Hi, I’m Nicola from The People Mentor and in today’s podcast, I want to talk about resilient leadership.
If this year has taught us anything, it’s that being resilient is so important. As a leader, you’ll probably have faced some of the toughest challenges of your career, and you’ll very likely have had to deal with situations you’ve never dealt with before.
And of course, it’s not just yourself you have to think of. As well as making sure your own physical and mental health stays intact, you have your team to think of as well.
If you buckle under the pressure of a crisis, what happens to them?
Someone needs to lead from the front and be a strong, steadying influence in tough times.
For a leader, having a resilient mindset is essential.
Would you say that you are a resilient leader?
If you’re not sure, ask yourself these questions:
- When I experience setbacks, do I want to throw in the towel pretty quickly and find it hard to keep trying?
- How well can I bounce back from adversity?
- Am I able to adapt to change?
- How well do I handle conflict?
- Can I maintain a growth mindset even when things are really tough?
- Am I open to learning?
Resilient leaders can keep going under pressure, they bounce back from setbacks quickly, adapt well to change, and persevere in the face of adversity. They also have a growth mindset and treat even the most undesirable outcome as a valuable learning experience.
Resilient leadership is about having a resilient mindset and demonstrating behaviours that tell people ‘I’m in charge, and I am going to steady this ship.’
How can you work on developing a resilient mindset?
Before you even think about your team, resilience starts with YOU.
You have to start by looking after your own well-being. Stress affects your judgement and clarity of thought which can affect your decision-making.
Find ways to relax and unwind whether it’s by learning how to meditate or spending time on a creative hobby, and prioritise good quality sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet.
Of course, you’re a driven leader so you’ll swear you don’t have time for all of this, but ask yourself; do you want to burn out or do you want to maintain your physical and mental energy so you can take the business forward?
Next on the list is removing ‘what if’ and ‘should’ from your vocabulary. You’ll only waste time and energy if you get stuck thinking ‘if only things were different…’ or about how something ‘should’ be. The situation you are faced with is reality and it’s what you have to work with. Base your plans on what’s actually happening rather than on wishful thinking.
And of course, being able to see opportunities even in a crisis is a big part of being resilient. You may hark after how things were, but take off your rose-tinted spectacles for a moment.
Were things really as great as they were?
What can you take from a crisis and use?
What have you learned that can improve things for you, the team, and the business?
So let’s think now about the behaviours of a resilient leader.
Are you the leader you want to be? Are you the leader your team need to be?
Do you communicate openly, honestly, and clearly?
During tough times, you have to keep people informed about what’s going on. This builds trust, maintains good relationships, and helps people understand what is being asked of them. Without trust, a leader can’t lead effectively.
Do you focus on building positive relationships?- To achieve success means being able to build great teams and this all hinges on building positive relationships. Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction, especially in tough times.
Do you care about the development of your team?- Great leadership is not about just focusing on your own growth and goals, it’s about helping others develop too. It’s about offering coaching, mentoring, and feedback to your team members so that they know that even mistakes and failures are learning opportunities that will only make them and the business stronger.
Do you have a growth mindset?- Are you coachable? Can you accept feedback? Are you able to do what it takes to adapt, change, and improve? Are you committed to continuously learning and improving your leadership skills?
Do you adapt well to change?- The only constant in life is change, and the ability to adapt in an ever-changing world is a valuable skill, not to mention one that builds resilience. If you don’t fear change, you’ll see it as an opportunity. The most successful businesses are those that are adaptable and don’t let opportunities to change things up for the better pass them by.
A truly resilient leader won’t just adapt to change, they’ll embrace it, and lead their team through it with courage, conviction, and a shared vision of where they want to business to be.
A leader like this can be extremely influential and encourage others to get behind them even when things seem uncertain.
Do you find it easy to make good decisions?- It’s not easy to make sound decisions when you don’t have all of the information you need or you don’t understand every possible outcome, but of course, nobody does!
Nothing moves forward until you make a decision, and even if turns out to be the wrong one, if you’re a resilient leader, you’ll quickly pivot.
Has 2022 made you think about developing your resilience and taking things from good to great in the business?
I can help.
Do you have some great ideas about how to take the business onward and upwards, but have no clue about where to start?
As the team fixer for winning teams, I can help you identify what’s needed for you, your team, and the business to truly flourish.
My bespoke packages of training, workshops, and support will help you build and develop well-supported, engaged, and energised teams that will supercharge your business performance and profitability.
I know what you are thinking, you’re feeling nervous at the thought of investing in anything right now and that’s completely understandable, but think of my help, guidance, and support as being a way to reduce your expenses and save money in the slightly longer term.
Better supported leaders mean happy, motivated, engaged teams, higher productivity, and a lower staff turnover.
Sound good?
Get in touch for a chat about exactly what’s possible.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast, and I’ll see you next time.
This is The People Mentor signing off.
