At MarchingSheep, we believe that true resilience shines through in the face of adversity. Our team member Nandini Aggarwal has her own inspiring story that beautifully illustrates this principle.

DEI and organizational development are deeply ingrained in our team. Whether in the boardroom or the hospital, we consistently find parallels that reinforce the importance of these principles in every aspect of life and work.

Join us in celebrating the strength and resilience that drives our team forward.

#Resilience hashtag#DEI #Leadership #OrganizationalDevelopment #Adaptability #Inclusion #GrowthMindset #BusinessStrategy #MarchingSheep

Kunal S. Sonica Aron (She/Her/Hers) Krati Vyas Ishu Chaudhary Bhaskar Batri

Since earning my master’s in organizational psychology, I’ve had the privilege of working with Marching Sheep to help organizations make a difference in employees’ lives and careers. Supporting various facets of diversity in the workplace has positioned me right in the heart of organizational development (OD) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Last year, while delivering sessions on adaptability across India, I suffered a significant ACL injury — a stark deviation from my identity as a former parkour athlete, where split-second decisions and physical agility were part of my daily existence. This deviation from my former capabilities to being bedridden was not just a physical shock but a profound psychological ordeal. There, in a hospital bed in Ahmedabad, the concepts of resilience and adaptability that I had so often taught in workshops were no longer just theoretical frameworks used in facilitation; they became the lenses through which I viewed my own journey of recovery and adaptation. Every aspect of my being—physical, mental, and emotional—was now engaged in a real-time case study of the very principles I championed.

Understanding ACL and Its Implications

Fast forward, it’s been about 7 months since my ACL surgery. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the key ligaments that help stabilize your knee joint. The ACL connects your thighbone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia). It’s most commonly injured during sports that involve sudden stops and changes in direction — like parkour in my case. ACL surgery is a complex procedure that involves replacing the torn ligament with a piece of tendon from another part of your knee or from a deceased donor. Recovery from ACL surgery can take six months to a year, depending on the extent of the injury and the success of the surgery. It typically involves extensive physical therapy to restore strength and mobility to your knee.

As I was lying on bed trying to navigate the new realities of my life, I thought about the turmoil  organisations go through is not so different than the ACL injury I went through, big changes, AI, leadership change, new systems, a new competitor and much more, all of these possess a similar threat to organisations as my ACL injury. If these uncertainties are not met with a careful rehabilitation process, then the corrective measures can come in the way of progress rather than solving the challenges.

What a sports injury recovery processes teaches organisations?

Here, I explore how the lessons learned during my physical rehabilitation provided profound insights into organizational development and sustainability. Each phase of my recovery had a corporate counterpart. Additionally, the emotional toll of feeling sidelined due to my injury also highlighted the isolation that can accompany workplace transitions, particularly among diverse employee groups. This personal experience deepened my commitment to DEI, underscoring the necessity of inclusive practices that consider the varied human aspects of organizational life.

Standing in the middle of recovery, OD and DEI, I know organisations are not immune to ACL like challenges. This is what my ACL recovery taught me about organisation sustainability.

The diagnosis: A holistic understanding the Core Issues

ACL rehabilitation includes various treatments (surgery, physical therapy, mental health support), similarly comprehensive DEI strategies should encompass multiple facets of the workplace. For my ACL, this meant understanding exactly how and where the injury had occurred, assessing the damage, and planning the recovery. Similarly, an organization must evaluate its processes, culture, and structure to identify vulnerabilities or areas for improvement. This could involve employee feedback, performance metrics, or financial assessments, which collectively provide a comprehensive picture of organizational health.

With an ACL injury, it’s not just the surgeons who help you, it’s really a diverse team of healthcare professionals (caretakers, physiotherapists, psychologists) who contribute different perspectives and expertise in ACL recovery, diverse teams in an organization bring varied perspectives that enhance problem-solving and innovation. An inclusive culture ensures that everyone feels valued and supported, much like each professional contributing uniquely to rehabilitation.

The Recovery Plan: Strategic Development

Developing a recovery plan for an ACL injury involves setting realistic goals and milestones, much like strategic planning in an organization. The plan must be adaptable, detailed, and paced according to the capacity for change. In my recovery, as in an organization, this meant balancing ambition with practical constraints and focusing on gradual yet consistent improvement. For a business, this might translate into incremental changes in management practices, gradual digital transformation, or phased cultural shifts to ensure long-term sustainability.

In the case of ACL recovery, treatments are personalized based on the patient’s specific health needs, lifestyle, and recovery goals. Similarly, equity in the workplace doesn’t mean treating everyone the same; it means giving everyone what they need to succeed. Understanding and addressing specific challenges faced by different groups (such as underrepresented minorities, people with disabilities, etc.) can help in creating equitable opportunities for all. This could involve creating more flexible working conditions for parents, providing specific career development support to underrepresented groups, or implementing mentoring programs targeted at helping employees from diverse backgrounds advance within the company.

Physical Therapy: Implementing Change

Rehabilitation from an ACL injury requires consistent, dedicated physical therapy. This is akin to the implementation phase in organizational change, where strategies are put into action. It’s about translating theoretical strategies into practical, everyday actions that employees can follow. This phase must be monitored closely, with regular feedback loops, allowing for adjustment and ensuring that the change becomes embedded in the organizational fabric.

Just as equitable access to medical equipment, specialized care, and rehabilitation facilities is critical for effective ACL recovery, ensuring that all employees have equal access to implementation resources is crucial in a corporate setting. This might look like ensuring that all employees, regardless of location or status, have access to communication, training and development resources, can use necessary technologies, and are informed about company benefits and support systems.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Continuous Improvement

As I monitored my recovery progress, adjusting the treatment as needed, I learned that continuous evaluation is critical in any long-term plan. For an organization, this means regularly assessing the effectiveness of implemented changes. Are the new processes yielding the desired results? Is the organizational culture shifting in the right direction? Organizations could set specific, measurable goals for recognizing achievements and pinpointing areas that still need improvement.

ACL recovery often requires patients and caregivers to adapt to setbacks and learn from them. In an organizational context, DEI strategies should be flexible enough to adapt to new information and changing societal contexts. For instance, what works for promoting gender diversity might not work as well for ethnic diversity or disability inclusion, and strategies need to evolve based on ongoing learning and employee feedback.

Long-term Health: Sustainability and Resilience

The final stage of ACL recovery involves strengthening the muscles around the knee to prevent future injuries. Similarly, organizational sustainability is about strengthening the business to withstand future challenges. This could involve nurturing a culture of resilience, fostering innovation, and building a diversified portfolio. Long-term health in business, as in physical recovery, is about more than just returning to ‘normal’—it’s about reaching a new state of enhanced functionality and resilience.

The emotional and psychological support provided during ACL rehabilitation can significantly impact recovery outcomes. Similarly, a supportive workplace culture is essential for effective change management. This includes leadership visibly supporting DEI efforts, an organizational culture that values open dialogue about differences, and systems that support individuals in speaking up about discrimination or harassment.

Conclusion:

A Broader View on DEI and Organizational Health Recovering from an ACL injury taught me that resilience, whether physical or organizational, requires awareness, careful planning, consistent action, and ongoing adaptation. Just as my knee is becoming stronger through rehabilitation, a company can become more robust and flexible through thoughtful and deliberate change initiatives. The parallels between healing from an injury and steering an organization toward sustainability are clear and compelling, highlighting the universal principles of growth, resilience, and continuous improvement.

Through this journey, both in the clinic and the boardroom, I’ve learned that the key to long-term success lies in embracing the challenge of change, nurturing flexibility, and always striving for improvement. Whether in the human body or an organization, sustainability is a testament to the power of resilience and the importance of adaptability in the face of adversity.

Link : Recovering Stronger: Building Resilient Organizations