Resilience – More than just “Bouncing Back”
When I undertake Resilience Training in Adelaide, I often ask participants what they consider Resilience actually is. There are often many and varied responses depending on individual participants and the culture of the workplace, but the response I hear most often is “it’s the ability to bounce back”. However open discussion and deliberation often leads to the final conclusion that resilience is a significantly more complex concept.
I will often recount one of my childhood experiences of having a favourite toy – a big blow up clown with a heavy base at the bottom –are you old enough to remember these? You would hit the clown and it would slowly go down to the ground and then pop back up in the exact same position. And what was there waiting for him? My fist –ready to knock him down all over again. So it seems Resilience must be more than just “bouncing back”, otherwise we would just continue to get knocked down by our life and work stressors on a continuous basis.
I think one of the key concepts central to resilience is the ability to ADAPT. How do we adapt in the face of adversity, setbacks and significant sources of change and uncertainty. When we adapt, we embark on personal growth using the adverse experience as a platform for the ability to better manage our next adverse encounter. Interestingly resilience can only be developed when we are actually exposed to setbacks and obstacles and have the ability to work through them.
Resilience is a state every person and team can develop through characteristics such as optimism, flexibility, effective communication, self-confidence and effective problem solving. A strong component of resilience also relates to managing strong emotions (emotional regulation) and understanding what is within our circle of influence.
It is possible to learn to be more resilient, to be more optimistic, to manage emotions, to problem solve and communicate needs more effectively. It just takes a willingness to be open and engage in opportunities.
If you are a leader within an organisation, the goal is to unlock the resilience potential of your staff to build a high performing, agile workforce than can respond to changing demands. It enables organisations to build strength from within.
So how resilient is your team? Are you an organisation in Adelaide who could benefit from Resilience Training. Consider contacting Michelle at Bakjac Consulting to tailor a programme specific to your organisation’s needs.
