By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
Abstract: This article explores how leaders can cultivate resilience, an important skill for withstanding pressures and leading effectively through changing conditions. It argues that leaders often underestimate their own resilience abilities. The article identifies several evidence-based strategies for strengthening resilience, including gaining self-awareness of one's stress responses, reframing failures as opportunities for learning rather than evidence of weakness, building social support networks, focusing on employee well-being and development, maintaining learning agility through openness to new experiences, and sustaining lifelong curiosity to fuel growth. Examples are provided of companies like Netflix and hospitals that have demonstrated resilient leadership in the face of challenges. Developing a growth mindset, viewing employees as valued stakeholders, and addressing human needs are highlighted as resilience-building tactics. The article concludes that resilience represents trainable skills and mindsets that allow leaders to recover from hardships and lead purposefully through times of disruption.
Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep moving forward despite challenges or difficulties. It is a quality that all successful leaders must possess in order to overcome obstacles, lead through turbulence, and inspire teams through changing conditions. However, resilience is often an underrated and underdeveloped skill, with many leaders underestimating their own ability to withstand pressures and adapt.
Today we will explore how leaders are often more resilient than they realize and explore how cultivating resilience can strengthen leadership effectiveness.
Cultivating Resilience Through Self-Awareness
Understanding Our Personal Threshold for Stress
A first step towards developing resilience is gaining self-awareness of our personal threshold for stress. Each person's tolerance level is unique and depends on both innate characteristics as well as accumulated life experiences (Bonanno, 2008). Leaders must be introspective in pinpointing their natural stress responses so they can recognize when they are approaching overload and intervene appropriately. Simple awareness-building techniques such as daily mood tracking or mindfulness meditation can help attune leaders to subtle changes in mental and physical states under pressure (Coholic, 2011). With practice, leaders learn to identify uncomfortable feelings early on and implement coping strategies before negative impacts on behavior or decision-making occur.
Reframing Failure as Feedback
Another barrier to resilience lies in how failures are internalized. Leaders who view missteps solely as evidence of personal weakness or incompetence undermine their ability to recover and adapt moving forward (Luthans, Vogelgesang & Lester, 2006). Recasting setbacks instead as opportunities to gain knowledge resets the mindset from defeat to continual improvement. Mistakes then act as rich feedback from which lessons can be extracted to strengthen future performance. Leaders who embrace an experimental, learning orientation view failure as an inevitable part of progress rather than something to be avoided at all costs (Smith, 2011). Framing errors in this positive light cultivates the flexibility needed to recover nimbly and strengthens overall resilience.
Building Social Support Systems
Surrounding Yourself with an Empowering Network
Surrounding oneself with a network of trusted allies and advisors significantly enhances resilience. Research shows social support serves as a critical buffer against stress through diffusing difficult emotions and boosting self-esteem during testing times (Caltabiano, Byrne, Martin & Sarafino, 2002). Leaders can craft an empowering inner circle by choosing advisors with diverse perspectives as well as a shared vision of success. Regularly connecting with this group in both professional and personal contexts helps leaders maintain perspective through shared wisdom and empathy. As part of this network, identifying a trusted mentor figure who brings experience navigating adversity equips leaders with an extra stabilizing presence in times of upheaval.
Investing in Employee Well-Being and Development
Beyond their direct reports, leaders must also focus on cultivating strong connections with all levels of staff. Viewing employees as valued stakeholders in the organization's success protects against strain from various challenges. Leaders who prioritize employee growth, self-care, and quality of life create a supportive culture where people feel empowered to weather fluctuations (Mauno, Kinnunen & Ruokolainen, 2007). This has demonstrated positive impacts like lower absentee rates, higher job satisfaction and increased organizational commitment, all of which translate to resilience at the systemic level (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Leading with compassion energizes teams to face challenges together while also easing the burden on individual leaders.
Thriving Through Continual Learning and Adaptation
Learning agility - Adapting Your Approach
To survive in volatile times, leaders require keen learning agility, which allows for rapid yet meaningful adaptation (De Meuse, Dai & Lee, 2009). This agility stems from exhibiting a growth mindset where current abilities are viewed not as fixed traits but rather as muscles that strengthen through new experiences (Dweck, 2006). When faced with change, leaders demonstrating agility gather input from varied sources, critically evaluate responses and modify proven strategies versus defaulting to past routines. They also avoid becoming rigidly attached to sole perspectives or viewpoints. Adaptable leaders gain resilience through continually experimenting with flexible leadership approaches best suited to fluid contexts.
Lifelong Curiosity - Fueling Growth
Closely related to learning agility is maintaining a spirit of lifelong curiosity. Leaders who actively fuel their intellectual growth through ongoing education strengthen resilience reserves needed to embrace uncertainty (Maxwell, 2007). They recognize that competencies quickly outdated must constantly evolve to surpass challenges. Engaging in diverse interests outside work also feeds fresh perspectives leaders can draw from during crises (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2013). Curious leaders lead from a place of inquisitiveness primed for innovative problem-solving versus rigidity. Nurturing an inquiring mind primes the openness vital for sustainable leadership in disruptive environments.
Putting Resilience Strategies into Action
Building Resilience at Netflix
One company demonstrating resilience leadership is Netflix. After a major stock tumble in 2011 due to strategic miscalculations, CEO Reed Hastings took accountability and drove a successful turnaround (McGrath, 2013). Key strategies included fostering a growth mindset that inspired agile pivoting versus defending past choices. Hastings also nurtured employee well-being through broad empowerment and autonomy rather than top-down commands. This autonomous culture equipped workers to respond nimbly to changing consumer tastes. Hastings also openly shares failures through letters to reinforce that setbacks offer learning, not embarrassment. Today Netflix leads its industry through innovative disruption rather than disruption reaction. Its resilience-driven approach fuels continual progress rather than defensive stagnation.
Cultivating Resilience in Healthcare
Another sector requiring strong resilience is healthcare. The COVID-19 crisis has tested hospitals worldwide, underscoring the need for adaptive leadership. One strategy employed is emphasizing staff psychological well-being through resources like counseling, expressing gratitude and scheduling flexibility (APA, 2020). This reduces individual burnout which impacts patient care quality. Some leaders rotated clinical and administrative teams to diversify stress exposures. Other tactics included open communication of challenges with empathy and optimism versus panic. This collaborative approach boosted cohesion to face adversity as a united front. Healthcare resilience lessons highlight how addressing human needs fortifies organizations facing societal-scale turbulence.
Conclusion
While resilience has traditionally been viewed as an innate trait, research indicates it represents trainable skills and mindset qualities leaders can cultivate. Through self-awareness, social support, continual learning and action, leaders access reserves to recover from hardships and lead purposefully through change. Viewing failures as learning versus weakness and surrounding oneself with empowering advisors strengthens flexibility. Maintaining curiosity and adapting approaches also fuels growth through disruptive times. Leaders are often more resilient than perceived when activating strategies like those profiled. In volatile times, resilience represents the core leadership competence sustaining progress and fulfilling organizational missions despite obstacles. Recognizing untapped resilience reserves within empowers optimized leadership amidst uncertainty.
References
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Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). The Power of Resilience in Leadership. Human Capital Leadership Review, 11(1). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.11.1.2
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