Steve Macaulay and Sarah Cook explore resilience through Kintsugi – and finding gold after a setback
In everyday work situations, it is unrealistic to expect that everything goes to plan. More and more managers acknowledge the need to build the capability of resilience to better manage stress and pressure and bounce back after setbacks.
Setbacks are growth opportunities. By learning from mistakes, we become more resilient and adaptable
The Japanese art of Kintsugi, which involves repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer, offers a unique perspective on adversity. Kintsugi provides a valuable framework for personal growth and resilience by embracing imperfection and finding beauty in brokenness. This article explores how to apply this philosophy to a practical organisational environment.
The philosophy of Kintsugi
Kintsugi, which means ‘golden joinery’, is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum.
Kintsugi is more than a technique for repairing pottery; it is a philosophy that celebrates imperfection and transformation. The art form highlights the beauty in flaws and the journey of healing, making it an apt metaphor for personal development.
Key themes include:
- Embracing imperfection: Kintsugi teaches acceptance of our flaws as integral to our journey. By embracing imperfection, we can reduce stress, focus on growth and view our mistakes as part of our unique narrative.
- Learning from failure: In Kintsugi, setbacks are growth opportunities. By learning from mistakes, we become more resilient and adaptable, turning challenges into stepping stones for future success.
- Finding beauty in brokenness: The transformation of broken objects into art helps us to see value in unexpected places, even in adversity. This outlook encourages us to see challenges as opportunities for growth and creativity.
Applying this new thinking means these themes are highly relevant to the way organisations work, learn and progress.
Creating a Kintsugi-inspired personal development initiative
This refreshing approach can bring a whole new perspective to the way we work: a Kintsugi-inspired personal development initiative can offer participants practical tools for embracing imperfection, learning from failure and finding that adversity can enhance, not detract from any project. Using these principles, a potential programme outline could be this:
- Introduction to Kintsugi: Explore the history and philosophy of Kintsugi, linking it to personal and professional challenges. The rudiments can readily be obtained from Wikipedia and YouTube.
- Embracing imperfection: Discuss self-acceptance and the benefits of embracing flaws. Explore how these principles reduce anxiety and foster growth.
- Learning from setbacks: Delve into strategies for turning setbacks into opportunities, focusing on resilience and adaptability.
- Finding beauty in brokenness: Discuss how to transform challenges into strengths, finding silver linings in difficult situations.
- Practical exercises: Engage participants in activities to apply Kintsugi principles, like writing a journal, mindfulness and group discussions.
Outcomes from Kintsugi workshops
Based on reported participant feedback, Kintsugi workshops can have a significant impact on individuals and teams. Participants have often found the value for them is fostering personal growth, team cohesion, emotional well-being and a more inclusive work environment.
- Personal growth and self-acceptance: After setting up a supportive environment, participants can experience empathy and validation in sharing their reactions to life events with others. The Kintsugi approach can help them reframe their perspective and see the beauty in imperfections. In turn, this can increase self-confidence and foster a more positive outlook on life.
- Team building and collaboration: For teams, the workshops provided a safe space for open communication and teamwork. The shared experience fosters a sense of unity, trust and improved collaboration, leading to a more cohesive work environment.
- Emotional healing and resilience: The use of reflective exercises and the creative process of Kintsugi makes for a positive outlet for participants. The workshops are potentially a healing experience which in turn leads to more resilience. Participants feel better equipped to handle stress and setbacks and learn to incorporate mindful practices into their daily routines.
- Diversity and inclusion: Under the umbrella themes of Kintsugi, the workshops can bring together people from diverse backgrounds. The Kintsugi activity and discussions on resilience help participants understand and appreciate different perspectives, promoting a culture of inclusion and respect.
Potential reservations that need answering
As you might expect, some will question the relevance of Kintsugi in a modern business setting. Here are some potential reservations, which can be countered:
- Practicality: Long-term benefits exist in strengthening resilience and adaptability in today’s changing environment.
- Next steps: Kintsugi is not about dwelling on the past but about learning from it to inform future actions.
- Tangible deliverables: While Kintsugi may not offer immediate outcomes, it fosters long-term benefits like increased resilience and creativity. The use of surveys, interviews or other evaluation methods will help assess the workshop’s effectiveness in tangible terms.
- Cultural fit: It is important to ensure the approach is culturally inclusive and relevant to the participants’ backgrounds. There are universal themes of imperfection, resilience and growth, making Kintsugi relevant across cultures.
Embedding the approaches from the workshops
To enhance impact, consider incorporating additional elements:
- Pre-workshop activities: Provide a reading list and encourage participants to start a personal reflection journal.
- Workshop activities: The workshop can be expanded in ways suitable for the needs of your organisation, for example, integrate mindfulness exercises, group discussions, case studies and creative expression to deepen engagement.
- Post-workshop activities: Guide participants in putting together workable action plans, forming peer support groups and offering follow-up sessions for ongoing support.
Stepping from the past to the future
As a guide for trainers, facilitate moving participants from introspection to forward-looking action. Begin by reflecting on past challenges to extract valuable lessons, then shift focus to applying these insights to build resilience and foster innovation.
- Reflecting on the past: Encourage participants to identify past perceived failures and challenges to pinpoint the lessons learned.
- Future possibilities: By reframing and reimagining, lead participants in creatively thinking about how to apply these lessons to current and future challenges, making in effect a resilience roadmap.
- Practical application: Engage participants in scenario-based activities to apply their resilience roadmap to possible future challenges.
- Moving forward: Encourage participants to set long-term goals and commit to applying the Kintsugi mindset in their daily lives.
Kintsugi and you
To make a success of introducing greater personal development and resilience, you don’t have to be an expert on Japanese philosophy. As part of a programme to develop resilience, Kintsugi offers an unusual and valuable approach as a lead-in to personal development, bridging the gap between reflection and action.
Steve Macaulay is an Associate of Cranfield Executive Development
Sarah Cook is Managing Director of The Stairway Consultancy
