Resilience: Definition and How to Build It
Resilience in the workplace is an important capability, whether you’re a CEO or just starting out. The most authentic leaders are those who have overcome adversity and become resilient to the wrenches that life throws at them. But how do you become resilient?
In this article, I’ll break down what resilience is and how you can apply it to your leadership style and work life.
What is resiliencE?
According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from painful experiences. Explicitly, they define resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors.”
This doesn’t mean that resilient people do not experience loss or trauma. Rather, resilient people know how to rebuild their lives and continue on. According to resilience expert Raphael Rose, failure is required to build resilience. In any project worth carrying out, obstacles will always arise, and failure will always be a risk. Resilience is what ensures the project still gets completed, despite any setbacks.
Know yourself to build lasting resilience
When faced with adverse situations, our bodies fight or flight modes are activated. Depending on the situation, these two reactions can either impede or aid the circumstances. Knowing yourself and your body’s natural response to difficulty is the first step to building resilience. Ask yourself, does fear motivate you, or does it deplete your battery?
Understanding how you react to setbacks will help you build resiliency in both your everyday life and work life. Think about it: we spend such a large percentage of our day (not to mention a large portion of our day’s thoughts!) at work. Not only will our personal lives improve when we begin to understand ourselves, but our professional lives will benefit too. Consider how different parts of your being react to the problem. Knowing yourself and your triggers is a crucial technique for developing resilience.
When you notice that you’re under the influence of a specific emotion, pause and observe yourself. It will provide you with the knowledge that you need to act in a particular situation. Or not to act, because sometimes it is better not to do anything under the influence of some emotions, such as rage. Practicing reflection and self-awareness will help you build resilience over time.
Often, when you want to change a result or behavior, you only think about changing your actions. But it’s best if you also change the way you see things, especially if the goal is to create lasting change. Building resilience over time will come as you understand yourself more and understand how you see and react to different situations.
Business resilience: talk about emotions at work
Talking and being open about emotions at work is also an effective strategy for building resilience. In the past, feelings in the workplace were a taboo subject, but that’s slowly beginning to change. We’ve all have had days at the office when we feel ready to take on the world, and days when getting your foot in the door is the most you’ll accomplish all day. Building resilience will allow us to push past those not so great days, as well as have the courage to be open about it.
Also, take into consideration your team’s emotions. How are your coworkers feeling? What about your management team? Is your team feeling resilient? How can you support them? Not taking the time to assess your team’s emotions has done much damage to countless organizations. Don’t let your team fall into the trap. Being open and honest about feelings in the workplace allows your employees to develop resilience in their own lives and leadership styles.
Resilience is like riding a bike. Sometimes you ride your bike, and everything is downhill and super comfortable. Other days, pedaling can seem nearly impossible, and it feels like you’re going uphill the whole time. Resilient leaders understand that even though the bike ride feels hard, as long as they check the bike, the road they’re on, their team, or even themselves, eventually, they will overcome the hill and reach their end goal.
