Debunking Common Misconceptions: Unveiling the Truth About Resilience
As specialists in helping people to develop and maintain their resilience we often come across three schools of ‘old/outdated’ thinking that hold people and organisations back from a performance perspective.
The first is a lack of prioritisation of resilience as a key factor in performance. We think it’s critical and we’re not alone.
“One thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught us is that we, as leaders, must be resilient through times of uncertainty. Nearly every organization will face a significant crisis at some point and small crises regularly so leaders must be prepared. Even in times of prosperity, every organization needs resilient leaders who can drive transformative change. Resilient leaders are especially important as we navigate the current ever-changing world: aftershocks of the pandemic, economic ambiguity, a rise in layoffs, rapid technological advancements, a shortage of talent making attracting and retaining top talent a challenge and so much more”
Forbes Magazine – Why we need resilient leaders in the future – 4/23
The second is that resilience is a personality trait. You either have it or you don’t. Not true. For years now we have worked with a range of organisations, helping people to develop, maintain and grow their resilience with great results.
“Often, resilience is discussed as something individuals either possess, or do not. It’s true that some people have “trait-like” stability in their resilience (e.g., they can demonstrate a consistent level of resilience across time and context)……. Instead of a trait, think about resilience as a state that any employee can attain.”
Harvard Business Review – What leaders get wrong about resilience – 6/22
And finally, we find that people can feel sensitive at the suggestion that they would benefit from developmental support around resilience. However, this is the kind of support that top performers receive as a matter of course.
“… as you watch the Olympic events – remember that this is just one event on the athlete’s journey …. You might see an athlete topping a podium as a result of previously experienced adversities, or you might witness a disappointment, an adverse event that could enable an athlete to go on to seek future challenges in a more positive and resilient manner….. it is crucial that the appropriate support is made available to all athletes regardless of their result to enable them to evaluate and reflect positively and take learning forward into their next challenge
The Open University -= Resilience – the magic ingredient for Olympians – 12/23
If you’re ready to update your thinking, we are running our next Resilience Reset course on 14th May and 21st May (2 half days) online (14.00-17.00 GMT ). The programme provides participants with our unique Resilience Tool and supplementary techniques to boost resilience. We have been running and evolving the programme since the beginning of Covid with a wide variety of clients, including the NHS. Read more about our previous NHS Resilience Reset.
Please contact Fiona@orchardhousepartners or lisa@orchardhousepartners for a brief call or for more information.