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Great News, Hot off the Press! We are now SkillsFuture Claimable!

 

You can now claim up to 70% of course fees through SkillsFuture Credit when you enrol as a Certified Behavioural Consultant!

 

FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO REDEEM YOUR SKILLSFUTURE CREDIT:

 

  1. Register/Login to My SkillsFuture Portal. 
  2. Click here to the course directory.
  3. Once you have registered for the course, it’s time to redeem your credit.
  4. Login with your SingPass account and submit a claim.
  5. Click here for more information.

 

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When stress takes a toll, what can you do to help?

400 Suicide Cases In 2019, Rising SOS Calls During Covid-19

Mental health professionals advise that more help is needed during the Covid-19 pandemic as more people are expressing a sense of hopelessness this year, some even contemplating suicide.

Suicide is a tragedy that has been on the rise. It often stems from a deep feeling of hopelessness and the inability to seek solutions to problems or cope with challenging life circumstances. This may result in taking one’s own life thinking that it is the only way to find a resolution.

Statistically, suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged 10-29 years old in Singapore. Reported by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), there were a total of 400 reported suicides cases in 2019 – of which more than 66% were males. Comparing these numbers with transport accidents within the year, suicide amounts to three times the death toll,  

“With so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it’s hard to predict how long people will continue to struggle” – Dr Goh Kah Hong, Senior Consultant of Psychological Medicine, The Straits Times

Rising SOS Calls During Covid-19 

SOS, a crisis and suicide intervention non-profit organisation reported an 18% increase of crisis-related calls amidst the pandemic.

Significant stressors placed upon a vulnerable individual already under strain can tip one over to becoming suicidal. The Singapore Counselling Centre also reported a 40% increase in the number of clients from 2019 to 2020

How To Know If Someone Has Suicidal Ideation?

With the dire need to pay attention to these rising numbers, we sat down with Danny (not his real name), who works at a family services welfare organisation and volunteers at the National Care Hotline. He shared with us 4 steps to identify suicidal ideation:

Insight From A Mental Health Professional

Danny (not his real name) shared the importance for us to be able to notice and attend to those who exhibit these signs. Within the Asian culture, it is often taboo for us to talk about suicide or mental health. However, after attending a course on suicide, he learned the best way to tackle the looming mental health crisis is to simply ask those exhibiting these warning signs:

“Are you contemplating suicide?”

As startling as this may seem, this allows you to focus and direct the conversation to what is already lingering in their mind. Since they are already revealing these suicidal invitations, you should carry the conversation and let them know that there is still hope amidst their despair.

Make A Difference

After asking the question, what should you do next?

As an untrained professional, it is not your duty to provide the solution when conversing with a suicidal individual. Instead, offer them a safe space to express emotions, rant and share their stories. Acknowledge their feelings and help them gain clarity on their thoughts — that suicide is no solution. Guide them to speak with professionals such as Singapore community services, family service centres, or seek private counseling. It is important that they recognise they are not alone, and support is readily available.

If you would like to explore ways in which you can do your part in supporting those experiencing severe and harmful stress, contact our team at admin@lifeskillsinstitute.sg or +65 6346 1455 to understand the learning and development courses available.

From our stress management courses to accrediting you as a trained stress management consultant, we equip you to build personal resilience before stress takes a heavy toll on one’s mind and body. Our courses will also pair you with multiple tools to help those around you build awareness around daily stressors and formulate tangible strategies to healthily manage stress.

 

Additional Support

Samaritans Of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association For Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute Of Mental Health’s Mobile Crisis Service: 6389-2222

Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800

Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 

Written By: Syahin Insyirah SAK

Edited By: Bryan Tio

 

References:

The Strait Times (2021, 16 March) More needed help during Covid-19 pandemic, say mental health experts. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-needed-help-during-pandemic-say-mental-health-experts

The Strait Times (2021, 16 March) Spike in calls to suicide prevention agency SOS in 2020 as more in distress amid Covid-19. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spike-in-calls-to-sos-last-year-as-more-in-distress-amid-pandemic-0

Samaritans of Singapore (2020, August) No drop in total suicide in 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.sos.org.sg/pressroom/sos-media-release-2020

The Strait Times (2021, 11 July )S’pore youth aim to take the stress out of mental distress. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-youth-aim-to-take-the-stress-out-of-mental-distress

Samaritans of Singapore (2019/2020) Annual Report. Retrieved from: https://www.sos.org.sg/media/annual-reports

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It’s Here: ✨ Lifeskills Institute 25th Year Scholarship Prizes ✨

In celebration of our 25th anniversary, Lifeskills Institute is awarding four scholarships to eligible applicants. It is aimed at enabling and equipping individuals who continuously strive to create a positive impact and support others and their communities in the people development space

 

Benefits

  • Up to SGD10,000 worth of globally accredited certification courses and competency development opportunities per successful applicant
  • Each scholarship awarded is tenable for one year
  • Scholarship Includes: Certified Behavioural Consultant, Certified Advanced Behavioural Consultant, Certified Stress Management Consultant, Certified Career Coach

 

Eligibility Criteria

  • This scholarship is open to all nationalities (online certification track is available to overseas participants)
  • Academic and/or workplace experience in the people development industry 
  • Good character record and contribution to the community at large 
  • Demonstrated leadership qualities, communication skills, and a willingness to positively impact others
  • Applicants must be 21 years old and above

 

Application Period

1 July to 31 July 2021

 

 

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A Stress Management Guide For The Different Personalities

Managing our stress and building resilience is an essential life skill we need to have to thrive through this pandemic. We focus on helping you adopt a healthy mindset toward stress, equip you with the skillset to manage your stress effectively, and even provide you with the toolset to begin helping those around you!

Connect with our coaches and consultants who are here to support you on this journey. From stress management webinars, workshops, and certifications, to simply scheduling a time in search of a listening ear.

 

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What’s New About Our New Hybrid Training Format?

Technology opens to a world of opportunities and allows learners to reach beyond the classroom. We bring together traditional and digital learning techniques to enable organisations to leverage on the best of both modes.
  • For the leaders of an organisation, blended training is a responsive, cost-effective means of training the entire company 
  • For supervisors, blended training is a practical method of ensuring consistency in content delivery in addition to facilitating hands-on classroom training
  • For workers, blended training offers flexibility in timing and can be adapted to the individual’s learning style and existing knowledge base

 

By using blended/hybrid training approach, organisations and individuals can take advantage of the flexibility and convenience of online training while still retaining the benefits of the face-to-face classroom experience.

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Preparing for tomorrow’s LEADERS, TODAY!

How identifying personality types can benefit our youths

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” – A frequent question through our adolescent years. While usually asked in an unassuming way, youths are becoming increasingly invested in planning out their career paths at a young age. The challenge – many are at loss on how to start their journey of self-discovery.

At Lifeskills Institute, we guide students with the first step of learning more about their unique personalities.

DISC Profiling tool

Our DISC profiling tool provides a common language that one can use to develop self-awareness by identifying their Dominant, Influencing, Steady or Compliant personality traits. This offers us a glimpse into the kind of work that we would find most engaging. This clarity at a young age enables students to gain a competitive advantage by tapping into their strengths and acknowledging their weaknesses. This additionally builds upon their self-confidence as they navigate through their developmental years.

 

 

 

Workshop – Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School

Students at AIPS were fascinated by the DISC tool which empowered them to understand what makes them uniquely different. Every class was coupled with our team of passionate trainers and facilitators who played an integral part to help students with their personal growth through experiential learning, educational activities and quizzes.

 

 

 

 

Activities Conducted

Quicksand, Fireball and Build a Tower were three activities Lifeskills selected for students to challenge themselves, think outside the box and thrive in a team setting. A blend of videos and audio clips were used to appeal to our visual and auditory learners by keeping them engaged in learning.

Beyond identifying their personalities, students also explored their motivations along with their preferred learning styles (AVK). The consolidated set of DISC & AVK data would serve helpful to all teachers when it comes to classroom management and guiding individual students along. To conclude, uplifting notes of encouragement were exchanged amongst peers to promote the spirit of camaraderie and cohesiveness in each class.

 

 Personal Reflection

I was impressed by the entire workshop which had a great balance in incorporating numerous experiential activities and theoretical knowledge which conveys the training session in a beneficial and fun manner. Watching the student’s radiant enthusiasm reminded me of my younger self, who was eternally curious and repeatedly ask the question – WHY. I believe this workshop is a foundational stepping stone for young leaders to kickstart their journey of self-discovery and will go the extra mile in achieving their onward goals.

 

 

 

 

At Lifeskills, we aim to equip our young leaders to be confident, compassionate and courageous in paving their way forward!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Syahin Insyirah SAK, Business Development Executive (Intern)

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Research: 7 Ways to Become a More Resilient Leader

RESILIENCE: ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND DISAPPOINTMENT

A resilient leader is a person who demonstrates the ability to see failures as minor setbacks, with the tenacity to bounce back quickly. 

WHY IS RESILIENCE IMPORTANT?

Building resilience is imperative to becoming a leader who can successfully navigate through challenges and guide others with courage and conviction. In a recent study by Zenger Folkman, it was found that leaders with high levels of resilience are viewed as being more effective by their managers, peers, and direct reports. Research shows that firms imbued with resilience don’t just survive, but they thrive in the face of change and uncertainty.

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover from, or quickly adjust to, difficulties. Some call it toughness. It’s one of the key traits of effective leadership. When faced with ambiguity, a resilient leader finds ways to move forward and avoids getting stuck. Many studies have indicated the importance of resilience as both an individual and a leadership trait.

When leaders have the perseverance to keep going in tough times, they’re better able to transform crises into breakthroughs and accomplish a lot with very little.

Zenger Folkman collected data on more than 500 leaders using an assessment that measures resilience along with nine other leadership competencies. The assessment used ratings from managers, peers, direct reports and others on 40 behaviours. We looked at the impact of leaders who rated highest on resilience (the top 10%) versus those rated at the (bottom 10%). When we looked at ratings of overall leadership effectiveness, it is obvious that the most resilient leaders are viewed as the most effective leaders as well.

The graph below shows the different ratings for the two groups: 

 

Zenger Folkman Resiliency Study

 

Having A Preference For Resiliency

The assessment also consists of a self-assessment survey with a global database of more than 1,300 responses. They collected preference data on a variety of factors including resilience. When they looked at people with a strong preference for resilience, they found they were quick to take action and act independently. The most resilient people were more reactive than thoughtful and more focused on action than relationships. They were also more willing to take risks and make decisions quickly. Being resilient as an individual, and being viewed as a resilient leader, requires that you bring others along with you.

 What Can Leaders Do to Demonstrate Resiliency?

To understand the key behaviours that help leaders demonstrate their resiliency Zenger Folkman compared the most resilient leaders to the least on 37 behaviours and selected the top 20 that showed the most significant difference. We then factor analyzed the data and identified 7 factors. We believe that these are enabling behaviours that help individual leaders demonstrate their resilience to others. For a leader who is trying to be more resilient, we believe that improvement on even a few of these factors will help. 

Communicate Powerfully: Some individuals will often act individually and not inform others about what they are trying to do. When driving down the freeway, we always appreciate it when people signal before they change lanes. Signalling lets others know your intentions. The most resilient leaders are effective at communicating their intentions to others. They were willing to help others understand a new strategy or direction. Effective communication helps others understand changes, expectations, and new directions.

Are Coachable: Resilient leaders are open to feedback and often asked others for feedback. Once feedback is given they also demonstrate a real effort to improve. They have a strong desire to continuously improve their skills and abilities. These leaders were both humble and coachable. As we look at this skill we see that younger employees are often coachable, but many people become less coachable as they age. The most resilient leaders, however, continue to ask for feedback throughout their careers.

Build Positive/Trusting Relationships: Resilient leadership occurs when people can bring others along. By building trust and being open to differences, these leaders are able to create strong teams by building positive relationships. An individual may be willing to make a dramatic change, but it requires positive relationships to get others to support change.

Are Bold Risk Takers: Resilient individuals are willing to take bold risks and try new ideas. It is easy for most individuals to be stuck in a rut in which they continue to conduct work in the same way from year to year. That approaches works well until the world changes, requiring organizations to change or die. Resilient leaders are not afraid to take risks and make bold changes.

Develop Others: The most resilient leaders were not only interested in their own development but they are concerned about the development of others. Resiliency is needed when we encounter failure. Developing others helps everyone to learn from their mistakes. We continue to find that leaders who want feedback for themselves are more likely to give productive feedback and coaching to others because they want honest feedback as well.

Champion Change: Resilient leaders are willing to change and able to provide the leadership to ensure that the organization will also change. Change takes courage and requires a vision about where the organization is going. Resilient leaders embrace change and also encourage others to change.

Are Decisive: Making decisions is always difficult because no person has all the data or understands all eventualities. But organisations cannot move forward until a decision gets made. The most resilient leaders are effective at making decisions and moving forward. If they make the wrong decision, they are quick to make a different decision and move in another direction. The proverb by Cato “Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster” fits well here.

How To Be More Resilient

Resilient leaders are perceived more positively in an organisation, but it’s sometimes difficult to understand specifically what a leader can do to be viewed as more resilient. The seven characteristics above are the result of research from more than 500 leaders.

When it comes to leaders, being able to implement resilience tools and strategies will not only make you a better leader but help the company overall. Choosing to improve on even a few of these factors will help you to be seen as more resilient.

 

Article contributed by Joe Folkman

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5 Daily Strategies For Personal Development

What are you good at? What makes you thrive?

Personal development refers to the development of one’s character, interpersonal skills, the ability to pick up on social cues, and communication abilities. They are important because they allow you to create strategic and tactical plans for personal and professional growth to better achieve your goals.

Developing these skills requires constant self-improvement that is focused on strengthening your knowledge, capabilities, and self-awareness to reach your personal goals both personally and professionally.

Personal skills are also highly transferable, since your attitude, personality, and work style automatically follow you everywhere you go and to any company that you work for. Soft skills can complement your hard skills, making you a well-rounded candidate that will be a positive addition to any team.

The most effective way to hone your personal development skills is to work them into your daily routines by first identifying the areas for development and constantly finding ways to improve them: 

These are a few tips on how you can improve on your personal development skills to benefit your life and your work. Focus on developing the skills that will best help you reach your goals.

Personal development is a lifelong process that does not happen overnight. It requires deliberate and consistent effort to bring about truly meaningful change, so give yourself the time and space to grow! 

We hope you find these tips useful and applicable. Unlike hard skills, we are unconsciously practicing soft skills all the time, both at work and at home.

Start thinking about where you would like to improve and seek resources to help you achieve your goals!

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