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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Apr 15, 2014
Hi Paul.
In my point of view, Leadership means Envisioning, Energizing, Enabling, Empowering and Engaging the others in order to deliver the best results and achieving the goals & objectives successfully
Apr 15, 2014
In my view a leader must be able to a carry the team in face of daunting situations that any business will present. Leader has to be focused on the goal keeping the broader picture and remain resolute in executing to a plan, making necessary adaptations along the way. The leader must therefore develop a high sense of objectivity ......accepting what is reality and cannot be changed, identifying what is controllable perhaps even expanding on circle of influence and meticulously executing to take advantage of every opportunity and resources that can be mobilized. It is only then that a leader can be considered as having resilience, a trait absolutely critical in our current business environment which is far more impacted by environment, regulation and disruption, than in the past.
Apr 15, 2014
Dear Paul,
In my practice, resilient is very important for leading changes because many people often dislike and resist changes. A leader then needs to have clear goals, be self-confident and inspiring, be a good communicator, persistent and patient and be innovative in the approach / persuation.
Hope it helps.
Regards
Ho Tuan
Apr 15, 2014
Passion,dedication,strong belief in team and their capabilities,clear ideas of company/product goal makes a leader resilient.
Apr 15, 2014
Hi Paul
Interesting topic of conversation. Having worked with one of the most resilient leaders I have ever seen (Doug Perkins), to me resilience in leadership is about belief. Believing that your are on the right path to achieve your goals, believing in the people you have in your team and acknowledging their skills & abilities whilst also building the belief in their own attributes, believing in yourself to be able to overcome any challenges that are thrown your way. A clear vision towards what you are attempting to achieve and continuing on this path despite what others are saying why it can not be achieved.
Hope this helps!
Phil.
Apr 15, 2014
Hi Paul, Thanks for asking this instructive question !
I strongly believe resilience is vital to leadership success.
Indeed, we are living and working in a such fast changing environment that if we do not have the ability to bounce back, cope, renew, and revitalize, we might become a "leader from the past" and do not bring our organization where we want to go.
So what could be the characteristic of a resilient leader ?
Firstly, resilient leaders need to emphasize on personal development in taking advantage in good coaching.
Secondly, select the right words to create a positive emotional climate in which hope prevails and individuals feel inspired to create a better future. Thirdly, resilient leaders are optimistic (but not naive) in order to transform ideas into reality !
Fourthly, resilient leaders take some times to nurture network of support in their organization in case some unforeseen events happen.
And finally, resilient leaders draw on diverse perspectives to make well-informed decisions that ultimately create new realities in organizations.
Hope it can help and I am looking forward to more responses ...
Apr 15, 2014
Vision. Vision to see the objective that is still below the horizon or behind the obstacle. Vision allows a leader to keep things moving, not necessarily in a straight-line direction if that is not possible but always edging towards the desired goal. People in leadership positions who do not have a compelling goal in mind have no reason to deal with the hassles of carrying the organization forward, and will instead let it carry them, retiring in place at 100 pct of salary, hoping the company won't notice for a while.
Apr 15, 2014
The term resilience has been applied to people who handle stress well. Resilient people are generally more flexible, able to bounce back from setbacks, are grateful for life’s simple pleasures and have a strong faith that “everything happens for a reason”. There are three elements that are essential to make a leader resilient:
CHALLENGE – Resilient people view a difficulty/ complexity as a challenge, not as a paralyzing event. They look at their failures/ mistakes as lessons to be learned from, and as chance for growth. They don't consider them as an non-constructive indication on their abilities or self-worth and have ability to master stress.
COMMITMENT – Resilient people are dedicated to their lives and their goals, and they have a convincing reason to get out of bed in the morning. Commitment isn't just limited to their work – they energize body, engage emotion and commit to their personal, professional relationships and their religious or spiritual beliefs.
SELF-CONTROL – Resilient people spend their time in training their mind and utilize the energy to put their spirit in action, focusing on situations and events that they have control over. Since they put their character where they can have the most impact, they feel empowered and self-assured.
Resilience is a skill which can be learned by anybody. By sincerely practicing the art to face challenges, Commitment and Self Control, we can do a lot to develop your own powers of resilience.
Apr 15, 2014
I think having the humility to listen to those around you. Having the inner compass to know what is right and wrong, and giving yourself permission to fail. Failing is learning and committing to never making the same mistake twice. We are all human, but need to take accountability for our choices. So many people these days blame all their situations on others...its all about our choices. And we learn from everything.
Apr 15, 2014
the convictions and adherence to the values of his team and himself, even thougth results may have not been as good as expected, and bearing in mind that those are reasonable good values ( this is obvious a judgement, and as that arguable in itself). It seems that resilient is a come back to good values even if bad things happened to you, however I like to link the behaviour to the results achieved, and thus adjust or not your "way" of seeing things, paradigms or structure.
Apr 15, 2014
A resilient leader is one who is able to endure over the long run despite whatever leadership problems may arise. A large part of this involves successfully forming alliances with higher and lower level spheres of influence in order to affect organizational changes. In the case of CEOs, being able to weather the storm of bad publicity from corporate product liability cases such as in the recent settlements of GM and Toyota. There are tremendous pressures on the leaders to deal with the government and public consequences and yet still emerge as competent leaders, able to inspire and motivate their employees and shareholders.
Apr 15, 2014
Paul, here is my view. Resiliency is learnt over time. To be a true leader you may have to blaze a new trail. Trail blazers may end up with arrows in their backs, but they will get the trail named after them. So resiliency is born and developed from doing what is right to further the vision mission through your core ideology of values and sticking to them. It's about willing to become unpopular when you disrupt your industry (getting arrows in your back). How many arrows can you take, thats resiliency.
Apr 18, 2014
Cheers Paul. It's one of my many Clarism's but one I have used a lot lately as resiliency has been my leadership armour of late! ;)
Apr 15, 2014
I guess there are several contexts for resilience. One could be making the best decision in difficult circumstances. "Good to Great" by Jim Collins is research-based and has discussions on what could be considered resilience in several areas.
Resilience to me is the ability to bounce back after setbacks. Setbacks are unmet expectations. In this sense, if a leader were perceptive and objective in his assessments, he would have more realistic expectations, and setbacks would not be catastrophic. If he were wise, he would also always have a "Plan B" that would be ready.
This in turn relates to a leader's definition of a good leader. Some may experience a setback and say "Oh well..better luck net time". Another will say that failure is not an option and plan carefully, form alliances, and pretty much predetermine the outcome, much as a chess master does, through his planning, and relationship building.
Other aspects of resilience come from experience and character. Ever notice the senior manager who is unflappable? He's seen it all and is mentally prepared for surprise endings, and because of his experience, has the answers or the Plan B at hand. Been there, done that. Character relates to the ability to bounce back in the right way. Accepting rather than passing out blame, taking control rather than running away, confidence born of consistent integrity, which commands trust and respect, and keeps things on the path to the solution and what's best for the company, building a loyal response team rather than the "everybody for himself" response.
Study Washington's life, Ghandi, Lincoln, these men were imperfect but had immense character. As applies to leadership, it is the ability to subordinate your needs to that of the country, principle, or company or some other, or the greater good. This consciousness of the greater good lead to monumental contribution, and keep one on the path in spite of personal setbacks, because they are secondary. The self-centered would fold when their needs are not met, and don't have resilience. Character is like a set of crayons. Resilience is just one of the colors in the set. It comes with the set, and is not something that you'd normally go shopping for in itself.
Apr 15, 2014
Hi Paul,
It's a little bit of a challenge to respond here, because I'm afraid it might get a little complicated trying to describe my leadership model in such a forum, however, I'm going to attempt to narrow it down.
For a leader to be effective, they need to master these characteristics to be able to respond appropriately top the continuous changes that are occurring over and over again in today's rapidly changing business environment.
I have developed a leadership resiliency model that I call the Resiliency Hourglass the illustrate the Ten Critical Characteristics of Self-Empowerment for Leadership. It is a trans formative leadership model that can apply to anyone.
I chose an hourglass as the representative of the model for several reasons: 1.An hourglass can only do its job as a result of constant change because; 2.The sand inside is always being shaken up, as the hourglass itself has to be turned upside down in order for it to function.
Each part of the model represents a particular characteristic and the associated behaviors or needed skills related to it. The two parts of the inner hourglass consist of a vessel that is held together by an outer frame. Without this frame, the hourglass would not function because the glass would not stand upright and would fall apart.
The hourglass is held together by four columns, or "pillars." Four columns, which act as the “pillars” for leadership, connect the top portion to the bottom portion of the hourglass. These pillars represent the first four characteristics which are: 1. Character, 2. Values, 3. Continuous Skill Building, and 4, Managing Change.
The next six characteristics are represented by the "sand" within the hourglass as it "flows from the top portion of the vessel 5) Responsibility, 6) Goals, 7) Priorities, down into the bottom portion of the vessel where it "transforms to 8) Teamwork, 9) Empathy, 10) Collaborate.
These characteristics operate interdependently and a for a leader to develop resiliency they must be mastered.
I've adapted this model and written a book entitled Power vs Perception: Ten Characteristics of Self-Empowerment for Women that is focused on the issues that women experience, however, it applies to everyone.
Apr 15, 2014
Read Jim Collins book "Good to Great!" It defines a Level 5 leader, which is one that has humility. Being aware of yourself and that you don't have to have all the answers allows you to look beyond yourself. Generally, having humility will give you the ability to seek the help of others, both to learn what actually happened and to move forward.
Apr 15, 2014
I love the movie series Rocky but the last one there is a great scene where Rocky is talking to his son.
“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
I am sure he was talking to himself too in trying to recover from Rocky 5.
The famed football coach Vince Lombardi said the same thing, “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down but how many times you get.”
Read more at: http://artofthinkingsmart.com/top-skill-need-achieve-goals/ | The Art Of Thinking Smart
They key thing is to never give up and take threats as challenges, and failures as stepping stones to success. Resiliency is a mindset, not what you go through, but how you respond!
Apr 15, 2014
Resilience in leadership is all about being able to shift, move, address problems, and change direction at any given moment. Leadership must be capable of addressing issues in a diplomatic way that is honest, forthright yet capable of staying ahead of the competition with innovation, which is accomplished by thinking in another way. Leaders must look upon problems not as challenges but as opportunities for change that increase the company's dynamics.
Apr 15, 2014
If a leader doesn't have resilience, they don't lead for long. Perseverance is a strength of any leader, but I believe that resilience is bred when a leader knows their purpose, knows their calling and faces setbacks and obstacles along the way to success. Learning from failures breeds resilience, overcoming roadblocks and obstacles breeds resilience. Maintaining clarity and focus on goals contributes as well.
Apr 15, 2014
Resilience in leadership happens when the leader is able to rise above the challenge and not lose sight of the goals and objectives of the organization. They do not get distracted by small issues and meet the larger challenges with integrity and emotional intelligence. Retaining objectivity in the face of adversity allows the leader to recover quickly. Consistency in this behavior as the leader rises to these challenges embodies the leader's resiliency and creates reliability.
Apr 18, 2014
Sonja, I really like the way you captured the essence of what resilience is. Great comment.
Apr 15, 2014
Resilence in leadership is a product of experience. Professional maturity comes not with age, but experience and the ability to weather storms, critically assess and strategize, regroup and refocus energy. This ability is usually found in tenacious individuals who tend to thrive under pressure and those who are well prepared for and enjoy challenge.
Nice metaphor, Dave