Resilient leaders create resilient teams and businesses

These days more than ever do people leaders need to both model resilience for their teams and to build resilience in their teams. That’s because the business climate presents complex challenges and opportunities that are ever changing and ever evolving. To thrive under these conditions leaders and their teams need resilience in business. 

According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is: 

. . . the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

 Resilience in business starts with having a growth mindset

One of the many hallmarks of resilience is learning from one’s mistakes, finding the positive outcomes of even negative situations. These abilities require a growth mindset and with that growth mindset, leaders, teams, and organizations can begin building resilience so they can thrive in a challenging business climate.

Does your organization possess a “growth mindset?” If not, here’s why it should. 

By having a growth mindset, leaders, teams, and organizations can be more innovative and more agile in facing challenges, helping them to get ahead of their competitors.

INFOGRAPHIC: 4 superpowers of a growth mindset company 

Benefits to resilience in business

Resilience building can provide several benefits for leaders, teams, and businesses, including: 

• Better decision-making: When leaders are more resilient, they face difficult situations with more confidence, being equipped with skills and strategies from their resilience training. Therefore, they can more consistently think critically and make sound decisions. 
• Enhanced communication: Resilience building can improve the communication skills of leaders, helping them to communicate more effectively with their teams and other stakeholders during challenging times. 

INFOGRAPHIC: 7 signs of a resilient leader 

• Increased productivity: By being more confident, more equipped, and more skilled, resilient leaders can better handle stress and challenges without their becoming overwhelmed. Consequently, they tend to be more productive. 
• Improved job satisfaction: Both having a growth mindset and being more resilient imparts agency upon leaders. That is to say, they tend to view themselves as having more control over a situation or, in the very least, acknowledge the areas within which they do have control. Such beliefs can lead to a greater sense of job satisfaction and motivation. 

Can resilience alleviate stress?

In addition, all of this change adds stress to leaders, their teams, and their organizations. It is possible that resilience in leadership can help alleviate that stress. 

Although every industry can benefit from building resilience to stress, there are some occupations that are especially prone to stress. They are: 

• Education: While schools and universities teach academic subjects, they often neglect the importance of emotional and mental resilience. Resilience training in educational institutions could help students better handle stress, manage their emotions, and cope with setbacks. 
• Healthcare: Healthcare professionals are exposed to high levels of stress and burnout, which can affect patient care. Resilience training programs for healthcare workers could help them manage stress. 
• Small businesses: Small business owners often face significant challenges, such as financial instability and competition. Resilience training for entrepreneurs could help them overcome setbacks. 
• Disaster management: Natural disasters and emergencies are traumatic and can be extremely challenging to handle. Resilience training for first responders, emergency workers, and community members could help them cope with the aftermath of these disasters. 
• Military: Military personnel face unique challenges, including exposure to combat and prolonged separation from loved ones. Resilience training programs for soldiers could help them better handle the stress of military life and adjust to civilian life after their service.

Final thoughts

Modern business life is fraught with rapid change, challenges, uncertainty, and stresses. One of the qualities that can equip leaders, teams, and businesses to not just survive but to thrive in the current business climate is building resilience. I hope this article has given you some ideas and has provided a way for you to build your own personal resilience.

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