Resilience is a skill, not a trait – so why aren’t organisations investing in training?
There is so much change and what a crazy world right now… how are your people coping with it all?
In times of uncertainty, resilience isn’t just helpful – it’s essential. Most of us already know the importance, but knowing is one thing … building a culture that supports it is something else entirely.
So, let’s start at the beginning…
What is resilience?
Resilience is the ability to keep going, learn, and grow when things get tough, but it isn’t a trait that you either have or don’t, it’s a skill anyone can build.
It can mean different things to different people. Perhaps some of these will ring a bell? The following can apply to both individuals and teams:
- You get knocked down, you get back up again
- You finish the job you started
- You do what you’re asked to do and work to overcome hurdles along the way
- If there are no clear answers, you work to find your own answer/s
- You don’t collapse into a pile of ‘whinge’, ‘blame’ or ‘avoidance’ when things don’t go right, instead, you feel sufficiently assertive and confident to face things
- You know and accept that life and relationships at work can be messy, but you get on with things regardless
And for those who take the view that resilience is an optional extra…
Is your organisation resilient?
A quick resilience assessment
- Do you think there are too many discussions in your organisation about mental wellbeing without any real insight into how to sustainably/genuinely improve it or demonstrable progress/success to date?
- Do several managers feel there is too much pressure to step in and solve everyone else’s problems or issues?
- Do you ever sense that at the first hint of a problem, some of your people complain, whinge, post on WhatsApp or take to social media, rather than seeking to find a resolution themselves?
- Are some of your people regularly opting out of things (promotions, more responsibility, cameras on in meetings, team events, training, social events, projects, etc) all because we keep saying ‘if you don’t feel comfortable doing it or if you don’t want to do it, that’s okay) ie too much parenting….
- Do you see a link between people with low resilience and accountability (ie if I have low resilience, then I can excuse myself from having to be accountable)?
- Is there a sense of learned ‘helplessness’ or ‘overwhelm’ that comes through in your employee surveys/pulses?
- Do some of your managers or even senior team also act ‘helpless’ at times in the face of difficulties, uncertainty or confusion, with no ability or confidence to step into the ‘breach’?
- Do some managers build walls and create silos simply in order to keep other teams out, thereby protecting their team from interference, questions or additional work?
- Do some of your customers come back time and again with the same issues because they weren’t solved by the first person (or even the first 10 people) they talked to/communicated with?
- Do people quit their jobs saying they can’t cope or want an easier life/job, without ever seeking to resolve issues first or identify potential solutions to duplication, errors or overload?
- Is people’s ability to critically think (ie analyse different viewpoints/facts to assess and understand the reality or identify the approach to take) compromised by low resilience, ie this issue is too complex, so I’ll give up before I even start?
- Do petty frustrations and disputes escalate too quickly into conflict, formal disputes or grievances?
- Do your people act empowered or disempowered when it comes to how they work, communicate and build/maintain relationships?
So, you’ve answered a few questions, but have you drawn any conclusions? Most of you will have identified a few areas of low resilience which can be observed in the form of poor relationships, poor communication, poor mental wellbeing, inefficient problem solving or a lack of engagement or positivity. But does this matter?
Why resilience is important
In our experience, organisations that employ people with high resilience invariably experience:
- Greater accountability
- Greater employee satisfaction
- Improved problem solving
- Better relationships
- Fewer distractions
- Increased focus
Resilience is good for our people, for our customers, and for the organisation too. There is no downside to having a team full of people with high resilience! It’s always going to be a win.
So, the key question is…
Why aren’t we doing more to develop the resilience of our people?
Unless you put backpacks on your employees and send them up a mountain to see what they might learn, while a storm does its best to knock them off their feet, developing resilience isn’t straightforward … but it’s certainly possible with the right approach.
Much of our workplace soft skills/human skills training takes the format of:
- sharing ideas, theories, and knowledge etc, which is then often followed by …
- an opportunity to discuss the learning, ahead of …
- then applying the new/improved skills in the workplace post training and, if you’re lucky…
- review and discussion with manager or trainer and maybe follow-up training a year or so later
But resilience is traditional training turned on its head:
- First, away from the training environment, you create a variety of opportunities or situations where employees will be operating outside of their comfort zones or tackling tough or difficult stuff and then …
- You facilitate sessions or do one-to-one coaching to discuss what learning and ‘strengthening’ came out of those difficulties or hardships.
Your resilience training is therefore focused on raising their awareness about what they have already learnt and achieved, and working with them to ensure they are confident to apply that knowledge.
The key to this, of course, is creating opportunities for uncomfortable or tough learning and ensuring that managers are not allowed to micro-manage or ‘rescue’ their employees when things get difficult. Let’s support them from the sidelines but not step in to catch them every time they might fall.
Building resilience
Unless we spend our lives hiding from discomfort, we will all build resilience across our lifetimes. Each time we deal with something difficult, we learn and develop.
However, each time we shy away from a difficult situation, we will miss an opportunity to learn and develop.
Just a few weeks ago, someone told me they didn’t want to turn their camera on during a meeting as they don’t like the camera. The neurodiverse card was ‘played’ to justify their decision.
Aside from the meeting, then feeling very one-sided with me having a camera on and them hiding behind ‘no camera’, the reality is that having forced myself to use a camera in recent years, even when I don’t particularly want to, has effectively ‘normalised’ camera usage for me. It’s no longer the discomfort it used to be. If, back in 2020, I hadn’t worked hard to feel comfortable in front of the camera, I have no doubt that my career over the past 5 years would have been restricted, my earnings potential affected, and my confidence in the modern world with new ways of meeting and communicating impacted.
So stepping outside the comfort zone in this context was not just about developing confidence with the camera, it was also about being able to participate fully and ensuring I wasn’t creating a situation that would result in me effectively ‘excluding’ myself at work.
Everyone needs to be aware that hiding in the safety of our comfort zone is no more than a short-term solution to the fear or discomfort we are feeling. And that too long in the comfort zone will result in untold discomfort and anguish when our career and personal development starts to lag behind others.
“If we want to develop resilience to enhance our lives and careers, it’s time we normalised ‘discomfort through operating outside of our comfort zones”.
Building resilience training materials
If after reading this, do you fancy facilitating some sessions on resilience?
Here’s an idea from us … a little training gift 😊
Enter your details below to download a free building resilience 60-90 training session you can use with your team. It’s an interactive PDF so it can be used online, or you can print to use face-to-face.
How Jaluch can help
We would be very happy to support if you would like to kick off a little resilience development in your organisation.
If you look around you, who needs more resilience? Who struggles to step up and solve problems? Who waits for others to solve issues that arise? Who goes ‘toxic’ when challenged because they feel uncomfortable? Who tends to hide in their comfort zone because they don’t yet understand the dire consequences of never facing discomfort?
It’s tough! We get that, but you might just find that by focusing on developing greater resilience across your business, starting with discussions about strengths that people already have but may not recognise, that you start to see some immensely satisfying outcomes.
Or, if you’d like to experience some out-of-comfort-zone learning, take a look at The Leadership Race – now that would be an exciting start to your resilience journey, and those who participate often discover the most surprising things about themselves – all in a safe environment. See what some of the delegates have said…
“Participating in this challenge has been an incredible journey for us as a team. We’ve enjoyed pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones and discovering our collective resilience and adaptability. This experience has reinforced our ability to collaborate effectively, problem-solve under pressure and stay motivated even when faced with challenges”.
“Participating in this leadership race has been an enriching and transformative experience, allowing me to discover my resilience”.
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Legal disclaimer: The information contained within this article is for general guidance only and represents our understanding of employment and associated law and employee relations issues as at the date of publication. Jaluch Limited, or any of its directors or employees, cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on all individual matters.