BUILDING RESILIENCE

“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you lived so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all.”  J. K. Rowling

Failure is a normal part of life. So everybody will fail at different things and at different times. However, the way individuals react to failures is what differentiates us. This also is dependent on our resilience level.

Resilience is not what we achieve. It is a way of life. It is the capacity to recover quickly from failures, crises, difficulties, calamities, etc., and the ability to adapt to changes and keep going in the face of adversity.

In a recent study, a group of employees was asked what was happening in their lives that require them to draw on their reserves. They did not point to tragedies or business failures. A whopping 75% actually said managing difficult people or office politics.

This survey clearly shows a lack of understanding of what resilience is and its importance.

Many authors have presented many perspectives of how to recover from setbacks or failures. For example, David Nadler suggests four steps for executives who want to succeed in a new way as; the recognition that that long-horned leadership styles will no longer work, that it was they who failed and not an outside force, analyze and understand the new type of leadership that is required and then take decisive action in the new role.

On the other hand, Jeffery Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward suggest a more aggressive solution. These are; decide how to fight back, recruit others to help you started again, do not be afraid to criticize the people who didn’t want you, get up and try again, renew your passion and create meaning in your life.

Professor of Psychology, Martin Seligman argues that businesses can help employees become more resilient because at the end, resilience is applicable to both the organization and the individuals. However, many people seem not to know this as shown in the study below.

According to Diane Contu, resilient people possess three characteristics; an acceptance of reality, a deep belief that life is meaningful, and an uncanny ability to improvise. Anyone can bounce bank with just one or two of these qualities. But the three will make one truly resilient. This holds true for the organization as well as the individuals. Resilient companies and people face reality with staunchness, make meaning of hardship instead of moaning in despair, and improvise solutions.

Written by Sina Adeyemi

Materials credit: Havard Business Review