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AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Building Resiliency
How to Thrive in Times of Change
IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOKS
Aimed at managers and executives who are concerned with their own and others’ development, each guidebook in this series gives specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership problem.
| LEAD CONTRIBUTORS | Mary Lynn PulleyMichael Wakefield |
| CONTRIBUTOR | Ellen Van Velsor |
| GUIDEBOOK ADVISORY GROUP | Victoria A. GuthrieCynthia D. McCauleyRuss S. Moxley |
| DIRECTOR OF ASSESSMENTS, TOOLS, AND PUBLICATIONS | Sylvester Taylor |
| MANAGER, PUBLICATION DEVELOPMENT | Peter Scisco |
| WRITER | Rebecca Garau |
| DESIGN AND LAYOUT | Joanne Ferguson |
| CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS | Laura J. GibsonChris Wilson, 29 & Company |
Copyright © 2001 Center for Creative Leadership.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
CCL No. 413
ISBN-13: 978-1-882197-67-5
ISBN-10: 1-882197-67-4
CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Building Resiliency
How to Thrive in Times of Change
Mary Lynn Pulley and Michael Wakefield
THE IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK SERIES
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) has generated in the course of more than thirty years of research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared – in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today’s leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL’s mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. We think you will find the Ideas Into Action Guidebooks an important addition to your leadership toolkit.
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
It may be human nature to resist change – particularly when it’s delivered as a hardship, disappointment, or rejection. But by developing resiliency managers can not only survive change, but learn, grow, and thrive in it. In fact, for leaders, developing resiliency is critical. Resiliency helps managers deal with the pressures and uncertainties of being in charge in organizations today.
This guidebook defines resiliency, explains why it’s important, and describes how you can develop your own store of resiliency. It focuses on nine developmental components that, taken together, create a sense of resiliency and increase your ability to handle the unknown and to view change – whether from disappointment or success – as an opportunity for development.
What Is Resiliency?
Resiliency provides the ability to recover quickly from change, hardship, or misfortune. It’s associated with elasticity, buoyancy, and adaptation. Resilient people demonstrate flexibility, durability, an attitude of optimism, and openness to learning. A lack of resilience is signaled by burnout, fatigue, malaise, depression, defensiveness, and cynicism.
Resiliency is the product of a broad perspective. You can bolster it with a supportive network of professional and personal relationships, and use it to become comfortable with change. Resiliency taps into your ability to adapt even as it relies on your own knowledge about yourself – your values, confidence, and optimism. And it’s a key element to success on all levels and in all aspects of your life, from professional career development and leadership opportunities to the pursuit of personal goals and well-being.
People often have the view that resiliency means being unflappable, strong, or unaffected. Most of us have heard the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But resiliency isn’t simply a matter of “toughing it out.” Bearing up under pressure is certainly part of being resilient, but just one part. Marathon runners, for example, have to be tough to endure a grueling 26-mile run, and yet it’s often their ability to handle the intangibles (weather, unknown competition, attitude about ability, a slight but nagging injury at the 20-mile marker) that puts them across the finish line and in the winner’s circle.
Developing resiliency requires that you pay attention to the complexities of your experiences, listen to your emotions, and be willing to learn from disappointment as well as success.
A Tale of Resilience
Straight out of college, Matt began working for a national grocery chain. For 16 years, he did very well. Shortly after accepting a significant promotion, things began to
