How to become a Resilient Leader
In my last blog, I discussed the benefits of being a resilient leader in learning how to cope with, and respond to, the challenges that today’s competitive business world creates.
There’s no doubt that becoming a more resilient leader is a pursuit that’s worthy of any professional’s long-term development plan.
But resilience isn’t something that just happens overnight. It takes time and dedication to build resilience and demonstrate it as a key personal strength. It is something that needs to be Proactive.
So, what steps can you take to become a resilient leader?
Reflect and Assess
Leaders must have a strong understanding of themselves to successfully guide others through times of change and uncertainty.
Through self-reflection and feedback from trusted peers, identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your motivational drivers,
This will help you approach challenges with a keen sense of emotional intelligence - the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognise and influence the emotions of those around you.
By making it a habit to regularly assess your leadership effectiveness, you can adapt your leadership style to tackle complex business problems and steer your team through turbulent situations.
How do you Reflect and Self-Assess? Photo Nathan Maduta Unsplash
Continuous learning and growth
Organisational challenges present opportunities for leaders to learn more about themselves and bolster their resolve to overcome hardship.
Approaching challenges with a positive outlook allows you to Spring Forward from adversity and come out stronger on the other side.
On top of first-hand experience, leadership training can be an effective way to prepare for real-world business obstacles. Spend time to research what training opportunities are available to you.
Be purpose-driven
Purpose is vitally important to work performance.
A report by leading behaviour change research agency Better Up Labs (www.betterup.com) reveals how performing meaningful work in support of a purpose leads to many benefits, including:
· Increased job satisfaction;
· Stronger social support in the workplace;
· Greater organisational commitment among employees.
By taking a purpose-driven approach to work, and instilling a sense of meaning among your team, you’ll lead more authentically and rally your employees around a mission when challenges arise - empowering them to unleash their potential and perform at their best when pursuing organisational success.
Cultivate Relationships
If you face seemingly insurmountable crises, your trusted friends and colleagues can be a source from which you draw strength and guidance.
A robust professional network will give you access to people with different perspectives and skills, along with resources that can be leveraged to build high-performing teams and drive key projects forward.
By growing your network, and learning from peers with diverse backgrounds and talents, you’ll become a more capable leader and develop the confidence needed to overcome obstacles and influence others to do the same.
Look out for my last blog in this series – “The importance of being a resilient leader.”
If you’d like to explore the subject of resilience more deeply, please contact me via Email: russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.