It is true in life that some days bad things happen. Most people, after a period of adjustment, bounce back to their previous level of happiness no matter what happens to them. But some people have a lower level of resilience than others.
This is also true in the workplace, except there is an added complexity. Change and challenges form part of the everyday fabric. And as a leader, not only are you expected to bounce back, but you are expected to bounce forward as you navigate personalities, changing business landscapes, budgets and stay ahead of competitive pressures.
Just think about a leader you have known that doesn’t navigate challenges well. How did they way they behave impact you and your ability to function?
I’d like to share a story about a client I worked with last year. One of their leaders was an extremely talented woman. Unfortunately, under pressure, she tended to get sick or lose sleep. She would become more and more tired and would go to work but her resilience was low. Additionally, she berated her team on a regular basis, causing them to become disengaged. This would especially happen the more tired and stressed she became. She was also a perfectionist. She would obsess about what she and others had done and her micro-management would increase as her stress increased. She was very unhappy in her job, more than was reasonable based on her situation. Her idea of resilience was about enduring the pain!
To help her and her team, I used some core categories/ themes from some excellent research in the field of resilience and we workshopped some ideas together. She was then able to develop some stronger coping skills during stressful periods. We were also able to break down how she responded to change and tackle some of her negative beliefs about herself and her team. We also worked on developing a plan to create stronger relationships at work, both with her team and her own manager. Her leadership improved immensely, and as a result, her team are now reporting higher levels of engagement and satisfaction.
All leaders have a growth edge, where they are in that optimum place for learning and becoming better leaders. But when they are stressed or working over capacity, they go "over the edge". By learning and practicing resilience techniques, leaders are able to perform in that optimum range of growth and performance. My client was constantly in the red zone. But with a little help, she was able to get back into optimum performance.
So how resilient are you as a leader? Are you able to maintain your ability to stay out of the red "over the edge" zone?
When I work with clients, I often cover these categories to increase resilience in the face of change:
- Building trust and social connection
- Having composure and emotional Regulation
- Reasoning, mindset and attitude towards change
- Maintaining a healthy body and mind
- Having fun at work
- Knowing your values and vision
Each of these categories is interlinked with the others. For example, it is hard to build trust if you don’t have a clear vision. Or it is difficult to maintain composure if you are physically unhealthy and tired. By tending to all the categories of resilience at the same time, you will have a much greater capacity to deal with the challenges that come your way. You will be a better leader and a better follower and you will feel physically stronger and more at ease emotionally.
It has been a year of fascinating revelations as I have worked with leaders. They have shared many stories of resilience and have given me so many examples of how they have managed each of those categories.
If you would like to hear some of those stories, join me at the first of Vermelho’s Resilient Leadership Series Panel Discussions, as we chat to some fantastic leaders about resilience.
You can find the event details here.