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Building resilience to turn setbacks into comebacks.

Resilience has been a recent buzzword to describe the young generation’s capacity to cope with changes and challenges - or their lack thereof. However, it isn’t just children that need to know how to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones – it equally applies to anybody in the workforce.

Have you ever been in a crisis and thought that you would never get through that project, or finish on time, or fix that mistake you made? And yet, you managed to hang in there, came out the other end, and actually felt stronger and better prepared for next time?

We all make mistakes and sometimes fall flat on our faces. But how we deal with challenges and cope with pressure strongly affects our success. This is one of the many reasons why a resilient mindset is so important for a leader.  People with resilience have a greater sense of control over their lives, and not only survive change, but actually learn, grow and thrive in it.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ― Albert Einstein

Let me share with you the 11 resilience secrets every manager should know:

Secret #1 – Challenges are opportunities in disguise.

Use challenges as chances to evolve. Focus on what you can learn from them and turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

Secret #2 – You have done it before.

If you want to persist against frustration and master your emotions before they manage you, you must draw from the knowledge that you have overcome setbacks before.

Secret #3 – The law of Yin and Yang.

Where there is a negative, there is a positive. Look at setbacks from a positive viewpoint and use the benefits they bring to stay motivated.

Secret #4 – Take a leap of faith.

Put your hand up and volunteer for, or even seek out, new opportunities. This helps building your confidence to handle uncertainty and develops your resilience.

Secret #5 – Consult the crystal ball.

Keep things in perspective, and consider if what has gone wrong will actually matter next year, in a month, or even next week.

Secret #6 – Watch your language.

Don’t let negative thoughts spoil your efforts, but instead practise positive thinking. Replace negative language like “I never get anything right!” with positive statements like “Missing that deadline disclosed what I need to change next time!”

Secret #7 – Brush up on problem-solving.

To deal with with major challenges, you need to be able to effectively solve problems on a small scale. Practise your problem-solving and decision making on a daily basis to prepare you for larger issues.

Secret #8 – The power lies in the team.

Strong relationships with your work colleagues are key. Discussing challenges and having a strong support network to fall back on are highly beneficial to resilience.

Secret #9 – Keep stretching.

Nothing in the workplace stays the same – especially in today’s fast moving environment. It is important that you focus on being flexible and understand that sometimes carefully made plans need to modified or scrapped.

Secret #10 – Work to your strengths.

Using your strong points to your advantage will boost your confidence and self-esteem. This in turn helps you to approach new challenges with more ease, and allow for creativity and innovation.

Secret #11 – Water under the bridge.

Don’t dwell on things that haven’t gone as planned. Instead, take time to reflect and congratulate yourself on what did go well.

Resilience is the capacity to cope with stress and adversity, and getting through tough times with relative ease. You neither need to be super-human, nor are you expected to be perfect or never affected by setbacks. If you want to be an empowered leader, you must build resilience in yourself and your team, so you can face your fears and adapt an attitude of possibilities.

“Dare to make a difference!”