Resilience can be one of the main factors on which we judge ourselves and others on. A lack of resilience is often perceived as weakness or failure, which can lead to spiraling negative thought processes and self-doubt.
“Resilience, the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep going in the face of adversity” (Harvard Business Review, 2015)
This self- doubt is more likely to affect your leadership than the set- back you faced in the first place. A more constructive approach to resilience is to understand your current level of ability to bounce back, accept where you are and grow through adversity.
Understanding your current level of resilience
The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale is a great self-assessment tool, which looks to identify your ability to adapt to change, cope with stress, handle unpleasant feelings and make informed decisions under pressure. There also needs to be a level of self-reflection to help understand your coping mechanisms as well as your available resources such as your social networks and your physical health.
It is then about acceptance. You may not feel resilient and that is okay, even the best leaders in the world suffer set-backs, cry and have sleepless nights thinking they will never get through it, but they do and they grow from these challenges.
Growing your resilience levels
American psychologist Martin Seligman discusses his research findings in this area as part of HBR’s Mental Toughness. He highlights that most of his research participants claimed that their success had come from a challenging and sometimes quite traumatic experience, including the loss of a business due to an economic crash.
Growth from set-backs has been covered extensively by other psychologists including Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, who focus on improved relationships, personal strength and a greater appreciation for life, people do survive even the hardest of times.
How do we grow our resilience?
Seligman suggested that the key to resilience building comes down to learning from set-backs, not letting them define you or dictate your future prospects. The suggested mechanisms for this were self-care, developing optimism and focusing on strengths.
Self-care from set-backs:
During a period of high pressure, or indeed a set-back, you need to prioritise your health This article from Noam Shpancer here suggests:
- Nurturing rather than isolating yourself
- Prioritising meaningful activities
- Being honest and flexible with your feelings
- Problem solving rather than avoiding the problem or worrying
Developing an optimistic view:
- Personalisation - how much of the situation are you actually responsible for? How much of it can you actually change?
- Pervasiveness - how much will this actually impact your life? How much will this actually impact your future? Does this define you?
- Permanence - will this set-back be short term? Will it actually affect you long term?
To gain a better understanding of developing optimism click here
Focus on your strengths to move forward:
Once you have applied self-care and questioned any pessimistic views you hold, your next move should be to focus on your strengths. The VIA strength survey allows us to hone in on and utilise our resources to overcome adversity.
However the current challenge is affecting you or your business, prioritising your wellbeing and understanding that all challenges can be overcome is going to be key to moving forward, even if these challenge seem impossible. Anyone that is struggling with additional stress and pressure should also be aware that there is national and local support available, please click here.
- Log in to post comments