In today’s fast-paced modern business world, there’s no doubt that life wouldn’t be life if we didn’t face constant pressures and challenges.

These can come at the least expected moments – ‘curve balls’ out of the blue which are sent to test us.

Factors completely out of our control – long-standing customers sourcing their products elsewhere, price increases in raw materials, essential equipment breaking down, or a sudden exodus of staff.

All creating uncertainty.

But the most important thing which shapes our characters isn’t the challenges themselves – but how we respond to them. In the words of evangelical educator Charles Swindoll: "Life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react to it."

So, what sort of person are you?

Does the challenge knock you completely off your track to the point that you become stressed and give up?

Or do you get back up, dust yourself down, and face the future with renewed courage and determination, following the words of US inventor and businessman Thomas Edison: “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

It’ll come as no surprise that the second example above is the route taken by today’s most successful business leaders.

Central to their core function is the concept of Resilience – described by the Cambridge Dictionary as: “the quality of being able to return quickly to a previous good condition after problems.” 

In addition, from my experiences as The Resilience Coach, I define Resilience as “Springing Forward with Learning”.

So, what behaviours do these Resilient Leaders display?

• Energy & enthusiasm – they recognise that these, in turn, bring out the best in people in terms of motivation and production. Conversely, a lack of energy and enthusiasm will impact on others;

• Continuous improvement – practice never leads to improvement without a strong desire to improve and achieve; be mindful that “practice makes permanent”, therefore, what do you want that permanence to be?

• Taking on challenging goals – this will inspire others to do the same;

• Willingness to go above and beyond – an extremely valuable trait;

• Inspiring others – there’s no doubt about the importance of taking the initiative yourself, but the ability to inspire others will lead to great results;

• Challenging the status quo – we all take the easy option of continuing standard processes and procedures, but it takes courage to speak up and change and improve them;

• Seeking feedback – people who routinely ask for feedback are courageous, and research demonstrates they’re more effective. Their effectiveness is multiplied by their willingness to act on the feedback;

• Acting as a role model – when someone acts as a role model, they take charge and ‘walk the talk.’

• Recognising change – anyone acknowledging what needs to be changed, and developing an improvement plan, will make a major difference within their organisation.

How many of these behaviours are you actually doing? If the idea of any of them de-energisers you, then it’s definitely time for a Coach.

Look out for the next three blogs in this series – “How do you display resilient behaviours,” “Why are resilient behaviours important,” and “What are the benefits of resilient behaviours.”

If you need further information about this approach, or any other resilience topic, please contact russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.