5 Resilience Points of Advice for Today’s Leaders

People from all generations and cultures throughout history have faced challenges, frustration, and suffering. Yet it seems that in the last fifty years, with the expansion of mobility, technology, and skyrocketing communications of The Information Age, our society is faced with new struggles and challenges that are stretching our minds, emotions, and hearts. Due in part to some of these complexities, there’s an undercurrent of instability and lack of security that puts a new level of pressure on all of us. ?

Regardless of the generation that you belong to, the research data shows that our psychological and cultural challenges are growing at an incremental rate—so much so that the word “resilience” is popping up more and more. But there’s hope too, and that’s why this month I’m launching the first of several leadership coaching blogs on Resilience. Let’s start at the foundation of resilience: You must believe in yourself.

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This coaching clip expands on this idea. Please watch, and then continue reading the blog below –

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Learning Resilience in the POW Camps

As fighter pilots, we had to be very confident in our abilities, because we frequently had to operate in a very close margin between duty and death. When my F-4 Phantom blew up on my 53rd mission over North Vietnam, instantly the cockpit was tumbling, and in less than five seconds I ejected. My parachute opened automatically, and I was floating down. I did a perfect parachute landing fall (PLF), but the militia surrounded me and captured me immediately. At that moment, my Prisoner of War (POW) experience began, and I was about to learn my personal lessons about suffering and resilience.

In the Hanoi Hilton prison (called Hoa Loa), I was locked in an isolated cell with three others who had recently been captured. Later we found out that we had joined many others who had already been there for months and even years.

For weeks that extended into months and years we suffered from torture, periodic isolation, very little medical care, small amounts of food, and almost no knowledge of our families back home.

In looking back at our lives, I see some amazing insights on resilience. Based on research papers that have been published, we miraculously came home very healthy. The data shows that we have had:

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• Lower PTSD than our peers who fought in South Vietnam for one year.
• Very successful careers when we returned.
• Long lives and are outliving our peers. Average age of those who were POWs for more than five years is 86.)
• Long-lasting marriages (read about them on the Captured by Love website.)

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"How did we resist, survive, and endure the POW experience? If I had to sum it up in two words—we believed." [Tweet This]

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Resilience Points for All Leaders

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Here are a few points that I’ve observed personally and with my friends about resilience –

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1. Faith was crucial. When you lose control over your life and the enemy can torture you and even kill you, you must learn to look up and pray. I knew right away that they should have shot me when I was captured. I shot above their heads to scare them off and they did not shoot at me. That made it clear to me that God had a plan and purpose for me. Many who hadn’t connected with God spiritually in years began praying on their way down in their parachute or shortly after being captured. Our spiritual faith gave us a hopeful reality that there was a bigger plan.
2. We were committed to our mission. Our goal to resist, stay connected, and serve with honor was at the top of our list. Our motto became “Resist, Survive, Return with Honor.” We had all memorized the six articles of the Code of Conduct, which specifically addressed our behaviors during capture. We would take torture in order to be faithful to our country, our leaders and our teammates. Commitment is essential. Beyond your team or employer’s mission, make a conscious decision about your personal mission too.
3. Our leaders set an amazing example of resilience. They were tortured more often; they were in isolation more than most of us and they always bounced back and stayed positive. They set the example, and we were inspired by their resilience and positive belief in our future.
4. We stayed connected with others. To overcome isolation we took great risks to communicate and stay connected to our teammates. We even celebrated at times to let people know we cared about them. In my book Leading with Honor, I frequently encourage leaders to over-communicate to stay connected.
5. We stayed positive. We believed that someday we would go home and that kept us from shutting down and giving up. After my first month of survival as a POW, I believed we would be released by the summer of 1968, because President Johnson would need to end the war to get re-elected. He decided not to run. So that summer I decided it would be another year, but it turned out to be more than four more years. However, we stayed positive and still believed that someday we would go home. And that day came in 1973. Intentional positivity provides the fuel and energy needed to push through challenges.

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Choose to Believe

I’ve learned from my experiences as a POW and in more than fifty years of freedom, that believing in yourself, your mission, your leaders and your teammates is essential for resilience. For me, faith in God has been the anchor and the backbone for everything.

LE [Tweet this Article]

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Team Resilience Development at Your Pace

For a limited time, we’re offering the Leading with Honor Freedom Package that can be used as a personal or group study. Follow step-by-step as your facilitator/leader guides you through each of the 14 leadership lessons.

1 Leader Guide is recommended for each facilitator/leader, and 1 Participant Guide and 1 Leading with Honor book are recommended per participant.

Purchase Your Leading with Honor Training Study

Download a free training session sample

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