Here's how you can exhibit resilience as a leader when facing setbacks.

Own it! The best we can do for our teams is to model how to own a mistake, challenging situation or an unfavorable outcome is to admit that it and take responsibility when its warranted. Demonstrate how to analyze what went wrong and how to rebuild and rebound from a setback.

Being resilient starts with taking care of yourself first. Proper rest, healthy diet, exercise, and a positive mindset. No matter the circumstance or how something or someone has made you feel, stay present and focused on what you know is real and right. Be respectful to yourself and others even if you don’t feel up to it. Keep going and in the end, your mental and physical fitness will give you the strength, power, and heart to endure and see good things on the other side.

When you ask an experienced leader for their “life lessons” or their “lessons in leadership”…..what do you hear? Very rarely have I heard stories about things that went great. It’s mostly about when things went wrong, or things happened that they didn’t expect or anticipate. Because that’s where the richest learning happens…in the crucible moments, in the middle of the fire or the struggle. Even my own leadership learnings came from the hard times. We need to redefine and be more accepting of “failure” and spend more time reflecting on what we learned from it rather than fixing it as fast as we can and just moving on. Because guess what?….if we don’t learn from it, it will likely happen again. FAIL FORWARD, Friends!

I’m a big believer in the power of PMA or positive mental attitude when faced with adversity - the one add I would recommend for consideration is implementing a growth mindset with that PMA. In the end, as a leader, you will keep yourself and those around you uplifted, while also acknowledging the setback, embracing it, and using it to learn, improve, and grow towards future success.

It can be easy to accept setbacks as personal failures or flaws, so it is so important for leaders to role model how to accept setbacks in a positive way while remaining authentic. As a leader, I've found it helpful to admit to my team that I'm disappointed or need a few minutes to process the situation (because I'm human too). Then I showed up with a continuous improvement mindset and focused on how the outcome would be better as a result of the setback. Occasionally we have to stretch to find the best outcome. It might be that we now have a better understanding of how to work with a particular person and that can be powerful in the future. Focus on the facts and the data and tie it to a better outcome; try not to take it personally.

When you are overwhelmed, finding an alternative solution is often nearly impossible. However, if you learn to build in techniques for self-care and ensure you work in an environment that respects your psychological safety, you can gain confidence in experimentation. Only through safety can you find the space to look for new pathways and skills and be open to options to adapt. To quickly adapt, you need to be in the correct mindset, be comfortable with failure, experiment, and learn to celebrate wins. The later so important, without giving yourself and team permission to party will you truly be comfortable to try new things.

Failure make leaders appear a little more vulnerable, a little more human and much closer to their followers. We connect with people who are like us. We don’t want our leaders to be necessarily infallible; we want them to standby with us when we fail, and pull us out of our debacles. Now, if we could witness our leaders rising from their ashes, I believe, our resolve in them would increase manifold. Then, shouldn’t we allow our leaders to fail at times? By adapting our thoughts to failure being a step closer to leadership, we inspire others too.

Being able to adapt quickly to challenges and opportunities is a critical skill for leaders. Adaptability can allow you to consider additional options and approaches to achieve your goals in your organization and as a team. It is critical to be flexible as leaders and professionals which can allow you to respond effectively to opportunities and challenges. We must be willing to adjust and adapt to changing situations to be able to lead effectively and motivate others.

Adaptability is a key component to being an effective actualizer. All success is temporary, the environment changes and you must adapt to the ever changing landscape. You cannot control the environment, however you can be proactive instead of reactive, to the changing fortunes. Having a clear vision, and focused intentionality on your strategic goals, regardless of the climate, fortifies your resilience and keeps you moving forward, even when you may occasionally lose ground, or feel you are stagnant in terms of the results you desire. You are what you consistently do, you can never rest on your laurels, you must build on your success to reach your ultimate goal.

In my opinion, the first thing a leader needs to keep in mind is that constant change is a new normal and that we must be resilient, understanding that the willingness to quickly adapt to new circumstances in the workplace is inevitable. Diving into self-knowledge has never been so essential, where knowing very well what our strengths and weaknesses are are the new effective bases for overcoming challenges. Gaining speed of adaptation requires a good dose of empathy, effective communication and the ability to learn from our mistakes and must be assimilated through the prism of valuable lessons.

A team that fails together, stays together! I am a better leader by allowing myself the freedom to fail. That made me allow my team-members their share of failures, their share of mistakes. I see them doing the same with their teammates… it is absolutely infectious, a matter of culture, and translates into an inevitable quality of a leader – to try to do better, to fail, to learn from that failure, teach others how not to fail at the same thing twice, and to keep pushing the envelope.

1. Cultivate Relationships: A resilient leader understands the importance of a strong support system. Build and maintain relationships with mentors, peers, and your team to gain diverse perspectives and advice during challenging times. 2.Seek Different Perspectives: Leverage the insights and experiences of your support network. Different perspectives can provide valuable solutions and strategies for overcoming obstacles, enhancing your decision-making process. 3.Show Vulnerability: Demonstrate vulnerability by seeking support when necessary. 4.Strengthen Trust: Sharing challenges and seeking advice can strengthen the trust and bond within your team.

A resilient leader also prioritizes self-care to maintain their well-being and effectiveness. Taking care of your physical and mental health through regular exercise, mindfulness practices, and downtime is crucial for sustaining resilience. I encouraged my team to think of wellness as something they practised on a daily basis not something they waited to do on the weekend. It’s that moment you take between meetings for a few deep breathes. This not only improved individual well-being but also fostered a culture where self-care was valued and encouraged. By demonstrating that self-care is a priority, you set a powerful example and ensure you can face setbacks with a clear mind and renewed energy.

Support is not just a group of people around you who say, “You got this!” It’s people saying, “I’ve got you!” Find people who support relationship success and not just task success.

Here is how I would reflect - “One fails faster towards success.” Failure is a part of winning, and if leaders are the one who guide us towards success, they must be allowed to falter, to bite dust. More so, because every failure is a mere event and not a person. Upon reflection, we realise matters is the lesson, the learning, the will to accept the failure and the resolve not to repeat the same mistake. Now, if failures aren’t tolerated at all, there won’t be any learning and improvement too. Won’t that be too dangerous a situation for the growth of the organizations, nations and humankind? That’s the power of reflection.

Regular reflection is essential. Take time to consider both successes and setbacks. Reflection helps identify which strategies are effective and which need adjustments. It also allows you to recognize patterns that could lead to future setbacks, enabling proactive management. Encourage your team to reflect on their experiences as well, fostering a shared practice of continuous learning and improvement. This habit not only enhances individual growth but also drives the collective progress of the entire team.

Make After Action Review a systematic part of all major projects. You don't have to reflect each time you get a cup of coffee; but, if your team has undertaken a significant project, the final component of the project should be gathering EVERYONE'S input on: (1) what were we assigned to achieve? (2) what did we actually achieve (how close did we come to the anticipated outcome)? (3) what went well (what was most helpful to our progress toward the goals)? why? (4) what did not go well (what interfered with progress toward the goals)? why? (5) what do we want to continue doing the next time we undertake a project? (6) what do we want to do differently (start doing, stop doing, do less of, do more of)?

I always was running towards the goal completion and immediately started a new task. This was my biggest mistake I use to make. Always pause, reflect and then continue working towards the goal completion. It will enhance the quality and plan to reach our goal. Reflection helps us to identify our challenges and strengths. It will help us to equip for support or help. It helps us to realise our achievements outcome event before we receive it.

Confucius: "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." Rumi: "The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear." Such is the power of reflection that one can see what one has missed! It is a powerful practice that can help build some specific skill. It also helps in deeper assimilation of learnings.

Una organización resiliente que predica con el ejemplo, se anticipa a los cambios y se adapta a las nuevas circunstancias para superarlas de manera efectiva, esto es esencial para el éxito a largo plazo de la empresa. ?Construir una organización resiliente requiere: ??Un liderazgo fuerte y comprometido con la resiliencia. ??Una cultura de aprendizaje continuo y desarrollo de habilidades. ??Comunicación abierta y transparente a todos los niveles. Equipos fuertes y colaborativos. Prácticas efectivas de gestión del cambio. ??Una celebración de los éxitos y un aprendizaje de los fracasos. La resiliencia no sólo es “resistir" o "soportar" los desafíos, sino de la capacidad de adaptarse, aprender y crecer ante las dificultades. éxitos!??

Be a “human being” -vulnerable, humble and a have a learning mindset. These are also traits critical for true leadership today. As soon as you demonstrate these traits, your team/s will start building on these in their groups and the team becomes rock solid. A “know it all attitude” based on titles and bureaucracy has been the downfall of many a company. It’s acceptable to say “I don’t know” or let’s figure this out together. This also build emotional connects with the group, which is essential within a team.

Lead by example by taking care of yourself. Often times when we encounter setbacks we work tirelessly to course correct and our health and well being suffers! Demonstrate to your team that resilience requires caring for yourself.

Acknowledge and go through the negative emotions, allow yourself to accept that you are human, fallible, and it is ok to feel angry or sad or upset. Experience the emotions, then let them go. Now you can look to move forward, and ahead. Often, leaders believe to stay positive means to deny the emotions that naturally emerge from a failure. The right way - accept, experience, let go and then you can truly embrace a positive, future focused, what next/ what now attitude.

During extended periods of challenge and setbacks, there are things leaders can do to develop and grow their well-being and guard against burnout. 1) Take Time To Recharge Research shows when leaders recharge and renew, they get more done in less time at a higher level of quality and in a more sustainable way. 2) Develop An Internal Locus Of Control If a leader believes that they have control over what happens in a specific situation, they have what psychologists call an internal locus of control. People who have an internal locus of control are more likely to: ? Have a strong sense of self-belief about being able to succeed ? Work hard to achieve the things they want ? Feel confident in the face of challenges

Challenge: The company faced declining employee engagement, high turnover, and siloed teams across continents. Cause? Lack of cohesive talent strategy. Solution: 1. Strategic Alignment: - Developed a unified talent framework spanning regions. 2. Cultural Integration: - Bridged cultural gaps through cross-cultural training, collaboration across diverse teams. 3. Leadership Development: - Customized leadership programs for global leaders. 4. Metrics-Driven Approach: - Implemented data analytics to track progress. - Linked talent initiatives to financial outcomes. Results: - Employee engagement increased by 20%. - Turnover reduced significantly. - Teams collaborated seamlessly, driving innovation.