Being a leader comes with an inherent degree of pressure. This is true no matter what industry you are involved in, whether it’s sport, finance, business, filmmaking, or anything else. Of course, pressure itself generates other challenging factors, including stress and adversity. Subsequently, if you want to be a successful leader, you need resilience.

You also need effective systems to operate at the optimal level, which is where Flexopus can help. With a revolutionary booking system for essential meetings, work stations, parking spots, and even home working updates, it’s a tool that any resilient leader can greatly benefit from. It can help leaders exert more resilience by giving them the tools and resources needed to overcome challenges.‍

Why is Resilience Important in Leadership?

Before we discuss how to be more resilient, let’s identify exactly what resilience is. Resilience is defined in many different ways. Fundamentally, it is a human characteristic, and it describes the way in which a person can meet challenges/setbacks, overcome them, and bounce back.

‍

Think of it as a boxer on the ropes. They’re being hit repeatedly by their opponent, yet they know that if they want to survive the attack and win the fight, they must keep going and find a way to win. In a nutshell, that’s exactly what resilience is, and in life, resilience takes many different forms. Therefore, it’s no coincidence that resilience is considered to be one of the most important traits in leadership.

‍

We’ve introduced the concept of resilient leadership, but what are the specifics driving its importance? Below, we’ve produced a list of reasons as to why resilience and leadership go hand in hand at the highest level:

‍

• Generates a ‘can do’ attitude no matter the situation
• Sets an example for others when faced with adversity
• Every team needs a hero, and it takes a resilient leader to fill that role
• Achieving any goal requires resilience, as obstacles will arise
• Resilience fosters a chain reaction of positivity and belief in any environment

These are just a handful of the reasons why resilient leadership is so critical in the workplace. However, identifying the characteristics of any resilient leader is also important. After all, you might realise such traits in yourself, and you may need to find them in others to build the right team for any task.

 ‍

What is a Characteristic of Resilient Leaders?

We will keep this section brief, as we’re sure you’ll be eager to find out ways to become a resilient leader if you aren’t already. So, to get right to it, what kind of characteristics usually appear in all resilient leaders?

‍

• Focus on solutions and not problems
• Positive self-talk and a will to overcome challenges
• Ability to juggle multiple issues at once
• High levels of emotional intelligence—getting the best from the team
• Realistic yet optimistic

If you look at situations or examples linked to resilient leadership, without a doubt, one or more of these characteristics will shine through in any individual. But what can you do if you’re not the one who everyone looks to for guidance, leadership, and solutions right now? The next section provides the answers.‍

Ways to Build Resilience in Leadership

Now that you are fully aware of the characteristics of resilient leadership and how it presents itself, it’s time to address the challenge at hand. Ironically, as identified earlier, rising to any challenge is, in itself, a trait of resilience and leadership. So, the fact you’re reading this to better yourself in this area is a very promising start.

‍

However, reading about it won’t get you where you want to be. It takes specific and targeted practice to evolve into a resilient leader. On that note, we’ve got some proven strategies you can use for this desired transformation, as listed below.

Face Challenges Head On

Look at any great leader, past or present, and you’ll notice that they never shy away from a challenge. And the more you can directly tackle an uncomfortable situation or challenge, the more your resilience will grow. As they say, it’s not about surviving the storm; it’s about learning to dance in the rain! But if you’re never in the rain, you’ll never gain exposure to the situations that will help you evolve.

Practice Emotional Management

Great leaders feel the same insecurities, worries, and woes as you do. However, they recognise such feelings and convert them into something productive. That’s where emotional management enters the picture. Simply put, when problems arise, a resilient leader will clear their head, think logically, and work on a solution that is practical instead of emotionally driven. 

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

If you don’t get comfortable being uncomfortable, resilient leadership will always remain just out of reach. By definition, stepping out of your comfort zone means entering an environment you’re not comfortable with or tackling a problem in which you don’t inherently know what you should do. It forces you to seek solutions, which, in turn, builds resilience.

Develop Self Confidence 

Lastly, you have to develop self-confidence to become a great and resilient leader. This means having faith in yourself to get the job done, whether you know the steps needed to go from A to B or not. Self-confidence is developed through meditation, visualisation techniques, and positive self-talk, to name just a few examples.

Summary

It takes drive and dedication to master the tools of resilient leadership. If you want to become the very best in your chosen field, the person that other people look up to, building unshakeable resilience is the way to go.

‍

Incorporate the tools and ideas discussed in this guide, and we are confident that you’ll soon become the resilient leader you’ve always wanted to be!