In a corporate world where change is the order of the day, one factor must remain constant if success is to be guaranteed long term: Resilience.
Perhaps the best representation of resilience in the corporate world is when organisations possess the agility and flexibility to successfully adapt to evolving trends and developments. Resilience should not be confused with stubbornness or perseverance. Otherwise it would be nothing more than a tangible sign of weakness and lack of regard for what a situation truly requires. When applied correctly, resilience is coupled with the ability to foresee any upcoming trends and challenges, enabling modern leaders to adopt a proactive approach to ensure consistency and growth.
In so doing, management teams need to ensure that their energies are not invested in validating their own principles just for the sake of it, but in equipping their teams with the required attributes to weather storms that lie ahead. Indeed, the best application of resilience is when it is a proactive rather than a reactive effort.
This highlights the importance of having a well motivated team which embraces the company ethos and mission. No threat to resilience is bigger than the lack of a unified sense of direction.
A unified sense of purpose requires the development and promotion of a culture of communication and commitment, as well as of resilience and adaptability, within the organisational context. It is built by engendering trust, accountability, providing opportunities for learning and development, and by challenging people to push their boundaries outside their comfort zone.
In this sense, recruiting the right people also means looking at the person’s ability to adapt to changes without loss of focus. Resilient leaders, by their very example and outlook, provide a faster route to embedding this feature within the company culture. Through good quality coaching and by being role models in relation to stamina, determination and perseverance, leaders inspire their teams to develop this trait. When exposed to this kind of environment, people develop greater confidence in their abilities - allowing for more creativity and drive that are in turn vital components in building organisational resilience.
Resilience enables business success and longevity. Without it, businesses might fail at the first critical threat that they encounter. Resilience is no longer just about being able to stand up every time you fall. Resilience is about having the foresight to acknowledge looming threats and finding a successful way to tackle them before they appear.