The Maori people saw a long white cloud on their approach from the sea and ‘Aotearoa’ was fondly named. 

A land where beauty is so common, your eyes become accustomed to the intense green of the vegetation and contrasting blue of the sea and the sky. A land where the people have a deep sense of self, community culture and are not afraid to be themselves! A land once visited, you will forever carry a piece of it in your heart and your mind. To experience living in New Zealand has had a profound and lasting impact on my life and work and here is why…

In this blog we will take a look at the Kiwi way, preventing burnout and what we can learn from forward thinking programmes. I want to delve deeper into the solutions and what I can offer from my experience…. read on to find out what I have in store for you- the loyal blog follower and how you can help make a difference!

But first, let’s look at the workplace in a secondary school north of Auckland. I was well aware of the restorative approach to teaching having completed a placement in NZ in 2010, but 7 years on it was proven that Kiwi’s don’t like to be stagnant in their practice.

Lessons from Kiwi kids and teachers.

On starting work as a teacher of PE and Health I was excited and arrived with an open mind. Little did I know, ‘open-minded’ meant – forget all perceptions of classroom and behaviour management and refresh! Seriously, I had to start over… It was relationships over task, relationships over workload, relationships over logistics- relationships trumped absolutely everything! Everything! This took me a number of weeks to understand and grasp. I discovered that I had to build and maintain genuine relationships with all learners. Relationships that weren’t based on manipulation, scaremongering, or persuasion that I had previously been prone to using in order to get ahead. Kiwi kids really did not respond to displays of frustration, displeasure, disappointment and certainly not to shouting as explained in an earlier blog on the Ego.

It was the complete and genuine relationship building (that took weeks even months) that calmed my teaching down. I went from constantly; bossing, managing, dictating, shouting and screaming orders to; stepping back, facilitating, coaching and mentoring! It feels so natural to teach in this way and my ‘bite rate’ significantly reduced. The amount of times I would negatively frame behaviours reduced, in line with my ability to not sweat the small stuff. It goes without saying that I still maintained boundaries and safe teaching practices but had no need to prioritise how I felt over what was right to do in the moment.

Thanks goes to…

So for all of this learning firstly, I am recognising the Kiwi kids for their sturdy righteousness! They were the ones to prioritise a strong student/teacher relationship to allow the rest to naturally follow. Secondly, I learned a lot from my fellow PE staff who were all Kiwi’s themselves and were naturals at leading kids holistically. At times I witnessed pure genius in action as they gained positive results for even the most difficult of learners! And finally for the true delivery of  holistic teaching- my thanks goes to the Maori teacher who embodied the principles in practice. With such ease and grace he guided learners by showing the true definition of what it means to be culturally responsive. He gave meaning, purpose and value through his pedagogy, cultivating true leadership in learning.

As a result of this philosophy my energy levels when teaching increased, my mood on a Sunday evening and at the beginning of the day improved. My ability to control feelings of anger, rage, disgust and frustration all altered as well as levels of physical and mental health.

Sustainable energy consumption.

As I reflect on this experience I realise that I have learned how to enjoy teaching without sacrificing my physical and mental health. I know that this is a totally new concept as many of us see stressed and overworked teachers all around us. I may also not be the only one who thought to myself (in an exhausted state);

“It’s the nature of the job, teachers all around me feel the same so I must be doing a good job..?”

I also realise how important it is to understand your body and mind to understand stress management. Just because everyone else is suffering from poor health does not make it ok, it means we have to do something about it before more people leave the profession or worse become sick!

Previous to leaving Scotland for a career break to teach abroad I was completing a number of roles across school and doing contract work also. I applied a lot of energy to these roles and had very little down time. This in hindsight was a one way route to burn out!

I only realised through teaching in New Zealand that there is a more sustainable way of working. The Kiwi way is smart yet still yields the same if not better results for staff and pupils, because there is an emphasis on prioritising health.

Avoiding burnout.

Burnout can be short term or long term in its effect and may even come under the disguise of end of term cold/flu, to full on physical or mental illness. There are a number of ways to proactively combat these effects and rethink priorities for positive stress management. Lots of us see the end of term finish line, or in other industries, making it to the next bank holiday or annual leave. This can mean that we apply an attitude of;

“Work now – rest later…”

We sometimes forget the small things, like taking a break or stopping and sitting down for lunch (at your desk doesn’t count)!

The mindset in which we approach our work, any work in any sector can determine our levels of stress. Individuals who find that they respond to pressure of deadlines may also find they get caught juggling many projects until the sprint at the very end to get everything done at once. This can result in you not completing your best work and neglecting other areas of responsibility- again I am speaking from personal experience – guilty as the list queen but never completing a single list!

By learning some new techniques such as; “mono-tasking” rather than muti-tasking we stay focused and feel accomplished at the end of the day. If that doesn’t work for you then you might try the ‘3×3’ approach. You write down only 3 things on a list, only once you complete all 3 can you add 3 more! This way we become better at prioritising, make clearer decisions and don’t get overwhelmed with huge long to do lists.

It’s very easy in theory to read about these simple changes but how can we truly make sure we don’t get bogged down? You can be pro-active by taking stock and asking yourself;

“What importance do I place on my health?”

Yes, I am asking about all areas – as uncomfortable as it may feel give yourself a score out of 10 for;

• Physical
• Mental 
• Emotional and
• Social health

There are days when you can be a 9 out of 10, others when you feel like a 2. What’s important is that we recognise there is a scale. As long as you move up and down within reason, then your mind and body are working together. If however, you are stuck at the one spot for a prolonged period of time (especially at the lower end) then it can be a sign to ask for help and support.

As we are looking at health management and approaches to positive mindset we must recognise the influence of previous experience…

If you have experienced stress before, which I am sure you have in one form or another…how did you view it? Did you straight away think this is bad, feeling stressed is uncomfortable and I don’t like it? I know that I felt stress and worked hard to ignore it or tried to out-run it somehow! Madness, when I know now it always catches up on you! From the lessons learned in the ‘M’ Word Blog, I realised that the presence of Adrenaline – a stress hormone, we can perform at our peak and use the energy created from the “stressful” feelings to produce some of our best work.

Inspired to create change.

When I saw, heard or felt stress I automatically attached a negative label to it. Through my work completed over the past 2 years I have experienced both the negative and positive effects. As I took on new roles my passion for learning more about this topic has grown. Living in New Zealand has inspired me to further my experience in the field of Personal Leadership and healthy mindset. This is why I have decided to run a pilot project on my return to Scotland in the summer!

This is where YOU come in! Thank you so much if you are still reading – it’s time for me to give back….

I want to learn and share human experiences around mindset and personal leadership. This project will be in the form of a community workshop and will look at personal leadership hacks to combat burnout. It will be collaborative and make use of design thinking techniques fresh out of New Zealand as well as a place to share all of your own valuable experience. Although much of my content has been based on teaching, this workshop is for everyone of any; age, gender, ability, employment status or education. An altered relationship with your health and mindset will not only help you at work but in other areas of your life too!

If you are interested please click the link and apply for a place on the project. I would love to hear from people from all walks of life, passions and interests – your input is invaluable! More details will be sent out via email when you sign up. If location is an issue or you have any questions please get in touch with me personally or by clicking here.

Thank you once again for your interest in the content of the blog and sharing ideas and feedback. Little did I know that a travel blog would turn into a space for sharing personal and professional learning with over 3,500 views! I am truly humbled and grateful for the support. I have been inspired and empowered to take all I have learned to benefit those around me.

Take Care,

Hayley