HOW THE BEST BOUNCE BACK

There’s no doubt that life can be tough but the fact is that some people just seem better able to handle it than others. They are the people who cope well with long-term exposure to stress and pressure, who bounce back when things go wrong and who sustain their levels of energy and effort despite criticism, setback or failure. They are the people who are resilient, and their resilience is what makes the major difference between those who can deal with difficult and challenging times and those who struggle to do so.

Although some people start out with a natural level of resilience, the good news is that it is something which can be developed, whatever the starting point.  It is a set of skills and abilities which can be learned. By focusing on changing actions and mind-sets in a number of key areas – physiological, social, psychological, problem solving, adaptability, commitment to purpose and goals - resilience can be improved, with the result that both the individual and their organisation benefit.

Improved resilience typically translates into sustained individual performance, ready acceptance of change, effective and timely decisions, fast recovery times following failures or setbacks, low levels of absenteeism, lower employee turnover, a sense of well-being and less burnout and negative stress. When exhibited by managers, it creates team cultures which are positive, confident of success, focused and engaged. Resilient sales teams impact positively on the top line and resilient project teams handle change and setbacks with ease. Executive teams which possess high levels of resilience are well equipped to handle issues and make decisions and no business can afford to overlook the positive impact resilience makes to the bottom line.

That said the argument is sometimes made that resilience is synonymous with stress management and doesn’t offer anything new or different. Although it is true that both concepts are concerned with pressure and stress, the fundamental difference is that stress management is needed when someone no longer feels able to cope with the pressures they are facing. It becomes necessary when the nature and level of stress being faced has gone beyond a tipping point where is no longer serves to motivate and drive performance. Resilience on the other hand is an attitude of mind and set of skills which enables someone to cope well with pressure and continue to perform. The key difference between those who display resilience and those who don’t is the concept that it’s not so much the hard times we face that determine our success or failure but rather how we respond to them.

So, in today’s tough and competitive times, can you afford to leave building resilience to chance?

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 Today’s Guest Blogger @The LoftBlog

Jane Penton

Jane has an extensive background in Human Resources management and offers expertise in senior management coaching, people management, training design and delivery, talent management and change management. She has experience of working with small, venture capital companies through to multi-nationals such as Nortel Networks and Lucent Technologies.

She is a Director of Metacella who provide individual and team coaching and development in resilience. Contact her to find out more about how they can help your people and your business to thrive. jane@metacella.com or 01494 857350.