There has been a lot of conversation around resilience lately, but do we really understand what this means? Now that we have added surviving Global Pandemics and Natural Disasters to our work resumes, let’s take some time to focus on the health of the inside of our organizations.
Resilience in the workplace can help people recover from challenging experiences, it can also assist in their growth and development. In the world of positive psychology, resilience is being able to recover and adapt quickly. People consider others to be resilient when they:
- Have a consistent positive outlook.
- Deal with each difficult situation they face with ease.
- Don’t exhibit excessive negative emotions during difficult times.
A leader or supervisor with low workplace resiliency is likely to crumble under pressure, so paying attention and building strength in those traits listed is crucial to sustained success in any organization. Providing employees with opportunities for growth and self-learning that will energize them is proven to be one of the simplest ways to add value.
In addition, too much resilience can get in the way of leadership effectiveness and, by extension, team, and organizational effectiveness, making people overly tolerant of adversity.
There is no doubt that resilience is a useful and highly adaptive trait, especially in the face of traumatic events. However, when taken too far, it may focus individuals on impossible goals and make them unnecessarily tolerant of unpleasant or counterproductive circumstances.
Invest in Wellness – Part 1
Avoid catastrophizing – This is a common cognitive distortion in which we automatically imagine the worst possible outcome for a given situation. Reframe setbacks as opportunities. This is a valuable tool for changing your response to both.
Maintain strong ties – A primary factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside of the family. Close relationships provide perspective, help you process difficult or challenging circumstances.
- Maintain networks – When faced with challenges that require solutions that buck conventional wisdom, having access to unconventional sources of inspiration leads to broader thinking and cross-disciplinary wisdom.
Invest in Wellness – Part 2
Practice gratitude – Write down, talk about, or even mentally focus on positive experiences and interactions.
- Don’t sit or stand for too long at one time
- Perform 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a few times per week
- Eat a balanced diet
- Get enough sleep
When is the last time you did something for yourself? Resist the urge to put in increasingly long hours at the office. That impulse is counterproductive. Understand your “surge capacity” and take measures not to get there. This is where we are so overwhelmed our ability to replenish or restore our capacity takes a tremendous tole and much more energy and resources, inhibiting our ability to be effective.
The most important message here is to practice staying centered and balanced. Performing at your highest levels physically and emotionally is the best way to improve your organization, the people around you and increase your capabilities to handle any situation we are faced with.
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