What are some best practices for developing your own resilience as a leader?

Ask the people that have worked with you in the past about your strengths and weaknesses. The key here is...be open to really hearing the feedback. And be okay with not being the expert in everything. No one is!

Reflect on your leadership experiences and tell stories about your successes and failures. Use these stories to identify patterns in your behavior and decision-making. Create a safe space for your colleagues or team members to provide feedback on your leadership. I also use role-playing exercises to practice challenging leadership scenarios with my clients. Try mindfulness practices to cultivate self-awareness and clarity. Take time each day to reflect on your leadership experiences, we use a custom journal for our clients (digital or hard copy, however they learn best). Make time for a personal retreat where you can disconnect, dig in and do the work. In fact, join us for one on Virgin Voyages at notthehrlady.com/sail-leadership

The research that Marcus Buckingham and Gallup have done shows that we get much stronger growth and outcomes when we focus on our strengths instead of our weaknesses. Putting our time, energy, and efforts into building our strengths even further helps us stay resilient by focusing on the positive and having bigger gains in learning and achievement.

Resilience isn't synonymous with enduring everything; it's quite the opposite: 1. Regularly acknowledging your emotions and needs 2. Granting yourself the space to prioritize your mental and physical well-being 3. Identifying what benefits you and putting it into action. Resilience is a journey. It's not about obligation; it's about the freedom to explore. Quick-tip: psychoeducation across various domains, encompassing self-management, health literacy, connectivity, meaning and solution orientation, acceptance and adaptation, personal responsibility, and realistic optimism. It will foster resilience as a lifelong companion to guide us through life's twists and turns.

In our long-term leadership development programs, we encourage leaders to go on a "listening tour" to get very specific, actionable feedback. Here's how...https://letsgrowleaders.com/2020/09/07/a-practical-and-free-way-to-get-great-360-feedback/

Think of it this way. You are only looking to keep the "door open" with your thinking. Anytime you think you can't, or you tell yourself that you aren't good at something - that's the instruction you've given your mind. The door is CLOSED. If you can hold the thought a bit more loosely and think, "This is only feedback. It's what is right now - not forever," the door stays OPEN to the possibility and potential for a different outcome. What could you accomplish if you were more willing to take risks and view them instead as experiments with benefits and part of the learning process? This is the attitude of the Growth Mindset, and it's achievable for everyone.

I find that leaders should emphasize the importance of continuous learning and personal growth, and provide opportunities for employees to learn new skills and knowledge. Chapter 3 in my book "Back to Human" is called "Practice Shared Learning" because the most effective teams are those where people organically share what they know and teach one another. Cultivating a culture of shared learning, helps everyone on the team develop resilience, and become more adaptable, so they can more effectively navigate an ever-changing world. This can ultimately lead to greater engagement, productivity, and innovation within your team and organization.

I couldn't agree more. There are three mental models I've found helpful in fostering resilience: stoicism, story-based goal setting, and mindset. There are three books I revisit regularly. I recommend reading them in this order: 1. Story-Based Goal Setting - Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller. 2. Mental Models - Mindset by Michael and Megan Hyatt. 3. Creativity in the Face of Adversity - The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Each of these authors also has a podcast worth checking out as well.

Supportive relationships are so vital AND it can be tricky in global, remote, and Hybrid Teams. I discussed this recently on "Asking for a Friend" (my #linkedin show) https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7036670559035785216/

Believing in ourselves is critical to resiliency. Allowing others to believe in us is powerful too. We all have people in our corner supporting us, just as we support them too. Build your team, that way you’ll never be alone.

As a leader, I used to take pride in working around the clock, constantly pushing myself to the limit. I believed that the more I worked, the more successful I would be. But as the demands of leadership continued to pile up, I realized that I was neglecting a critical component of leadership - self-care - and I was drowning. When I started prioritizing self-care, I was able to develop greater resilience as a leader. I found that I was better able to manage stress, stay focused and motivated, and make better decisions. And most importantly, I was able to lead with greater clarity and purpose, inspiring my team to do the same. So... Set boundaries, make time for rest and relaxation, and prioritize your health. When you do, everyone wins!

Fortunately, self-care including mental health is receiving more attention. It's so easy to forget about carving out time to workout, but we know from studies that exercise boosts just about every positive aspect in one's life and importantly stress reduction. Some sleep hygiene tips: 1) avoid alcohol at night as it interferes with restorative REM sleep (sometimes a challenge at business dinners) 2) block blue light from your phone by turning on Night Shift mode in Display in Settings 3) when traveling use earplugs to block ambience noise (cars driving, honking, ambulances, etc) and eye shields to block early am sun through curtains/blinds. 4) if you wake up in the middle of the night to pee, avoid water and other fluids at dinner.

Self-care is foundational to growing as a leader and a person; none of us can continually pour from an unreplenished cup. That said- self-care isn't all face masks and massages. Sometimes self-care is stuff that isn't as easy- prioritizing nutrition and health, relationships, boundaries, etc. Know yourself and your needs and use those to really reflect and enact meaningful self-care habits.

When you engage in self-care, particularly "active recovery" you come back stronger. Pushing through is a recipe for decreased performance and in the long run, chronic health issues. Peak performers know that self-care is key to being on their A-game.

I know there are leaders out there who struggle to find the time to invest in their health because they see it as something that gets done after their other areas of responsibilities are taken care of. I was the same way until I adjusted my mental model. Today I would argue that making time to invest in your health is a prerequisite to being effective in the other areas of your life. If you need some data to justify the investment, I have two books for you. The first is "Spark" by John J. Ratey, MD, and "Sweat Equity" by Jason Kelly, specifically the chapter on "Work and Working Out."

I find that it's important to analyze positive and negative outcomes to identify what went well and what could be improved. Then, you should identify the key factors that contributed to the outcomes, such as actions taken or decisions made. You should always try to learn from what didn't work, not repeat it again, and commit to improvement. Then, develop an action plan to address areas for improvement, take action to implement the plan and monitor progress and outcomes over time.

Here are a few tips: Vigorous positive thought. Know your motivations. What’s your commitment level? Small goals become big accomplishments. Control what you can control. Believe in yourself and allow others to believe in you.