Spring Forward

A day late and so perfect for April Fools, here's monthly commentary for March.

Resiliency as a leadership trait is believed more vital for success than ever. Resilient leaders by definition have the ability to bounce back quickly or to recover readily in the face of adversity, setbacks, and challenges.

Let's face it, resiliency is both hard and courageous work because it requires us to recognize failure and to confront painful realities. In the face of a setback it is important to ground and center yourself and to position yourself both emotionally and physically to actively address your challenge. Acquiring resiliency, like any leadership trait, takes intentional and deliberate practice...and this muscle strengthens over time as you practice throughout your life. Here are some practices that support greater levels of resiliency.

Recognition

Recognizing when the stress has gotten the best of you is key. We all have a certain capacity for stress and knowing when our tolerance levels have been breached is important. It's imperative to recognize when we are off-kilter. In other words, get good at gauging when your fuel tank is on low. Typical signs are constant fatigue, irritability, being highly critical, making snap judgments, slamming on the breaks and resisting decision making, becoming easily excitable, not trusting yourself or your team, etc.

States of Mind

It is common to self-doubt, second guess, compare ourselves and distrust others when stress levels are high. However, this fixed point of view thwarts our ability to move forward. Assuming a growth mindset will contribute to your problem-solving. Become a master of identifying these states of mind which could be labeled as resistance, skeptic or wait and see. Ask yourself what you need to move forward. Reflect on what is missing, the presence of which would make it safe for you to move the needle toward a higher state of experimentation, action and partnership (Conversation Intelligence, by Judith Glaser). For example, considering that your setback or challenge is a learning opportunity may offer the promise of growth and provide a much healthier, positive approach.

Healthy Rituals

Getting back to the basics and practicing the rituals of exercising, reflecting, eating well and getting a good night's sleep aid your body, mind and spirit in

regaining a foothold so you can perform with agility, fluidity and flexibility.

Ask for Help

Create a support structure around you. Reach out to your team, family, friends and trusted advisors. Don't go it alone. The tendency to isolate is fierce during periods of high stress. Building strong partnerships, allies, and trusted networks who listen and respond with ruthless compassion is critical.

Invest the time and energy in yourself for when those hard hits come your way. Spring forward with agility, creativity and power.

In practice,

Eunice