In the fire of change - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

In the fire of change - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Relentless change, increased expectations, insecurity, limited resources, as well as changing values and cultures put unprecedented pressure on leaders to perform. With the present pace of change, it doesn’t surprise me to find that resilience is a theme emerging when I coach senior leaders. What does resilience mean and why is it important? Resilience is what helps people and systems thrive. The Hay Group say “Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges and adversity, stay in control when events go off track, and reach out for new opportunities and experiences.” This definition misses an important attribute of resilience, one that is critical for 21st century leadership, which is that resilience is also about growth. When you feel the heat, do you grow or burn? To understand more about resilience, I turn to the work of leading Australian ecologist and chair of the Resilience Alliance, Dr Brian Walker. In his book ‘Resilience Practice’, he talks about how adaptive systems use exposure to stress as a way of enhancing the ability of people to cope with future challenges.   He makes it clear that resilience is not about being resistant to change. Just as a forest that never burns eventually loses species capable of withstanding fire, as leaders we need to be able to withstand the fire of uncertainty and chaos, in order to strengthen ourselves for the future. However, the fire is an opportunity for new growth and perhaps transformation.   Resilient people and systems cope well with stress and embrace more severe challenges as opportunities for development and learning.   Resilient individuals experience self-renewal, whilst less resilient people find themselves worn down by relentless change, chaos and uncertainty. Growing to survive the fire There is a simple hope that can extinguish those burning through the fires of uncertainty. Resilience can be measured and increased.   Astier Almedom’s work on psychological resistance uses a “sense of coherence” to measure an individual’s resilience, which is characterised by: Understanding the world around us Facing up to the challenges confronting us Believing these challenges are worth taking on Through fostering these characteristics in ourselves, we expand our way of seeing the world, which in turn invites creativity and innovation. New potential is then born, growing our strength and capacity to survive even the hottest of fires. As leaders, inspiring resilience teaches others to grow and withstand their fires of uncertainty. //