What do you do if your lack of resilience is jeopardizing your success in a business management role?

1 Assess Honestly

To begin addressing your resilience deficit, conduct a candid self-assessment. Reflect on past situations where you felt overwhelmed or gave up too quickly. Understanding your triggers and responses helps identify patterns that may undermine your resilience. Acknowledge your feelings during these moments, but also consider the thoughts and actions that followed. This self-awareness is the foundation for building greater resilience, allowing you to recognize when you're starting to falter and take proactive steps to steady yourself.

2 Seek Feedback

Constructive feedback from colleagues, mentors, or a professional coach can provide invaluable insights into how your lack of resilience manifests in the workplace. You might find it challenging to ask for such feedback, but it's a critical step in understanding how others perceive your responses to pressure and adversity. This external perspective can highlight areas for improvement that you might not see yourself and offer practical advice on how to enhance your resilience.

3 Learn Techniques

Resilience is bolstered by specific skills and techniques that you can learn and practice. Mindfulness, stress management strategies, and problem-solving skills are all valuable tools for building resilience. Engage in training or workshops that focus on these areas. Mindfulness, for instance, can help you remain calm and composed during stressful situations, allowing you to make more rational decisions. Stress management techniques such as deep breathing or exercise can reduce the physical and emotional toll of stress.

4 Set Realistic Goals

Setting achievable goals and celebrating small victories along the way can significantly boost your resilience. By breaking down large tasks into manageable steps, you'll feel a sense of progress that reinforces your ability to cope with challenges. Ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This structured approach to goal setting can help maintain focus and motivation, even when obstacles arise.

5 Foster Connections

Building a strong support network is essential for resilience. Cultivate relationships with colleagues who can provide encouragement and share their own experiences with overcoming adversity. These connections can offer both emotional support and practical assistance when you face business challenges. Moreover, being part of a community fosters a sense of belonging, which can be a powerful antidote to the isolation that often accompanies difficult times in management roles.

6 Embrace Change

Finally, embrace change as an inevitable and beneficial aspect of business. Those who view change as an opportunity for growth are more likely to exhibit resilience. Adopt a growth mindset, which encourages continuous learning and flexibility. When change occurs, instead of resisting it, try to identify the potential benefits it may bring. This positive outlook can transform challenges into valuable learning experiences that contribute to personal and professional development.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?