What is the word, is the word that you heard?
I keep hearing this word, and maybe you have too – resilience. It brings up both my ambition and fear. It isn’t a new concept, and it's surely been running around the corporate leadership table for years. However, in light of the business climate today, it is gaining a spotlight as the characteristic both leaders and organizations need “to survive.” So if that is the case, I ask myself: do I have it? do you have it? can we get it? and what is it exactly?
After some study and reflection, I submit this word holds great wonderment for those that care. Here are three areas resilience challenges us as leaders, coaches, consultants, and, most of all, people navigating our VUCA world.
First, resilience says - do you have a mirror?
To grow more resilient in times like these (COVID/racial tensions/economic and political turmoil/kids at home) requires being honest with who we are. Our tendencies and triggers, our bright spots, and imperfect ones. Because knowing ourselves gives us the handholds to navigating challenges. If we avoid looking in the mirror – we lack the tools to overcome. Honestly looking means we come face-to-face with our humanness – which gives us the ability to access our resilience.
Ready to look? (1) consider gaining knowledge in how the human brains respond to rewards and threats on a physiological level. Understanding your brain means identifying what triggers you – and throws you under threat - which is half the battle in challenging times! (2) consider looking inward and exploring the answers to questions like:
what are you good at?
what are you less good at?
how do you receive feedback well?
how do you learn best?
how do you prefer communication?
how do you communicate with others?
what time of day do you work best?
how do you deal with conflict?
how do people get a gold star with you?
Our resilience starts with looking in the mirror.
Second, resilience says - some things, not ALL things.
To have resilience and be more resilient in times like these require focus. Often, we try to be comprehensive and do all things instead of being specific and doing some well. Perhaps it comes from the age of needing to be “well-round” and have a little of everything, but thriving and talented people are judicious about how they spend their time, what they work on, and what they want to accomplish. Our time, talent, and treasure are limited, how and to what we allocate those resources need to reflect specificity.
TRY THIS EXERCISE
Using your trusty calendar, closely track how your time is spent over the next two weeks (if you have enough detail, feel free to look at the past 2 weeks).
Once your calendar has been filled in, review and note two things, (1) how much time you spend and (2) where your time goes, creating categories. Your categories may look like: family time, meal prep, emails, calls, meetings, writing, and exercise. Or it may be more detailed to the type of work you do, or the unique circumstances of monitoring virtual learning for your children.
Once you have your buckets and the hours you spend in each, pull back, take a bird’s eye view. Consider the answers to questions like:
what do you like about this breakdown of the time you spend?
what don’t you like about how your time is breaking down?
in what ways are you trying to be comprehensive vs. specific with your time?
how could you adjust your time distribution to increase your energy, productivity, and preferred ways of working?
Becoming more resilient starts with looking in the mirror, then asks us to be specific and intentional.
Lastly, resilience says - learn real optimism.
If you have heard the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” we now know, that is most certainly not true. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and create new neuropathways, meaning no matter where they are today, with hard work and focus, you can create new ones. That means new abilities, new skills, new mindsets – all of it. (I see you growth mindset fans!)
Dr. Mark Seligman, a leader in the positive psychology field, spent almost all of his adult life studying and speaking on how you learn optimism, the most significant driver of resilience. He wrote Learning Optimism: How to Change Your Mind, explaining the studies and research conducted over decades. For a bite-sized summary, this video is perfect. His work has increased resilience in the US military, corporations and, my immediate family. Learned optimism gives us the right perspective to navigate what is in front of us and persevere in navigating the unknown.
We need resilience in these times.
And the best news is, it's attainable, available and not too far away. May we cultivate it.
I am Danielle Bowditch, the newest member of the Four Letter Consulting firm, cheerfully joining Laurel and Janelle in the pursuit of making work less of a four letter word.