Thriving in the Year of “Uns”

Even though we are only halfway through 2020, we can be sure it will long be remembered as an incredibly challenging year for our country and our world.  We might consider it to be the year of “uns”, since the events of 2020 are described as unprecedented, uncertain, unsettling, and perhaps even unbelievable.

Within today’s challenges, we can find opportunities – for our organizations and for our own growth as leaders. To quote management expert Peter Drucker, “only three things happen naturally in organizations:  friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else takes leadership. Leadership matters, today more than ever. Never has it been more important for a leader to be resilient, to be able to grow and to drive their organization’s growth, even in times of adversity.  Seizing the possibilities and creating a great tomorrow is exciting and important work!

Resilience is defined as the ability to not only survive times of stress, but to actually grow during stressful times.  While some of us might be more naturally resilient than others, all of us can become more resilient by taking action in a few key areas.

How Can You Become More Resilient?

• Self-care – We’ve heard it so many times, but the importance of good nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate sleep can’t be overstated.  Taking care of ourselves is the foundation for becoming more resilient.  For many of us, prioritizing our own health can be a challenge as we focus more on the needs of others.   We have been forced to pause some of our normal activities in the past few months, maybe creating an opportunity to create a new normal of heightened self-care.
• Relationships – According to the American Psychological Association, having strong relationships is the most important factor in becoming more resilient.  Caring and supportive relationships help us create trust and provide us with encouragement and reassurance.  Who is your “go to” person for support, advice, and a listening ear?  Taking the first step to offer support to someone else is a great way to strengthen a relationship.  When it comes to building or repairing relationships, remember, “if it is to be, it begins with me”.
• Find the Positive – Feeling positive emotions during stressful experiences boosts energy and productivity.  Look for ways to spark positive energy for yourself and others.  Offering unexpected praise or performing random acts of kindness are simple ways to generate positivity.  Finding humor always helps, too!
• Create Your Own Success – Successes, even if they’re small, boost our confidence and fuel our passion to keep going.  With many things beyond our control, we become more resilient by keeping our focus on what we can control:  our own actions.  Setting goals for ourselves creates focus and makes our successes sweeter.  Simply having a daily “to do” list can set us up for success. Remembering how we survived previous difficult situations is also a good way to remind ourselves that we can cope with whatever might come our way.
• Look for the Lessons – Experience can be the best teacher, but we can sometimes miss the lessons from difficult situations.  Reflection helps us identify them. Cultivate your learning by creating a reflection process that focuses both on what went wrong AND what went right.  Whether your reflection occurs daily, weekly, or after completion of a project, key questions to ask yourself are:  What went well?  What didn’t go well?  What actions would I repeat?  What actions would I change?

What’s the Risk?

Allowing ourselves to simply endure the turbulence in our world, instead of embracing it and seeking learning and growth, is a missed opportunity.  The COVID pandemic is a test of our mettle, indeed, but great leaders and great accomplishments are often born from great challenge.  To quote a directive popularized by Winston Churchill, Rahm Emanuel and others, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”  The choice is ours:  to endure or to embrace?

Curious about strengthening your leadership team and building resilience with your organization? Contact me today.