In today's fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, resilience has become a vital trait for individuals to possess. But why is resilience so important?
Resilience does not only benefit the individual, but the team and organization as well: from increased productivity and employee engagement, to better decision making and crisis management, the benefits of resilient teams are numerous.
By understanding the importance of resilience and how to cultivate it within ourselves, we can not only improve our own performance, but also contribute to the success of our organization.
What is resilience and why is it important?
Resilience is the ability to bounce back when faced with adversity or any source of major stress. It is the capacity to cope with challenges, adapt to change and maintain a positive outlook even in the face of difficult circumstances. It is the ability to not only survive but to thrive under pressure.
The key work here is “capacity”. This means, we all have it. And we can train it to get better. While very resilient people recover rapidly when faced with stress or tragedies, average resilient people will need more time.
Why can some people recover faster than others? Because they’ve trained. Over time, they have learned how to cope with challenges.
The good news: we don’t have to wait until we face hard times. Instead, we can train resilience by cultivating our positive resources that are needed when going through a stressful time.
In today’s professional world, with the evolving needs of organizations, the perpetual changes that are necessary to adapt to the market, the never-ending pressure, it is essential that leaders, managers, employee increase their capacity to get back on track as fast as possible. Resilience in the workplace will improve employee’s performance and thus, organizational performance.
In short, resilience is a key attribute to be successful in today's fast-paced, ever-changing business environment.
How to boost your resilience: 5 tips
Building resilience requires an intentional effort, it's a skill that has to be learned and developed, and it's a worthwhile investment for anyone looking to achieve success, both personally and professionally. Here are our five tips to boost your resilience in 2023.
1. Identify your positive resources and and take care of them
The center on the developing child at Harvard University has identified four key factors in preventing and addressing stress on children who experienced prolonged period of toxic stress.
Applied to our context, they are:
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Stable and responsive relationships: Building and maintaining stable and responsive relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and other key people in or outside the workplace will help provide emotional support and reduce stress.
Identify your important relationships and nourish them. If you are a manager or a leader, would your co-workers think of you as such? Will they come to you when faced with a challenge? Is there enough trust in your team so that your team members can be honest and say when they made a mistake? -
Sense of self-efficacy and perceived control: Gaining a satisfying level of autonomy will effectively help reducing stress. That level of autonomy differs from one individual to another.
Identify the main areas in which you can gain control and define the first step you can take towards that goal. As a manager, think of how you can give autonomy to your team. Does someone perform better when working from home? Make it possible, then.
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Opportunities to strengthen adaptive skills and self-regulatory capacities. Even though the brain is the most adaptable at a younger age, it can still be trained as grown-up. This is called brain plasticity. There is scientific evidence of the effectiveness of methods such as mindfulness in reducing stress and enhancing the plasticity of regions involved in attention control and emotion regulation. One and one coaching at the workplace can be very useful as well, because the coach will meet the managers where she/he is and take her/him to the next level. Research suggests it is more efficient than general resilience building programs.
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Mobilizing source of faith, hope and cultural tradition. This could compare to a good workplace culture with a clear vision and mission in a field that contributes to the greater good.
2. Have a clear purpose
Or as Simon Sinek would say: “Find Your Why".
When going through a difficult time, relating to a higher purpose will help you get the best out of the situation. The most successful organizations and the ones that thrived, did well and recovered quickly from the pandemic are the ones who had a clear purpose and were able to put their people first during that time.
Is your organization’s purpose clear enough to motivate your employee’s so that all of them understand what they do and why they do it? If not, the beginning of a new year is definitely a good time to take some time and reflect on it. On a personal level, the purpose doesn’t need to be grand. Everyone can’t be saving lives or the planet. It can be a small purpose, like being kind to the people around you and make them feel valued.
3. Shift your mindset and look for the positive outcome
If things go south, take a step back and really think about what the worst possible outcome is. Would it really be that bad on the long run? If your answer is no, congratulations! You have just saved yourself hours of headaches.
If instead, the perceived gravity of the situation is high, try to shift your mindset and focus on your learnings. What do I take out of the situation? What can I do better next time? When looking at the opportunity to learn or to become a better person, we reappraise the way we experience the situation and bring positive emotions into it. We get out of the survival mode induced by our reaction to stress (the Fight, Flight, Freeze modes) and go into a more proactive attitude.
Carole Bagnoud, Consultant at Great Place To Work® remembers:
“As I was still in my early career as a coach, I was invited to give a speech during an event organized by Business and Professional Women. I was quite nervous because I knew I would be in front of very talented women and because I was hoping to get business leads. The conference went quite well, but I made a big mistake during the Q&A session. In one second, I felt I lost all credibility. As a still quite young coach of 30 years old, I wanted to appear confident. When a participant asked if I could help her with her issues, I answered with affirmation instead of telling her that I would need to know more about her situation. In that moment, I felt the atmosphere of the room shift. I realized on the spot that I had made a mistake but was not wise enough to admit it.
I spent a few days totally immersed in my shame and was unable to think of anything else. Eventually, my mind cleared, and I realized that I had learned something very important, a lesson that would help me grow. This mindset shift helped transform this experience into something positive.”
4. Remember your very personal skills
Which strategies were used and worked the last time you were going through difficulties? Think about the last time you felt stressed, anxious, or absorbed in negative thoughts – the strategies helping you then will most likely work again. At least, it’s worth a try.
5. Take care of your basic needs
Finally, watch your sleeping and eating habits, don’t forget to exercise regularly. A good health will help your resilience, just as increasing your capacity to be resilient will help you stay healthy.
The role of trust in resilient work environments
A good workplace culture can play a significant role in boosting resilience. Cultivating a positive and safe work environment, providing opportunities for active engagement, and encouraging the development of trusting relationships will help reduce stress and increase resilience among employees.
Trusting relationships within the workplace create an environment where individuals feel comfortable and safe to share their thoughts and ideas, and where they can rely on their colleagues for support during difficult times.
Trust is essential for fostering a culture of collaboration, open communication, and mutual support. When employees trust their colleagues and leaders, they are more likely to take ownership of their work and feel a sense of responsibility for their actions. This will lead to increased motivation, higher engagement, better productivity, and reduce turnover rates.
Furthermore, trust in leadership is essential for employees to feel secured and valued, which will help creating a sense of stability and security in the workplace. Trust in leadership also enables employees to have confidence in the decisions and actions of their leaders and will thus facilitate their adaptability to change.
In short, building trust within the workplace is crucial for creating a resilient and productive work environment. By fostering trust between employees and leaders, organizations can create an environment where individuals feel supported, valued and are more likely to thrive and contribute to the success of the team and the organization.
Learn what it takes to build trust in your organization, foster a safe workplace culture and engage your employees.
