I think we’ve all experienced those leaders who ‘toughen up’ when crises appear insurmountable. It almost seems as if they can shout the problem away. I remember an MD who used to throw the phone across the table. Of course, this is quite some decades ago but I think we all know that stress can do strange things to reasonable people, including ourselves, but is it helpful? How can we develop resilience in leadership instead?
For years I thought that being resilient was about hiding your emotions and weaknesses. In fact, the English phrase “having a stiff upper lip” comes to mind. Decades later, I’m still learning how to be both vulnerable and compassionate, both of which are key aspects of resilience in leadership.
What is Resilience?
I’m sure most of you would be comfortable stating that resilience is about bouncing back from adversity. But it’s slightly more than that. It’s about accepting that hard challenges are part of life whilst having the mental equilibrium to not get overwhelmed by emotions during those challenges. The key is to acknowledge the emotions and to use them to step back and focus on the big picture.
Resilience in leadership can be seen when leaders use strong emotions to give them the energy to reframe challenges as opportunities for learning or creativity. Of course this is not an easy thing to do. It requires a certain amount of self-awareness and understanding of how biases shape decisions in order to make wiser choices.
Why Should Leaders care about Resilience?
Harvard Business School Business Insights quotes a Zenger Folkman study that shows that resilient leaders are viewed as being more effective. The article also references research published in 2019 that resilient companies thrive during crises. So perhaps we should be paying attention.
When we get overwhelmed by emotions and stress, our cognitive or ‘logical thinking’ abilities decrease. Our brains are essentially shutting down all non-core activities in order for us to fight or flee in response to whatever ‘threat’ has created a strong emotional response. It’s therefore logical to conclude that someone who can manage their emotions is able to view situations clearly. They can see crises from several angles and can be more measured in making decisions.
Challenges push us to question ourselves but our innate qualities don’t disappear and neither do our weaknesses. Leaders who understand both are more likely to focus on the future and to hunt out the crack in chaos’s armour. These leaders also know to reach out to others to complement their skills and needs. And by doing this compassionately and positively, they create solidarity and hope that there is a way forwards. Things can and do change and resilient leaders act as the catalyst.
How Can You Cultivate Resilience in Leadership?
1- Find Common Humanity – Accept change and Be Open to Feedback
Whilst it’s easy to say that change is part of life, it’s not always easy to accept and we often want to fight it. However, through self-reflection and feedback, we can learn about ourselves, become more self-aware and understand what scares us about change. We can learn to manage our triggers and with practice, become more adept at taking a step back and not reacting.
One of the easiest tools for this is reframing, that therapists and leadership coaches both use with their clients. Essentially, when you consider a situation from another point of view or from a place in the future or perhaps as an observer then you open up your mind to possibilities. This is clearly a very tough thing to do in the face of natural disasters or health issues.
In those cases, I always revert back to my role model: Viktor Frankl. I’ve mentioned him before but I find it inspiring that he managed to reframe one of the most horrific situations anyone can face. Frankl managed to find purpose and meaning in his experience within a concentration camp.
2- Connections / Network
Understanding your vulnerabilities and needs will help you know who to reach out to for help and support. You’d be surprised how much people like to share and help when they know others are facing challenges. And it’s one of the most powerful ways to develop resilience in leadership. Whether we like it or not, we need each other.
I remember someone once said to me that you’re as strong as your network. We need people to bounce things off, to provide support and also to give us honest feedback. Who are we without others but lonely individuals who don’t know how to connect to our ‘human-ness’? No one actually wants a ‘polished’ leader hiding behind a mask. We all have emotions and people want to be inspired by their leaders.
3- Believe in a Greater Vision to support your resilience in leadership
I’m sure someone has mentioned purpose to you at some point in the past year or so. Yes, there’s a bit of hype about purpose but there’s a good reason for it. As humans we tend to gravitate towards instant gratification and in today’s society, we have lots to choose from. It’s very easy to get lost and to drift through life. I’m sure you’ve seen those leaders who tow the company party line but you know they don’t truly believe it. It feels fake somehow.
Your purpose doesn’t have to be some grand ‘save the world’ mission. Simply having an end goal involving something you’re passionate about makes a huge difference. Of course it can change throughout your life as your priorities evolve. However, purpose or vision does make the tough times much easier to deal with. A very simple and useful tool is the Ikagai, as mentioned in our previous blog on living abroad, which I find very helpful to work through with people.
A true purpose or vision means that you are also living life to your values. You can finally drop the mask and be true to yourself and in the process attract a more loyal following. After all, don’t we all want to follow someone who believes in something greater than themselves?
How will Resilience impact your Leadership?
Crises cannot be solved by one leader or even by a few. The more you rally people around a common humanity and vision with compassion and awareness, then the more likely it is that every nook and cranny of the system will be interconnected. Everyone will be ‘in it together’ which creates not only loyalty but also solutions beyond one’s wildest hopes.