RESILIENCE - Why you need it as a leader (Part 1 of 4)

Everywhere you look, MBA programs, business books, journals, lecturers, CEOs, business owners, and managers are speaking of the need to develop more resilience at the individual as well as the organizational levels.

When change becomes the new normal, resilience becomes a new skill for corporate survival and sustainable development, helping individuals and companies recover quickly from emergencies.

Leaders need new approaches to build the resilience required in these decisive times, through a perceptive response to current challenges, foresight to anticipate the next round of disruptions, and capability for adaptation that will put their organizations on a path for successful growth.

Leaders have to deal with various factors, frequently changing, without clarity of strategy, or vision. And, despite this, many find themselves barely surviving in these difficult times of uncertainty and volatility.

Products are scarce, prices are rising, employees are changing jobs at a much faster rate, competition is much more global, and jobs themselves are being redefined as a result of technology and a savvier customer. And yet, as leaders and managers, leaders are still asked to deliver on results, and guarantee sustainability, no matter the ambiguity and uncertainty of the environment.

Resilience provides a leader with a protective factor to deal effectively with times of change, high volatility, and business environment uncertainty – a quality a leader can pass on to his/her team.

A resilient leader or manager can help create an environment where team members support each other and work collaboratively, even in challenging times.

Resiliency is a core leadership skill that significantly impacts performance, mental health, job satisfaction, team cohesion, and overall company success.

In my line of work, I see a lot of mistakes made by decision makers and consultants alike. I hear and see programs addressing business resilience systems and procedures that boil down to a set of new rules and regulations, strategies and financial tools, markets and supply chain tools, without so much as a peep on human resilience, especially as it pertains to managers and leaders. I believe for organizations to succeed in developing business resilience, they first have to address leaders’ resilience, as people first, then, as decision makers, strategists, visionaries, and role models.

a)???????????Emotional Resilience

Emotional resilience in the workplace is about taking stock of the things that need to be done, and figuring out the best ways to deal with them in as stress-free a manner as possible—and knowing your limits, and those of the surrounding people.

b)???????????Organizational Business Resilience

Business resilience is an organization's ability to absorb stress, recover critical functionality, and thrive in altered circumstances. In short, it positions organizations to prepare for anything.

I will be addressing these points and more in detail in the next three parts. Please feel free to comment and add texture to this incredibly important topic. Happy Holidays