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In today's fast-paced and ever-changing business world, resilience has become an essential skill. But why is resilience so important?
Resilience is not only beneficial for the individual, but also for teams and the entire organization: from increased productivity and employee engagement to better decision-making and crisis management - the benefits of resilient teams are manifold.
If we understand what resilience means and how we can cultivate it in 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 in the face of adversity or major stress factors. It is the ability to overcome challenges, adapt to change and maintain a positive attitude even under difficult circumstances. It is the ability to not only survive under pressure, but to thrive.
The key term here is "ability". That means we all have them. And we can train them to become better. While particularly resilient people recover quickly when confronted with stress or tragedy, averagely resilient people need more time.
Why can some people recover faster than others? Because they have trained. Over time, they have learned how to deal with challenges.
The good news is that we don't have to wait until we go through tough times. Instead, we can train resilience by cultivating the positive resources we need when we are going through a stressful time.
In today's professional world, with its shifting demands, the constant changes required to adapt to the market and the never-ending pressure, it is essential that leaders, managers and employees improve their ability to get back on track as quickly as possible. Resilience in the workplace will improve the performance of employees and therefore the performance of the company.
In short, resilience is a key trait to succeed in today's fast-paced, ever-changing business environment.
How you can increase your resilience: 5 tips
Resilience is a skill that needs to be learned and developed, and it's a worthwhile investment for anyone who wants to succeed both personally and professionally. Here are our five tips for strengthening your resilience in 2023.
1. identify your positive resources and nurture them
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has identified four key factors for preventing and coping with stress in children who have been exposed to toxic stress over an extended period of time.
Applied to our context, these are
- Stable and empathetic relationshipsBuilding and maintaining stable and empathetic relationships with family, friends, colleagues and other important people inside or outside the workplace helps to provide emotional support and reduce stress.
- Identify your key relationships and nurture them. If you are a manager or leader, would your employees view you as such? Will they come to you when faced with a challenge? Is there enough trust in your team for your employees to be honest and say when they have made a mistake?
- The feeling of self-efficacy and perceived controlA satisfactory degree of autonomy contributes effectively to stress reduction. This level of autonomy varies from person to person.
- Identify the key areas where you can gain control and define the first step you can take towards this goal. As a manager, consider how you can give your team autonomy. Does someone perform better when they work from home? Then make it happen.
- Possibilities for Strengthening adaptability and self-regulation skills. Even though the brain is most adaptable at a young age, it can still be trained in adulthood. This is known as brain plasticity. There is scientific evidence for the effectiveness of methods such as mindfulness that help to reduce stress and change the plasticity of the brain. One-to-one coaching in the workplace can also be very useful, as the coach meets managers where they are and takes them to the next level. Research shows that it is more effective than general resilience-building programs.
- Sources of faith, hope and cultural tradition mobilize. This is comparable to a good workplace culture with a clear vision and mission in an area that contributes to the common good.
2. have a clear purpose
Or as Simon Sinek would say: "Find your Why".
When you are going through a difficult time, relating to a higher purpose helps you to make the best of the situation. The most successful organizations that recovered quickly from the pandemic were those that had a clear purpose and were able to put their employees first during this time.
Is your organization's purpose clear enough to motivate your employees so that they all understand what they are doing and why they are doing it? If not, the start of a new year is definitely a good time to take some time to think about it. On a personal level, the purpose doesn't have to be big. Not everyone can save lives or the planet. It can also be a small goal, such as being kind to the people around you and making them feel appreciated.
3. rethink and look for the positive
When things are going badly, stop for a moment and think about what the worst possible scenario is. Would it really be that bad in the long run? If your answer is no, congratulations! You've just saved yourself many hours of headaches.
Carole Bagnoud, consultant at Great Place To Work®, remembers:
"When I was still at the beginning of my career as a coach, I was invited to speak at an event organized by business and professional women. I was quite nervous because I knew I would be speaking in front of very talented women and because I was hoping to make business contacts. The conference went quite well, but during the Q&A session I made a big mistake. In one second, I felt like I had lost all credibility. As a fairly young coach of 30, I wanted to appear confident. When a participant asked if I could help her with her problems, I answered in the affirmative instead of telling her that I needed to know more about her situation. At that moment, I felt the atmosphere in the room change. I realized on the spot that I had made a mistake, but wasn't smart enough to admit it.
For a few days, I was completely absorbed in my shame and couldn't think about anything else. Eventually my mind cleared and I realized that I had learned something very important, a lesson that would help me grow. This shift in consciousness helped me to turn this experience into something positive."
4. reflect on your own personal skills
What strategies did you use the last time you found yourself in a difficult situation? Think about the last time you felt stressed, anxious or immersed in negative thoughts - the strategies that helped you then will most likely work again. At the very least, it's worth a try.
5. take care of your basic needs
Pay attention to your sleeping and eating habits and don't forget to exercise regularly. Good health promotes your resilience, and increasing your resilience will help you to stay healthy.
The role of trust in a resilient working environment
A good workplace culture can play an important role in promoting resilience. Cultivating a positive and safe working environment, providing opportunities for active engagement and encouraging the development of trusting relationships all help to reduce stress and increase employee resilience.
Trusting relationships in the workplace create an environment in which individuals feel comfortable and safe to share their thoughts and ideas, and in which they can rely on the support of colleagues in difficult times.
Trust is an essential prerequisite for fostering a culture of collaboration, open communication and mutual support. When employees trust their colleagues and managers, they are more likely to take responsibility for their work and feel accountable for their actions. This leads to greater motivation, higher engagement, better productivity and lower turnover rates.
In addition, trust in leadership is important for employees to feel safe and valued, which helps to create 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 managers, which facilitates their adaptability to change.
In short, building trust in the workplace is critical to creating a resilient and productive work environment. By fostering trust between employees and managers, organizations can create an environment where individuals feel supported and valued and are more likely to thrive and contribute to the success of the team and the company.
Learn what it takes to build trust in your organization, promote a safe workplace culture and motivate your employees.
