What makes a leader resilient?
I am looking for research on resilience in leadership. If anyone can help by giving me their views or pointing me in the right direction then I will be very grateful.
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Jan 17, 2021
A resilient leader needs to have the abilities to lead through difficult times like the COVID-19 crisis. He or she should be able to make right decisions and respond to environmental changes quickly and effectively.
Hope this helps!
May 19, 2016
The ability to keep moving forward. There are always ups and downs along the road. A resilient leader is one who can focus on the next up during the downs and get his team to do the same.
Jan 26, 2016
Hmmm. I think if by resilient, you mean powering through the tough times, coming back and being a stronger leader - facing the nay-sayers when you see a vision that isn't accepted yet - then I think I've come back time and time again because of great mentors and supporters who believe in me. Its that simple. Sometimes it takes longer if my self-esteem has taken a beating; sometimes it doesn't take too long to come back. But leading is about serving and keeping that in mind, keeps the perspective where it needs to be during the tough times.
Jun 27, 2014
Resilience is critical. There are many studies. One of the best sources for this type of information would be Industrial Organizational Psychologists that specialize in leadership development. They utilize assessments of various sorts that measure and identify resilience factors and the effect on leadership every day.
May 13, 2014
Obstinacy (so long as it has enough logic mixed with it to keep it from turning into stubbornness). A great leader once said:
"I don't make right decisions - I take decisions, then I make them right."
All the great leaders of the world were people who stood their ground, against the odds. If you're not going to stand by what you think is right, don't expect others to.
The rest of it comes later. Just make sure you've chosen good ground to stand on, before you fortify it ;)
May 7, 2014
Develop in the discipline of Change Management. Being resilient means being able to anticipate and adjust to internal and external influences in a way that benefits the people you lead and the products and services you provide. Sometimes products and services need to change, but no matter what you and the people you lead need to change. A strong competency for change is essential.
Apr 28, 2014
I'd say from all my research and personal experience of working with world class leaders, leadership comes down to a number of factors.
+ Strong personal identity.
+ A crystal clear vision.
+ A deep sense of hunger and passion for their vision.
+ The humility to know that its NOT about them, its about the people that they lead and serve and the cause they are working towards.
+ A strong network of accountability, coaches, mentors.
+ The ability to delegate and not take on too much.
+ Ability to rest and recharge their batteries.
+ Health and fitness ( healthy body + healthy mind = High performance.
This is just a quick list off the top of my head and in no particular order. Hope this helps and if you'd like to ask me anything else would like my opinion on issue which you do not wish to share here, pls send me a personal message!
Luke
Apr 27, 2014
Being able to work through tough situations with confidence.
I believe that having the ability to work through issues without losing focus on your beliefs. I recently assisted a business to change its culture. They were in a stale mate and needed help making the next move. Their view of what leadership was reverting to the old way of doing things which was hindering growth. In leadership meetings people were shocked at the decisions I made because they were too aggressive or uncomfartable for some. Being disliked by peers and some others above me was new to me however I had to stay focused on the outcome. Some days were very tough but I never lost sight of what was needed also never let anyone either. in short time I proved my method worked and this helped change the paradigm of a company and the leaders.
Put the uncommon effort into the common task... Make it large by doing it in a great way. Orison Marden
Apr 18, 2014
Hi, Paul
Personal resilience is probably one of the most important qualities a leader must have. Leaders are risk takers, so it stands to reason that at some point in their careers, failure will happen. Leaders who have a positive mindset and the ability to learn from failure and not get stymied by it, will be resilient. In answer to your search for research on the topic, I suggest you get a copy of the book Self Management and Leadership Development (2010), edited by Rothstein & Burke, Chapter 13 would be of interest to you.
Apr 17, 2014
Hey, I can give you a few things. One is to have a mission that is so much bigger than you that you can't quit. You have to be totally committed to your mission or cause. You have to have Resolve. It doesn't make any different how hard it gets or what you have to go through you are going to keep on going UNTIL. You have to care so much nothing will stop you.
Tremendously,
Dee (Denyse) Bauer
Apr 16, 2014
Vision, mission and goals makes a leader resilient. Integrity has a prominent role to play in a leader's resilience. A leader that has no character will mislead others and the organization will become a failure.
Apr 16, 2014
Making mistakes. Learning from them. Getting kicked and not holding a grudge. Failing but always getting back up.
I think a lot of this comes from confidence they have in themselves to succeed no matter the obstacles.
The will to survive.
Apr 16, 2014
Hello Paul, a very interesting question -and I see by the broad range of answers that people interpret 'resilience' in different ways based on their own leadership experience and opinion. So I would like to provoke some thought with a few comments on what I believe resilience in leadership is NOT:
Resilience is NOT a result of experience:
I know what you are thinking... you must have experience to be a good leader. Well, I know some poor leaders with a great deal of experience... The difference is what you do with that experience. Any leader must expect both success and failure along the path to their goals but a resilient one will constantly 'reshape' themself and the path of the program to maximize the chance of success. A non-resilient leader travels in a straight line to the goal, no matter what the experience is along the way.
Resilience is NOT the ability to carry on in the midst of great adversity:
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Most people would agree that Churchill was a great leader, but was he a resilient leader? I would argue that Churchill was not resilient, rather he was charismatic and unyielding. These traits were vital during WWII, however, postwar it was evident that the country needed a more resilient leader to rebuild. Which brings me to my final point
Resilience is NOT necessarily the mark of a 'good' leader:
When it comes to resilience, I think there is some confusion between ‘leadership’ and ‘management’. An effective manager maximizes the potential of their resources, eliminates roadblocks, challenges their employees, and takes on varying responsibilities to keep the program moving in the right direction. A good manager must be resilient. A good leader sets the direction of the program, establishes vision, then unwaveringly pulls the team along to meet the final objectives.
Often times 'leaders' must manage and 'managers' must lead but I would ague that they are two different hats, a resilient management hat and a ridged leadership hat. A person's effectiveness in wearing these two different hats to meet a specific goal often characterizes how that person is thought of as a 'leader’.
I hope this provides additional thoughts and provokes further response on an interesting subject.
Apr 16, 2014
Look no further than the Cowardly Lion..."What makes a man out of a mouse...Courage."
Simple answer but it is without doubt the overwhelming virtue of resilience...quitting is easy, staying on track is hard.
See also Rudyard Kipling's "If..."
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/poetry/rudyard-kipling.html
Apr 16, 2014
I've worked closely with various corporate and association executives and have found that those who demonstrate constancy and consistency in the management of people and processes achieve more than those who do not. By being constant and consistent in what you say and do and value, your people know how best to align their energies and performance. Inconsistency inhibits the ability of individuals, teams and organizations to demonstrate high-performance and ensure a great return on investment. No organization can optimize its capacity to deliver services, products and customer satisfaction, less its resources are operating from the same top/down page of priorities. Additionally, constancy and consistency establishes and establishes credibility and very few attributes are more critical to a leader than his or her credibility.
Apr 16, 2014
Hi Paul, can I suggest you make your question more specific ie what about resilience in leadership are you looking for?
How to have it?
What is it?
Resilience in leadership can apply to many different aspects of leadership-are there specific ones you are interested in?
Hope this doesn't sound negative-I just think to get useful answers you may need to elaborate or be more specific
Apr 15, 2014
Dear Paul,
Thank you for bringing up this rich topic! Resilience is a key concept for all times and especially for ours. Change is happening all the time and we face great challenges. I am happy to give some thoughts about resilient leadership.
1) A resilient leader is able to deal with change, even embrace it and at the same time accept what is not in his power to change. The successes and positive experiences of the past are discussed, analysed and used to build the better future. resilient leadership brings peace and focus amidst the turbulence and fosters the confidence of people to stay calm, future oriented and as appreciative as possible in order to bring out the best in themselves and others.
2) Resilient leaders focus on the best possible future, the 'preferred possible'. They invite people to stop the problem focus, the 'problem talk', and think about the possibilities instead. In any crisis, there are opportunities for those who want to see them.
3) Resilient leaders are aware of all the resources and strengths in themselves, their organisation or teams and make the best of it. they create the conditions and atmoshpere that is nurturing for people. They install conversations that are hopeful, empowering and uplifting. They spend time to listen to the worries and wishes of others and encourage sound and open interconnection between people.
4) Resilient leaders move forward in small steps. They recognize progress, however small, and are aware of the importance of it. As long as there is progress, there is hope, "every journey of 1000 miles starts with a first step".
We wrote a very practical bookl called 'Resilient people, resilient teams'. It is based on the solution focused approach. http://ilfaro.be/nl/resilient-people-resilient-teams
Liselotte Baeijaert
Apr 15, 2014
IMO, resilience is Tenacity, with a little observation, emotional intelligence, patience and understanding, because with out any one of these you will not make it to the end, but there is a fine line between, tenacity and stupidity!....
A leader has to be resilient. I dont believe there is a true leader out there that can not say they have rough moments when no matter how great they plan, how much of a positive environment they surround themselves with. They still have those moments. What set leaders apart from others is that they can think in the moment and work themselves out of the sinking situation.
No matter how tough the situation, they can think clearly and get back on track. Some times it is instant, sometimes may take days, weeks, but a leader forges ahead like the buffalo with its herd in a winter storm. They do it because they know that even though it's a tough path, at the end is a great place.