"The oak fought the wind and was broken; the willow bent when it must and survived." Robert Jordan quoted in his book The Fires of Heaven.
The quote symbolizes the adaptability and resilience needed to handle work and life pressure.
As leaders we will be confronted with situations that are beyond our control. We can fight them all the way through. Or we can adapt to a new normal and be resilient enough to come back stronger than ever from the changes that the new normal brings.
The Rigid Leader vs. The Adaptive Leader
The quote represents two types of leaders. The rigid leader and the adaptive leader.
The rigid leader is the one who says, we have always done it this way and has minimal incentive to try something new. This type of leader does not innovate and will crush the spirit of their team because they are not open to feedback or trying new ideas.
I have experienced this type of leader. Some negative impacts are that employees are no longer willing to share their ideas, which can benefit the organization. These employees become frustrated that they are not being heard and ultimately leave the organization.
These individuals lead organizations with little to no forward momentum, leading to growth.
On the other hand, you have an adaptive leader. They are growth-oriented, innovative, open to feedback, and engage their organizations at all levels.
These beloved leaders drive innovation and streamlined processes but know that they are only successful because the people around them are willing to roll up their sleeves and get the work done.
They know change is inevitable, and the only certainty is that change is always on the move.
Adaptive leaders know that nothing stays the same, as Cicely Simpson aptly notes in her article about adaptability.
Cultivating Resilience as a Leader
A key attribute of leaders is their ability to be resilient. They can bounce back from any challenge, setback, or complex situation and become stronger. As the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Nancy Koehn, Harvard Business School Professor, defines resilience as follows:
“Resilience is the capacity to not only endure great challenges but get stronger in the midst of them. This is such an extraordinarily important capability because we live in a world that’s one nonstop crisis—one calamity, one emergency, one unexpected, often difficult surprise—after another, like waves breaking on the shore.”
In his piece about becoming a more resilient leader, Matthew Gavin highlights why it is essential to be resilient, how to respond to a crisis, and 4 ways that leaders can build resiliency.
During my leadership journey, I have experienced setbacks and failures. Unfortunately, some were my own doing, which is another lesson. But during those times, I learned that I need to bounce back, do things differently, get better results, and come out with more vigor and lessons to apply to the next challenge.
You can deploy different strategies as a leader to be resilient.
One is to prioritize your self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Understanding yourself and what makes you behave and react to situations is critical. Leaders must be aware of how their behavior and reactions impact them and others. Having these skills will help you recover and learn quickly so when you confront similar situations, you know how to address them quickly.
Another strategy is to frame how you think. If someone at work blows up at you, instead of thinking, "Wow, what a jerk," you can instead ask why did they react this way? It is easy to let someone's behavior have a negative impact and create a divide. But reframing de-personalizes it so that you can bring a different perspective.
Be a flexible leader
A key ingredient to resiliency is being flexible and able to change course as circumstances change or more information is readily available.
It breeds creativity, innovation, and new ways of thinking because we are not stuck in one linear thought.
As Michelle Segar, Ph.D. succinctly expresses it:
"Flexible thinking drives creativity and resilience in the face of challenges and unexpected sudden change. Studies generally find that when it comes to eating and exercise, being overly restrictive often backfires. However, flexible thinking enables us to better manage our food consumption and physical activity."
Flexibility is necessary to change course in an ever-changing environment or situation. Not staying flexible can lead you over the cliff when you could have traveled the nicely paved road.
Bringing it together
Like the mighty oak and the resilient willow, leaders face a choice: resist change and risk breaking or adapt and emerge stronger. The most effective leaders embrace adaptability and cultivate resilience. This means:
Prioritizing Self-Awareness: Understand your triggers and reactions to manage them effectively.
Reframing Your Thinking: Shift away from personalizing challenges towards seeking solutions.
Embracing Flexibility: Be open to pivoting and innovating in a dynamic world.
Which areas will be your focus for growth in the coming weeks?
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