ability to rebound from a difficult situation. However, this tends to be a narrower definition with the focus solely on the emotional aspects of resilience- not the metacognitive aspects of resilience
Metacognitive resilience is the mental agility required to quickly reframe a VUCAD rich situation. Showcasing metacognitive resilience at a high level requires two key elements of thinking:
Strategic thinking where responses are framed to integrate multiple elements including the impact of the crisis to the future
Rapid and flexible thinking where responses are framed to respond to the changing and evolving nature of the interaction between different elements in the situation.
The Key Elements of Metacognitive Resilience
Strategic Thinking
An individual is able to see beyond the curve, predict the future behavior of key stakeholders, and adapt their responses and behavior in the present accordingly.
Real World Examples:
The owner of a popular pizzeria hears news of the shutdown, and rather than transitioning her staff to takeout only and conducting layoffs, she closes the restaurant, hires a web developer, starts selling pizza kits online and reaches out to the local news for coverage.
An undergraduate student in biology research hears news of the pandemic and realizes that his thesis work will likely be stalled if it’s heavily dependent on in person laboratory research, so adjusts his topic slightly to avoid delays.
Rapid and Flexible Thinking
An individual is able to adapt quickly with out of the box thinking in the present moment based on the current and erratic behavior of other stakeholders influenced by VUCAD.
Real World Examples:
New parents taking their toddler out to the park are being vigilant about social distancing. However, they are soon approached by good friends with another toddler. The adults stay six feet apart, but the toddlers are crawling within a few feet of each other. One father laughs and comments on how futile the exercise really is, but the other quickly scoops up his toddler, placing her on his shoulders as a fun distraction and way to keep distance.
While grocery shopping, a group of roommates find that it’s impossible to find more disposable cleaning wipes. Instead, they pick up cleaning solution and washable rags to make their own cleaning wipes, and extra laundry detergent to compensate for the additional laundry loads.
Ways To Develop Metacognitive Resilience
While displaying metacognitive resilience will often lead others to remark on how “smart” or “brilliant” an individual is; in reality, anyone can develop these skills with practice and training.
At Meseekna, we encourage individuals to develop their metacognitive resilience in several ways.
Create a VUCAD Plan
A VUCAD plan will greatly help your functioning during the actual crisis period. Regardless of where you live and the lockdown situations in your state, for metacognitive purposes, we are all still within the recent COVID-19 crisis period. We have made this tool free for individuals, and easy to access with points of entry via SMS (text “VUCAD” to 1–205–813–0695), Messenger (message us “VUCAD”), and web portal.
Assess Present Behavior of Others
Take a moment to assess the behavior of others around you in the present moment. What are people doing that surprises you? What has impressed you? What do you think is dangerous or smart? Ask yourself how you can adapt to their behavior to attain your present goals.
Assess Your Future Goals
Take a moment to re-assess your future goals and how they may have been impacted by COVID-19. Identify steps that you may need to take to preserve these goals. Keep in mind what others in your position may be doing and be creative in your approach.
Find A Resilience Buddy
The buddy system is a popular technique for a reason- it works in all kinds of different situations, including in metacognitive training.
We are currently offering a promotion on our Metacognitive Resilience training track when you sign up with a buddy. Our rationale was simple- for many people, it’s easier to develop your metacognitive resilience with a sounding board and partner!
In every moment of great VUCAD, there is great opportunity. My hope is that today, while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we seize on the opportunity to cultivate and nurture our own metacognitive resilience. Our recognition of the forces of VUCAD and metacognitive resilience are the strongest tools we have when we are facing paradigm shifts.
*A Meseekna simulation is an experiential web-based technology that allows us to measure metacognition on a variety of validated parameters. For more information, please reach out to us online.
