Benefits of a "Resilience Mindset"

 

Leaders will need a “resilience mindset” to guide their teams to that workplace, where individuals—and organizations—are able to “bounce back” even stronger from challenges and disruptions. Resilience as the ability to bounce back quickly from difficult or unpleasant circumstances; for organizations, this could mean bouncing back from natural disasters, economic downturns, supply-chain challenges, and, most recently, global pandemics. For individuals, it is about having “a resilience mindset.”

 Facing the Coming Challenges

In 2024, leaders will need to be willing to do hard things, but the challenge is how to do the hard things a little bit better. Talent management, diversity, and a culture of psychological safety will be key. Talent management, with the ability to attract and retain great talent, is going to be a differentiator for resilient organizations going forward. High-performing staff members will have many options and opportunities to move to more agile organizations that meet their needs.

 If you’re operating in the same way that you did in 2019, that is not going to be attractive to the best talent. Any organization that is serious about innovating, improving, and being the best will need to put a heightened focus on not just talent management but creating a high-performing culture . . . where folks are excited to be there and will tell others about their experience. They will want to stay longer, knowing that they will have the opportunity to grow and thrive and do their best work.

 In addition, truly innovative companies embrace diverse perspectives. They don’t just listen to the same people, get the same information. . . . [Companies] who successfully innovate are the ones that put themselves in uncomfortable situations, encourage thoughtful risk taking, and embrace diverse perspectives. It comes down to being passionate about doing hard things and not wishing for things to get easier, because they probably won’t.

 Drivers of Culture

The keynote theme of “unstoppable resilience” applies to leaders because they are the drivers of culture, creating an “environment of psychological safety” where people are able to communicate openly, where they can raise their hand and say things like I don’t know, or I’m burned out, or I need help without the fear of being shamed for doing so. In a culture without open communication, people fear their promotability will be impacted if they speak honestly about their struggles. They may withhold information instead of sharing it, which could affect innovation and the ability to perform for customers.

 Leaders who behave in a way that actually lessens the resilience of their organizations because they do not role model the right behaviors. For leaders, modeling the right behaviors is one of the most important skills. It may seem like an unnerving thought, but the people you’re entrusted to lead are always watching you. They’re observing if you are working, communicating, and leading in a way that strengthens the team, or weakens it. It all comes back to having a resilience mindset. It’s the ability to bounce back from difficult circumstances even if that bounce back is small. It’s a step in the right direction, and that’s what I’m hoping to talk about at the conference.