Resilience and the ability to bounce back after difficult times is definitely an invaluable trait, but COVID-19’s largescale disruption of day-to-day business operations brought into focus the importance of resilience in the world of work, because companies were forced to completely reimagine how to get work done within the constraints of a global health crisis. In this episode of All Things Work, host Tony Lee is joined by Michael Nathanson, CEO of The Colony Group, a nationally recognized wealth advisory firm, and host of the podcast Seeking the Extraordinary. Michael shares the experiences that shaped his own brand of personal resilience and they discuss how business leaders can help their employees and organizations become stronger and more resilient.
Resilience and the ability to bounce back after difficult times is definitely an invaluable trait, but COVID-19’s largescale disruption of day-to-day business operations brought into focus the importance of resilience in the world of work, because companies were forced to completely reimagine how to get work done within the constraints of a global health crisis. In this episode of All Things Work, host Tony Lee is joined by Michael Nathanson, CEO of The Colony Group, a nationally recognized wealth advisory firm, and host of the podcast Seeking the Extraordinary. Michael shares the experiences that shaped his own brand of personal resilience and they discuss how business leaders can help their employees and organizations become stronger and more resilient.
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Tony Lee:
Welcome to the All Things Work Podcast from the Society for Human Resource Management. I'm your host, Tony Lee, head of content here at SHRM. Thank you so much for joining us. All Things Work is an audio adventure, where we talk with thought leaders and taste makers to bring you an insider's perspective on all things work. In today's episode, we'll be talking about resilience as an individual employee, a manager, or a leader. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges and emerge from crises in a better position than before. The pandemic and its disruption of day-to-day business underscores the importance of resilience in the world of work. Many companies have been forced to completely reimagine and re-engineer their processes for getting work done, and research shows that organizations that emphasize flexibility and resilience recover from unexpected shocks faster and more effectively than their competitors. We also know that workplace resilience is a quality that can be strengthened by company leadership and their approach to engaging and communicating with employees, since more resilient employees lead to more resilient organizations.
Joining me to discuss how to develop workplace resilience is Michael Nathanson. Michael's the chairman and CEO of The Colony Group, a Boston-based nationally recognized independent wealth advisory and business management firm. Michael's a highly recognized leader in the wealth management industry, who has shown great resilience in his personal life. As CEO of The Colony Group, Michael is dedicated to bringing meaning and joy to the lives of his team members and clients by fostering a company culture that values lifelong learning, cultivates innovation, and provides opportunities to live lives full of passion, purpose, and resilience. Michael also is host of the podcast Seeking The Extraordinary, where guests share their stories of how personal resilience help them overcome adversity and achieve extraordinary outcomes. Michael, we're very excited to have you here on All Things Work. Welcome.
Michael Nathanson:
Well, it's great to be here, and I'm very excited as well.
Tony Lee:
Terrific. Well, thank you. Let's start by helping the audience understand where you're coming from. Why don't you share your story?
Michael Nathanson:
Sure. I often like to quote one of my favorite philosophers when I talk a little bit about my own personal story, and I think one of the great philosophers of our time is none other than Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump, you may know from the great movie and book, once said that... I'm going to try to use somewhat of a Southern accent. I don't do it very well, but he said something like, "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I think maybe it's both." As I tell my story, I'm mindful that, to some extent, I feel like I have been floating around a little bit accidental-like on a breeze, but I'm good with that. I feel like I follow what the universe tells me.
I was born in a good home in Framingham, Massachusetts. I would call it a middle class upbringing, and I wanted to be a lawyer. I did well and got into Harvard Law School. It was interesting. There was this guy who was super smart, that talked all the time in my class, and he was Barack Obama it turned out. My class also had Neil Gorsuch, a former Supreme Court Justice, and some other pretty cool people. I did well in law school and wanted to be a litigator. I got a call two weeks before I was supposed to start, and they said, "You're not going to be a litigator, you're going to be a tax lawyer." Because Vicky Summers, the wife of Larry Summers, had to move to DC because Clinton had just been elected, and I was now going to have to try something I didn't want to do.
That was an early lesson for me in, "Okay. Well, I never wanted to be a tax lawyer, but sure, I'll try it." Loved it and had a great career. I practiced law for 13 years. I became a partner at a great law firm, which is now known as WilmerHale, and I had a great job doing fantastic work. I have a great family. I have a wife and three children, and we were living the dream, doing great things. I was playing with my son one day, who was five at the time. He hit me in the chest as we were wrestling, just in a playful way, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I put my hand down to feel where he had hit me and I realized I had a lump in my breast. I used to not talk about what I'm about to talk about because I felt very uncomfortable, but we'll get into that. I realized I had a lump. I was concerned that I had breast cancer, as men certainly are also vulnerable to breast cancer and need to be mindful of that.
I went to see a breast surgeon. I had a mammogram, went through all of that. Didn't have breast cancer, thank God, but something was wrong with me. In the year 2000, when I was in my early thirties, I was ultimately diagnosed with an inoperable, three-centimeter brain tumor where my optic nerves cross. I remember sitting with my wife when I was getting news. That's what caused the issue my breast and caused a lot of other issues for me, it turns out. I was sitting with my wife across from the doctor and it was a surreal experience. I cried. I didn't know what it meant and I was terrified. I had a young family and it was a shock. Everything in my life had been going really well. I learned more about it. It was not cancer. Most brain tumors, it turns out, are not cancer. There's no such thing in my mind as a truly benign brain tumor though, because all brain tumors are dangerous, as was this one.
It was inoperable, because it was wrapped around my carotid artery and just in a very sensitive space. Fortunately, there is a medication that I take to this day that prevents it from growing, or keeps it somewhat stable, but it's there. I get lots of MRIs and see lots of doctors, but I'm okay. Ultimately, that changed my life. A few years later, I decided to leave my law firm and go try my hand at something else. It was a great law firm, did great work. Still is a great law firm. A lot of those people there are still my dear friends, but I needed something. A little bit more balance in my life and to do something a little bit different. I wanted to do something that I felt had a more direct impact on individuals. I also got interested in the brain tumor cause. I became part of the brain tumor community, became part of the board of directors. Ultimately, became chairman of the board, and I served as chairman for almost six years.
I feel like I did great work there and helped that organization change the world. We raised millions and millions of dollars and did all kinds of great research. I'm still involved as an emeritus member. It's still a great passion of mine. I have since repositioned myself over and over. Never expected to be at a wealth management firm, just found my way there. Never expected to be a brain tumor patient, brain tumor survivor. I used to have guilt about calling myself a survivor, but I now call myself a brain tumor survivor. Yeah. I've learned, along the way, an awful lot of things. It's been quite a journey, and I am where I am now and looking forward to future directions that the wind brings me as I float accidental like on a breeze.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. Michael, thanks for sharing that story. That's amazing. I mean, most people in that situation would just crumble. Maybe you could talk a little bit about how you stayed optimistic, especially with a young family. What kept you going, then?
Michael Nathanson:
For one, I had to keep going. You and I are talking about resilience. People think of resilience as being strong. "I'm going to be strong, and I'm going to take whatever comes my way." The reality is, that's not really what resilience is. Resilience is about being able to adapt to circumstances, to be able to be able to recover from bad things happening. It was hard for me. I spent the first several weeks in bed, because the medication that I take, as it works on the tumor, is extremely painful. I was basically in bed for weeks until the pain started to subside, but then I started to get perspective and I knew that the only way to go was forward. Didn't want to feel bad for myself and wanted to do the best that I could. I felt maybe there was a reason that I had a brain tumor.
I often say, "It's a cause that chose me. I didn't choose it," but it chose the wrong person. If there was some desire to keep brain tumors around, because I'm a fighter. I've done something about it and will continue to do something about it. One of my favorite philosophers outside Forrest Gump, in all seriousness, is Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher. Lao Tzu said that an unbending tree is easily broken, and that's the way I think we should be thinking about resilience. If you think about that tree and the wind, if it's a really strong tree... Well, that's great. It could easily crack in half, because it's not able to bend, and for me, the way I've been able to deal with this and other setbacks in my life. I have a son with congenital heart disease as well, who's been through four open-heart surgeries. That's a different story, but all these things are about being able to accept it and to bend.
I'll tell you one other thing that's important as I answer that question. I've thought a lot about Lao Tzu and about that saying, an unbending tree is easily broken. I think there's a lot of wisdom. Far be it for me to challenge the great Lao Tzu, but I don't think he had the whole story. Because if you think about that same tree, even if it's flexible. If the wind is blowing hard, it's going to get ripped right out of the soil. I actually have come to believe that it's about an unbending tree is easily broken, but also, in order for that tree to truly survive, it's not only got to be bending and flexible. It's got to be held tight in the soil.
To me, the soil is our community. The soil are the people around us. What I've realized over my life is that the people around me are what hold me down, in a good way. They're the roots. They're what keeps us together. If we're really going to be resilient, we have to be flexible. We have to be interdependent with others and understand that we need others. If we can accept them into our lives and accept our vulnerability, then, and only then, can we truly be resilient.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So nicely said. I have to share, I have a daughter who also was born with congenital heart disease, had three surgeries in her first six months. She's now 28 and the model of resilience, and it's wonderful.
Michael Nathanson:
Tony, I love to hear that. I'm so glad to hear that she's doing well. That's great to hear.
Tony Lee:
No, thank you. I hope your son is doing well also. Let's pivot a little bit and talk about where all things work. Let's talk about applying the experience that you have had, and both our children have had, to the work world. I just want to cite an interesting recent statistic from Deloitte that asked the C-suite basically to rank the most critical workforce trait for the successful future of their organization. The largest group, 54%, said, "The number one trait was flexibility and adaptability." That's really what resilience is, right? I mean, isn't this a trait that employers should be seeking and developing in their workforce?
Michael Nathanson:
Undoubtedly. In fact, if they don't, I think that they need to get a good lesson in an economic Darwinism. I'm a fan of the origin of species and just the insight that Darwin had. What he talked about was: The species that will thrive and survive are the ones that can adapt to changes in the environment, and others that cannot adapt will be naturally selected for extinction. I think the same thing can be said for organizations. The organizations that are able to adapt to changes, often extremely adverse changes such as we just saw during this most recent set of pandemics. I say "set of pandemics" because I'm referring not only to the Coronavirus pandemic, but also the social injustice. But these pandemics, they are going to trigger this type of evolution because some organizations were unable to adapt, whether it's their fault or not. I don't put blame around that, and that's what happens.
And so as we think about people, we have to be thinking about people that can help promote this kind of adaptability. I'm a big fan of Martin Reeves. Martin Reeves, he works at BCG. He actually did a Ted Talk on how to build an organization that will last for 100 years. The number of organizations that last for a century is a very, very small number. What he thought about was, he actually thought about the human body. He thought about the immune system and how amazing the immune system is. What he realizes is that there were certain traits, six traits in the human immune system that organizations must have. They are redundancy, diversity, modularity, prudence, embeddedness, and adaptability. Again, it's just this concept of being able to adapt. You mentioned my podcast, Seeking The Extraordinary, and I've been studying what it is about certain people that just makes them so extraordinary. Their ability to respond well to challenges is just... It's a common trait you see in all of these people, and their inclination to be optimistic.
I think that's another important thing about optimism. You see, people who are optimists, even in the worst situations, these are people that are fueled with a can do energy that enables them to go places where others who lack that positive energy just can't go. Their optimism allows them to see past a difficult set of circumstances and enables them to continue their journeys, and hopefully the journey of the organization, when others would otherwise just stop. I think as we think about people, and we focus on hiring, retention, and development of our people... I think these concepts of adaptability, this ability to continue to learn, to not hold to what we believe are the truths and to understand that our truths are often not the truth, and the ability to stay optimistic through it all, these things are critical and traits that we should all be looking for and valuing.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. Let's say I'm an HR professional working in a company environment, or I'm even a people manager managing a team of folks. I'm really connecting with what you're saying here. I agree, having optimistic employees is what I'd love. I'd love to have a whole company full of people who are optimistic and resilient, but I don't because that's not the nature of a lot of people in this world. What can I do about it? Can I train people to be optimistic? What would you recommend there?
Michael Nathanson:
Can you train them? Yes, but not the way we typically think about training from a human resources perspective. The way we can train people to be optimistic and resilient is to model that behavior first and foremost. We should be modeling that behavior individually, but also as an organization. We should be valuing adaptability more than strength. Strength is important as well, but adaptability is more important. A lot of this starts with vulnerability. If we want to have cultures that promote this thinking — this resilience, adaptability, and optimism — it starts with vulnerability. We have to model that. What I just did for you, when I just explained that I have an inoperable brain tumor, do you know how terrified it used to be to say that? I thought it diminished me. I thought that if I ever left my law firm, no one would ever want me because they'd be worried that I'm going to die, or I'm going to go blind, which is another symptom of this particular type of tumor that I have. I used to hide it.
What I've realized over time is that's not authentic. It was important for me to embrace my own vulnerability and that it wouldn't diminish me. In fact, I actually think it makes me stronger. I think that it makes me more authentic and more credible. That's the model that I want others in my organization to see. I think we can do that, but I think also, as leaders, we need to also just promote honesty. When we are in difficult times, as we have been for the last year, we need to be honest about it. If we really want to promote resiliency, we have to be able to look at the current situation with brutal honesty and candor and accept how bad it really is. We just also have to have hope for the long term future. This paradox, this concept of the only way we can really get by during these difficult times is to be honest about how bad things are and not try to sugar coat it. Embrace that. Again, it's another form of vulnerability. Just also have this long-term hope, this optimism, that we're going to be okay.
Tony Lee:
That's wonderful, Michael. I have to say, it's not often we have a guest on All Things Work who's, frankly, inspirational, but I think you are.
Michael Nathanson:
Well, thank you.
Tony Lee:
I think people listening to this are going to feel, especially given the period that we've been in, as you've said. Any last words on guiding folks who are struggling personally with remaining optimistic, whether it's disease, financial insecurity, or whatever it might be? Any thoughts?
Michael Nathanson:
I'd like to emphasize what I just said a moment ago. We should always be honest about our circumstances. Sometimes, our circumstances are just really bad. We've all been through a lot this past year, and we have to be honest about that. I think that the American culture — in particular, the American corporate culture — has emphasized this idea of being strong leaders. We've got to steer our ships and be strong, and be confident. I think that's important. I certainly don't think panicking is a good idea. I think the whole world needs a lot more acceptance of vulnerability, which in my opinion, is the key to authenticity. I think that's something we should all be focused on. Let's just all acknowledge the reality, but let's also take this opportunity to explore our values.
I think this is important for an HR audience. We all talk about values. I talk about our values at The Colony Group all the time. I talk about values at the National Brain Tumor society. These are organizations that are so dear to me. But when we talk about values, we often talk about, frankly, prescriptive values. What I mean by that, we talk about values that sound really good. I think, at times of stress that we're all feeling, it's a time to reflect on what our real values are. Are the values that we talk about merely prescriptive values that we think sound good, and we like to prescribe for our companies and organizations, or instead are they truly descriptive values that actually reflect the reality?
I'd submit to you, Tony, if you think about the year we've had, just look back on how you responded personally to this year. Look back at how your company responded personally. I'm talking not only again about the Coronavirus pandemic, but also social injustice. Just all the stress. Think about the political strife, whichever side you're on, we've had. How did you respond? How did your organization respond? Are you comfortable with that answer? Because I think that our actual values were very much on display. The way we acted during these past 12 months really reflect our actual values, our descriptive values.
Tony Lee:
Well, thank you, Michael. That is going to do it for today's episode of All Things Work. A huge thank you to Michael Nathanson for joining me to discuss workplace resilience, values, and optimism. A wonderful topic. Before we get out of here, I want to encourage everyone to follow and subscribe to the All Things Work podcast, wherever you listen to your podcast. While you're at it, be sure to give us a five star rating and leave a review. Also, be sure to check out SHRM on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and you can find all of our episodes on our website at shrm.org/atwpodcast. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on All Things Work.