In an ever-changing business landscape, there is a critical need for resilient organisations. Leaders who, first, cultivate their own resilience are better equipped to guide their teams and organisations through challenges. And when resilience is embedded across individual, team, and system levels it can positively impact overall performance and long-term sustainability.
In the recent ‘Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024’ PWC suggest that the #1 leadership action that would support teams through current changes is to “lead in new ways to build resilience”.
So how can leaders develop their resilience and, in turn, foster it within their teams and organisations? There are three core levels of resilience for leaders to focus on:
1. Self-resilience
2. Team resilience
3. System/organisation resilience
Let’s dive into practical strategies for building resilience and understand why leaders must first develop their resourcefulness to lead effectively.
Leaders must start with themselves, developing their resourcefulness and resilience before extending these practices to their teams and the broader organisation.
Self-resilience
Self-resilience is the foundation of effective leadership. Leaders who can manage their stress, adapt to change, and recover from setbacks are better positioned to inspire and support their teams.
Leaders could experiment with the following:
- Mindfulness practices: Daily mindfulness or meditation practices to enhance self-awareness and emotional regulation.
- Physical welbeing: Regular exercise and a balanced diet to maintain physical health, which is closely linked to mental resilience.
- Continuous learning: Ongoing personal development through reading, training, or coaching to build new skills but more importantly build a resilient, growth-oriented mindset.
By focusing on self-resilience, leaders can develop the inner strength essential for them to better navigate challenges and set a positive example for their teams.
Team resilience
Team resilience is about creating a supportive and adaptable group of people that can work together effectively. Developing this when ‘times are good’ is essential for functionally operating when under pressure. Leaders play a crucial role in fostering this resilient environment.
Leaders should experiment with the following:
- Build collective efficacy: Share a long-term vision that inspires people and has them feel purposeful. At the same time as communicating this ensure your vision is inclusive; make it clear how everybody is contributing to the company vision.
- Hold regular check-ins: Hold weekly meetings to discuss progress, address concerns, and offer support. This builds trust and a sense of community. Ensure communication is open, honest, and that everybody feels valued and heard.
- Actively build psychological safety: Encourage team members to develop a diverse range of skills, let them experiment with these new skills. Leaders can also invite and challenge people often as this shows belief and generates a supportive environment.
By promoting these practices, leaders can help their teams develop the resilience needed to handle setbacks and continue performing effectively, even when things are hard.
Resilient organisations
System or organisation resilience involves creating structures and processes that enable the organisation to adapt and thrive in the face of challenges.
Encourage your leaders to try the following:
- Explicitly support experimentation: Build a willingness to experiment amongst your team and within the leadership by ‘going first’ and showing how you take risks, make mistakes, and are always learning from these mistakes. This will help in times of need.
- Empowerment culture: Foster a culture that empowers employees at all levels to take initiative and contribute to problem-solving; you could hold quarterly ‘hackathons’ in which you creatively tackle organisational challenges in new ways.
- Flexible processes: Develop flexible processes that can be quickly adjusted in response to changing circumstances. Understand who in your team is good at working on your processes, let them be creative and make adjustments.
By implementing these strategies, leaders can build an organisation that is resilient at its core, capable of weathering storms and emerging stronger.
Building resilience at all levels requires a practical, hands-on approach. Leaders must start with themselves, developing their resourcefulness and resilience before extending these practices to their teams and the broader organisation.
Be mindful of change fatigue
In tandem, leaders should be ready to address resistance to change and ‘change fatigue’. The PWC Hopes and Fears 2024 report suggests that nearly half of respondents reported increased workloads and stress due to rapid change. It’s therefore important to prioritise resilience building activities at all levels of the organisation to ensure the team, and themselves, are ready to face any future changes.
Engaged leaders foster resilient organisations
Leaders who prioritise their resilience can better manage crises, and support their teams and organisations. By focusing on self-resilience, team resilience, and system/organisation resilience, leaders can create an environment that fosters engagement, adaptability, and sustained performance.
