Build Resilience for Leadership Success

Now, to be clear: resilience is not the same as perseverance. Perseverance—the continued effort to achieve something despite difficulties or failures—is no doubt a valuable trait, but it can get messy quickly when the right action would be to change direction or stop what you’re doing.  

Said another way: “Suck it up & do it” isn’t helpful advice when the “doing” is not leading to the result you want! 

Resilience is what we implement when we’re dealing with adversity or change so that we continue moving forward. 

Why is resilience so important? Because it’s so closely tied to success. The ability to bounce back from setbacks is truly the difference between successful & unsuccessful people. It’s another muscle that we can strengthen—one that helps us adapt & grow. 

That’s right—you can ABSOLUTELY build resilience. When we do Resilience workshops at The Perk, we talk about how cultivating resilience requires four main ingredients: Purpose, Mindset, Community & Recharge: 

🌟 Purpose:To build resilience, it’s critical to get clear on your personal connection to your vision & mission. Remember: you ARE in the arena & some days, you’re going to get your a** kicked! On those hard days, it’s important to remember what it’s all for & why it matters to you.  
 

🧠 Mindset: Research shows that your mindset plays a significant role in determining the outcomes of your life. Your mindset directly impacts whether you succeed or fail. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy 

(If you need a little help with mindset, have I ever introduced you to this AMAZING thing called The Thought Model? You’re welcome!) 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Community: To build resiliency, you need connection & healthy relationships. People in our support systems can provide empathy, levity, & laughter. They can bolster our resilience by sharing a perspective we might not have considered. 

That said, it’s all about the right community. Your support system has to include people you trust who care about you, want the best for you, build you up & will help you when you ask for it (have I mentioned you should ask for it?). 

⚡Recharge: Resilience is how you recharge, not how you endure. Read that again: Resilience is how you recharge, not how you endure. The key to resilience is trying hard, stopping, recovering & then trying again. .

Again, here’s where you might need to shift your mindset around rest & breaks! Repeat after me: Rest & breaks are productive. They are an investment in your well-being, resiliency, & productivity.  

Building your resilience is a practice. It won’t be solved overnight & that’s okay. The biggest thing to remember is when you do get knocked down, even having the tiniest bit in your resilience bank will help you get back up again. 💪💪💪