5 Steps to Increase Resilience
Updated: Nov 7, 2023
Resilience – definition from Positive Psychology.com
Resilience is the quality of recovering quickly from failure and adversity, and not only returning to the status quo but actually using the opportunity to grow and further your personal development.
If the past two years taught us anything, it was resilience. Now is the time to look back on the lessons of the last year and use them as a growth opportunity.
A hallmark of a great leader is resiliency. The ability after getting knocked down, and to not only get back up – but to lead. Below are five solid steps to increase your resiliency as a leader.
Find a Resilient Role Model
When times are tough it’s important not to feel alone. Not only is it important to nurture informal social relationships, but formal professional relationships as well. Find someone you admire that is willing to be a mentor to you. Ask them how they have made it through tough times, listen, then apply the advice.
Re-Frame Your Thoughts
Part of resilience is maintaining an optimistic attitude. Reframing a tough situation or negative thoughts may be a challenge and requires practice. Some questions you can ask yourself to re-frame situations include: What can I learn from this? How have challenges similar to this made me a stronger person? What action can I take to turn this challenge into a situation that will favor me?
Focus on your Strengths
Each one of us has a set of unique abilities. If you are curious about what yours may be, the book and workbook Unique Abilities 2.0 can help you uncover them. When times get hard it can be easy to gravitate towards the negative and what we are not good at. Instead of focusing all your energy on deficiencies, look to your strengths. Spend time and energy nurturing those talents that you already possess.
Develop Goals
There can be times when change can feel insurmountable. Instead of getting side-tracked, take time out to come up with different solutions. Break down the solution you choose into small, tangible goals. Getting in the habit of completing seemingly small tasks on your to-do list can lead to momentum and a sense of accomplishment. A couple books that come to mind about the power of accomplishing small things consistently are Slight Edge by Jeff Olson and Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven.
Take Care of Yourself
Taking care of yourself can come in many forms. As Arianna Huffington says in her book Thrive “There is a significant upside to downtime.” Taking time out to do activities you enjoy such as listening to music, cooking, reading, exercising can help build your resiliency. Resting and recharging allows you to be of sound mind and body when faced with challenges.
Reflection Question - What can I do to increase my resilience as a leader?
Next Topic: June 2022 begins our Sizzling Summer Series with topics of Steps to Resilience for leaders and Building Emotional Intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social skills, and motivation.
Sources:
https://www.bouncebackproject.org/resilience/
Thrive – Arianna Huffingon
Slight Edge – Jeff Olson
Make Your Bed – Admiral William H McRaven
Unique Abilities 2.0 – Waller, Waller and Nomura
https://hbr.org/2020/07/a-guide-to-building-a-more-resilient-business
