There are times we fail but we still have not lost the war because we have not given up yet. It does not matter if we fall, what matters the most is whether we stand up again or not. That is resilience in a nutshell!
When it comes to being resilient in an organization, it is not a cakewalk, especially when we are talking about managers or corporate leaders. Well, they are certainly not superhumans – they have the same flesh as ours, they inhale the same breath, eat the same food, are made of the same chemicals, and drink the same water like every other being on this world. So in times of adversities, they are not immune to pain, fear, and mayhem. In fact, they are the ones who know more, feel more, and are hurt more. So, chances are that they are more vulnerable and prone to giving up (considering the amount of stress and pressure they are under). There are so many unique ways to become more resilient, most of these ways can be used by anyone from any background. For example, ever heard of a situation where you can become more resilient by playing games or having fun? Well, why don’t you give a shot at playing some cash games and witnessing it yourself?
Here is the million-dollar question – what differentiates a good leader from a great one? One of the major factors that differentiate these two leaders is their ability to bounce back from all the hardships and miseries of life or at work. It is their resilience, their flexibility, their capability to return to not just the normal but a stronger and better state. A true leader is one who considers adversities, challenges, crises, and failures as just other names of opportunities disguised as obstacles. In these unprecedented times when changes are hitting us faster than a bullet, it has become of utmost importance for the leaders to become resilient. Testing their resilience is like testing their leadership as a whole.
Need for resilient leaders in an organization
Even though being resilient is important for everyone to become successful and grow in life, let us first talk about the leaders in an organization – how can they become more resilient so they can handle a team of many people in a successful manner? We’ve already discussed some unique ways such as playing poker with friends or some other games so we can learn to become more resilient in a creative and innovative way. Now let us understand the need for such resilient leaders.
1- It is important for leaders to bounce back quickly because they have a team, an organization to take care of. Leaders are a shoulder to their team members. If the shoulder is bent, how will the team be able to seek solace or rest?
2- It is the leader’s duty to become the light in dark times, even if it means he burns himself. So being resilient and projecting an optimistic outlook will change the team’s perspective. Otherwise, if the foundation is weak, the building is bound to collapse and leaders are no less than a foundation that holds the organization intact.
3- It is only in these times of uncertainties that a resilient leader emerges. Suppose a famous fashion store has experienced a decrease in its sales during the lockdown, a true leader will shift his focus from “what if” to “what is”. Only when he will be in contact with the PRESENT will he be able to move on from the stress of the past and the anxiety of the future. Once he accepts, he will be able to recover from the stress more quickly and then will move on to the solutions. He could either set up an online website for his products or could diversify his products. He could increase his customers by engaging them on social media platforms. The most important thing is to have a shift in the mindset.
How to become more resilient?
- Ask yourself – Are you running in circles or walking in a straight line?
How quickly you will bounce back from times of adversities is dependent on this simple question – are you running in circles or are you walking in a straight line? When your perspective is like a circle, it becomes a cycle of compulsions and obsessions. The pandemic has affected your business, the more you think about it, the more cycles you complete. It is as if you are stuck and fixated on what happened in the past. If you are thinking about your problems, you are suffering the misery, not once but every time you are thinking about it. However, if you are walking in a straight line, you are like a river – flowing and not looking back. You just cannot look back because that is not your natural expression. If the pandemic has caused some distress, you feel the hurt but then you move on and work towards reparations. You move from one step to another and then another till you reach a resolution.
- Experience makes you accept things
Experience is something you cannot define in words or memories, it is only felt. However, belief is like a borrowed interpretation from someone else which you can revisit whenever you wish. Since experience is only felt, once it is over, you cannot fixate on it. You can experience the exact same thing only once! The more you focus on your experiences, the more aware you are. The more aware you are, the more accepting you are of your present and that is how you know how to focus on “what is”.
- Acceptance till the very end
When you are in a state of crisis, once you accept what happened, you become more comfortable with the change. You stop resisting the change, instead, you start acting on it. You take charge of the situation, enhance your skills and learning, and reflect. By taking charge, we mean start making an alternate plan, delegating tasks to the team, enhancing your communication strategy, and indulging in experiments and trials. In times of adversity, we must be as equipped as we can be. So, even if you are not an expert in coding, do you know how the code works? Can you be there for your team when they are grappling with strict deadlines and unending tasks?
- Fail but don’t give up
Let us take the above example of playing games and being more resilient. When you know the rules of poker, you know that failing is not an option if you want to win. You can’t move ahead if you don’t experiment or try. Fail, fail, fail, and fail but the important thing is to never give up! Thus, even when the experiment fails, you get up and try another method. If that also fails, you try a different approach but you don’t give up. You set up an online store, it does not work, you try diversifying the products, if that does not work too, you find another way!
- Commitment vs flexibility
A lot of people think that being flexible means not sticking to your commitments. However, it is yet another myth that must be busted. Commitment should be to your team, to your work, to yourself but when it comes to approach, methods, and techniques, you must be flexible. That is what the true meaning of resilience is! You spent hours working on a presentation but due to some reason, the client changed the topic of discussion. So you can either sulk and get stuck in the cycle of the past or you can get up and start preparing for the new topic – that is all that matters. The secret mantra to resilience is – you are committed to your organization and work but are flexible for such external changes which are almost never in our hands.
Summing up
It is okay to be upset over a crisis, it is also okay to fail or take a break for a while but the important part of being a true leader is to bounce back quickly and emerge as an even stronger leader. Resilience, as a virtue in leaders, is not just important for them but also for their team. A resilient leader breeds resilient teams. If you do not know where to start, learn the game of poker, get yourself some poker sign up bonus in India, and get started! Become resilient in the most unique ways!
