You might think you have things planned to a T. But problems happen. The key is how well you respond with resilience to setbacks.
Resilience is vital because our world is constantly changing, says Gabriella Kellerman, co-author of "Tomorrowmind" and chief innovation officer at San Francisco-based virtual coaching platform BetterUp.
"Resilience lets us bounce back from change without harm," Kellerman said. "We're able to grow stronger through challenges. If we're able to get to that level, then constant turmoil and unpredictability become fuel for growth rather than a source of stress and overwhelm."
Show Resilience In Tough Times
It takes resilience and persistence to get through the down times, says Brian Wong, Shanghai-based author of "The Tao of Alibaba" who was the first American to work for Chinese digital and e-commerce giant Alibaba and developed its leadership training program.
"To me, it's very, very important for being successful in the long run," said Wong, founder and chief executive of Radii Media, a digital media company bridging East and West.
Build resilience by making sure your company or group has a tangible purpose for why it exists, Wong says. "Then people live and breathe that mission," he said. "That's their big motivating factor."
That gives team members guiding principles to overcome obstacles, he says.
Alibaba faced the SARS epidemic in 2003. The office shut down. Employees wanted to work from home, but that wasn't as easy then with fewer laptops. So Alibaba's employees brought desktop computers home and kept working.
"A lot of people would throw up their hands and say, 'We can't work,' " Wong said. "But because there was this strong responsibility for serving customers, the team instinctively decided they needed to be able to work from home."
Sales actually rose 30% in the month of the lockdown.
Control Emotions To Respond With Resilience
Kellerman's team looked at reams of data on professionals. Through that, they identified five key drivers to becoming resilient.
First is emotional regulation. This is the ability to step away and think through potentially bad news before acting on it. You might pause to think what it really means that you're getting a new sales territory before assuming the worst and shouting at your boss.
Next comes optimism. People who think of problems as short term challenges they can resolve tend to bounce back more easily than others. "Optimism is one of the biggest predictors of resilience," Kellerman said. "It's a way we explain setbacks to ourselves as temporary and controllable."
Third is cognitive agility. This is the skill to handle a potential setback by evaluating the options. If your boss wants to meet with you at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, you might fear being fired. But you can examine other possibilities, such as your help is needed on a big project.
Next is self-compassion. You must give yourself the understanding you'd give others in your position. "Whatever is happening to you, imagine it's happening to your best friend," Kellerman said. "Think about how you would comfort them and apply it to yourself."
And lastly, self-efficacy. This is the belief you can succeed in whatever you're doing. It's a predictor of success in any endeavor. Gain this trait by accomplishing smaller goals.
Spread the attitude of resilience across an organization by getting everyone to think of the team first, Wong says.
"Resiliency comes out of how you support one another," Wong said. "You never let each other fail and never let each other down."
Show The Way To Respond With Resilience
It's important to set the example to respond with resilience, too.
"If you are resilient and modeling that, it will have a huge impact," Kellerman said. "We've found that more resilient leaders have more resilient teams that have higher productivity and innovation."
Alibaba founder Jack Ma had powerful resilience because of his past.
"He had failed so many times early in his life," Wong said. "His resiliency is about someone who's not afraid of what it's going to feel like if he falls because he's done it so many times. That's why he makes such bold decisions and tries unorthodox things."
