Developing Resilience in a Volatile World
With so much uncertainty, volatility and disruption in the workplace, building resilience to cope with stress has become a common topic among executives and their teams. Taking into account the pandemic, and the numerous social, cultural, environmental and technological challenges, we are experiencing unimaginable levels of anxiety and stress.
Many leaders would like to see this time as an opportunity. One in which inspires organizations to be more innovative, responsive to changing demands, and efficient in their delivery. There's even an acronym for this way of thinking - VUCA for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. The belief is that by better understanding a marketplace that is demonstrating these qualities, leaders improve their strategic competencies that lead to better outcomes. Though this maybe true, teams and organizations who are constantly exposed to volatility and uncertainty over long periods of time become anxious, doubtful, overwhelmed, less creative, motivated and productive, potentially leading to burnout, depression or people resigning. So it's no surprise we are looking at means to cope.
What is Resilience?
Resilience comes from the Latin word resiliens meaning "act of rebounding or springing back,". It's the recognition that some living and non-living things have an elastic quality that enables them to return to its original shape after compression or stress.
A common understanding of resilience is our ability to withstand stress and how quickly we bounce back from difficult life events. If we look at our lives holistically, our minds and bodies are always trying to find some kind of balance or equilibrium. When we exert ourselves physically our heart rate goes up, and our bodies will naturally return to its natural resting heart rate. When we feel strong emotions like frustration or anger our spirit also wants to return to a sense of calm or peace. Trouble arises when we're overwhelmed by stress, for instance when volatile situations come too fast for too long, it becomes difficult to return to an embodied sense of balance because we're bracing for the next stress inducing episode. Unfortunately, we must accept that the world is a stressful place. However, there are ways we can do more than merely cope with it.
Your Leader Within and Resilience
As a Co-Active coach, we build upon the natural resources within our clients so they can do more than just cope with volatility or adversity so they can proactively create a more fulfilling and meaningful life. A life of joy, gratitude, connection and purpose. A life where what they do is aligned with who they are. One resource we co-create is the Leader Within.
Our Leader Within is an inner authority which stands in full self-acceptance that we're constantly changing beings. It acknowledges who we are being right now and who we are becoming. Our Leader Within also claims full self-authority, actively choosing the fullest expression of our life purpose and values instead of acting compulsively. It's by creating this awareness of self-acceptance and self-authority we see our wholeness, creativity and resourcefulness with a deep sense purpose and knowing which empowers us even through the most challenging times. It's from here resilience becomes much more than a way to cope but rather a natural quality of life that enables us to respond to any circumstance.
Self-Acceptance
So much of our stress is caused by the stories or beliefs of how we should be. We carry misaligned expectations of ourselves and others. We are consumed with worry about the future, or frustrations about the past. These create what I call, emotional leakages, which lead to fatigue or burnout. Self-acceptance begins with being present with who we are in this moment with a curiosity of who we're becoming. Self-acceptance is about creating alignment with what's truly important and what we want for our life.
Here are some ways to foster self-acceptance.
Get in touch with what's most important to you to live a fulfilling life. Explore you core values, longings and vision for your life. See where you're honouring or dishonouring what it is you truly want.
Begin everything with gratitude or appreciation. Unconsciously we spend so much time complaining, judging, shaming ourselves, others and our circumstances. However, if you start with gratitude you can see that there's always something to appreciate in any given moment - even in the most challenging and stressful circumstances, people and situations. When you can see value in the moment your energy shifts towards what is more compassionate and creative response.
Accept that life is complex, challenging, hard to predict and impossible to control. By accepting where you are now and what you do and don't have control over, you can source new possibilities to create from.
Acknowledge your gifts, strengths and limits. And accept that you can't do it all and you'll need help from time to time. Accept that you will make mistakes and mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth. Like Nelson Mandela said, "I never lose, I either win or learn."
Self authority
We are always creating from the world. Don Miguel Ruiz wrote in the book Wisdom of Shamans, “The simple truth is that every person is an artist, and the art that we create is the story of our life.”
When we are consciously creating we're leaning into our self-authority. Self-authority is about taking responsibility for the creation we call life, and for the impact we want to have for ourselves and others. It is from self-authority we are grounded, clear, intentional and on purpose. When we are consciously choosing from this place we can quickly return to wholeness and balance from states of stress. Viktor Frankl wrote in Man's Search for Meaning, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Here are some ways to foster your self-authority.
Prioritize activities that embody your core values and vision for a fulfilling life. This could include setting time for family, friends, travelling, exercise or a hobby.
Set clear boundaries and expectations around work and your personal life, especially when either becomes increasingly uncertain and stressful.
Make time to recover from stress and overwhelm. For some this may include moments of solitude, self-reflection, meditation, quiet walks, massage, while others recover with time spent with close family and friends.
In times of volatility we can experience a world of emotions, feelings and thoughts. It becomes important to take time to process these experiences through meditation, journalling, or speaking them out loud with someone you trust, such as a friend, coach, therapist, or colleague.
Get enough sleep. We culturally underestimate the restorative qualities of sleep. It's vital to our mental, physical and spiritual health and resilience.
Give yourself something to look forward to such as making plans with yourself or others. Create a vision board or set some short or long term goals. Just like a boat lost in open waters, if you don't have a clear direction in life, you are susceptible to be taken adrift by every form of distraction or stress.
Clean house. Take control of your procrastination list. Rearrange your living and workspace. Purge your inbox and unread text messages. A tidy space is a tidy mind. A tidy mind is creative and resourceful.
When we live our lives from our Leader Within we can respond to the volatility and uncertainty of life with creativity and resourcefulness. It's from here resilience becomes much more than a way to cope, it's a way of life.
Inquiry
How can resilience benefit you in your work and personal life?
What are values or qualities are you compromising just to keep up in this volatile world?
If you were to reconnect with your inner leader, your Leader Within, what would be possible? What would change?