One can practice behaviors and steps to become more resilient.
Below are some steps leaders and individuals can take to foster resilience:
Develop a more positive world view and self-concept
- Notice what you say to yourself in an unfamiliar situation
- Find specific opportunities during challenges you face
- Practice turning minuses into pluses
- Take a time out during a period of frustration
- Look for a positive person to serve as your coach
Maintain a focused sense of purpose for long-term goals and priorities
- Explore your value system and identify your personal sense of direction on which you can rely to make choices
- Set new priorities when faced with the disruption of change
Use flexible thinking to explore multiple approaches for addressing uncertainty
- Switch sides when discussing a topic about which you feel strongly
- Rather than assuming your first answer is the solution, suspend judgment if you are in the middle of a change
- List three positives and three negatives about a new idea or concept
- Be willing to work in an unfamiliar role to learn a different point of view
- Identify a person who is a strong flexible thinker, and ask for some coaching
Use organised, structured approaches when managing ambiguity
- Learn to quickly sort information and find patterns in new situations
- Use a planner or planning software to keep to-do lists, track plans, commitments, and next steps for each change initiative
- Break down complex or ambiguous situations into manageable chunks
- Find a coach who has strong organisational skills.
Experiment proactively with new approaches and solutions
- Choose a small project and experiment with a new approach
- For a challenge you face, define the worst-case scenario; list how you would address each risk
- Find someone you perceive as a successful risk-taker and discuss your objections and concerns about a change
- Try to view a risk associated with a change you are facing as a “win-win” situation; determine what you can learn by assuming the risk
- Find a coach who excels at proactive experimentation.