Resilience

Only one thing is certain: nothing is certain.

Uncertainty has become part of our everyday lives. A pandemic, wars, terrorist attacks and extreme weather events have presented us with new challenges in recent years. We feel helpless and there are times when we fear the future: Will my job still be there in a few years? Will I earn enough money to pay off my house? Is there also a danger of war in Germany? Will we be able to cope with climate change?

The task of companies, and especially of managers, is to support employees, to alleviate their fears and to offer them opportunities. Not so easy when you yourself are affected by these fears as a manager, is it? One key skill is resilience. Resilience helps employees and leaders cope well with uncertain times. In this post, you'll learn how leaders can empower their employees in resilience and how companies can support leaders to do so.

"Human resilience is like bamboo - much more flexible than you might think at first glance."

- Jodi Picoult

What is resilience anyway?

Resilience encompasses a person's resilience and adaptability. New ways of working introduced due to a crisis do not easily throw resilient people off track. They endure change, adapt, and are able to quickly perform again and even evolve. Resilient people often feel better emotionally and mentally, despite the new stress. They are optimistic about life and experience more job satisfaction than less resilient colleagues.

That sounds like a company's dream, doesn't it? In truth, however, inner resilience varies from person to person. For one person, riding a train in a foreign city can be no trouble and for another it can be extremely challenging.

How can this be? A person's resilience develops over the course of a lifetime and is shaped by personal experiences. So resilience is not an innate trait. The good news for companies:

Management, and especially leaders, can help employees learn and develop methods to promote resilience!

Learning and developing resilience - But how?

We become more resilient by strengthening our robustness and flexibility. Easier said than done!

One thing is clear: people do not manage to become more "robust" on their own. We depend on social support. We need someone to talk to. Someone we can rely on in crisis situations. A person who offers us security and shows us that everything is not as difficult as it seems. Interpersonal relationships serve as a kind of safety net in uncertain times. In companies, managers can be this catch net for their team.

But who is the catch net for the managers? They, too, need support in difficult times. Someone with whom you can talk about challenges and concerns. External coaching, for example, is a good way to discuss your own challenges in a protected space and to open up room for reflection in the process.

Positive psychology for more resilience

The relationship between managers and employees is therefore crucial for the resilience of an organization. According to the researchers, the focus should be on the common good of the employees. In this way, managers can strengthen employees' self-esteem and self-efficacy, which can act as a kind of positive shield in crisis situations.

How do managers do that exactly?

Regular resilience-focused conversations help leaders question employees' mental and emotional health. How are they really doing? Are they experiencing anxiety? How are they coping with the current situation? These conversations show employees that the company cares about their health and well-being. Regular conversations can also provide a sense of security. In addition, the manager can directly recognize when employees are not doing well. Direct intervention can then be made so that the person feels better again quickly.

Good cooperation based on trust promotes employees' conviction that they can master life and their activities (self-efficacy). Good cooperation is based on good communication. Honest feedback and praise (but also appreciative criticism) increase self-esteem and well-being. It also puts managers in a better position to offer employees training that is tailored to their needs. Training not only promotes employees' ability to learn and adapt, but also gives them the feeling of being valued.

Through regular resilience-oriented discussions and good cooperation, managers can not only strengthen employees' protective shields, but also act as a safety net. Both have a positive effect on the resilience of employees.

Challenges and solutions for managers

Managers, just like employees, are confronted with the uncertainty of today's world. They have just as many unanswered questions regarding their job, everyday life and relationships. At the same time, their role in the company is becoming increasingly important. Today it is about much more than delegating tasks, controlling, rewarding or reprimanding. Managers are expected to be good at dealing with uncertainty and change, and to "coach" or rather empower their employees using positive psychology. Exactly, this means being a safety net for others and strengthening the employees' protective shield to improve their resilience.

But managers can only fulfill this task if they themselves are also doing well. We cannot assume that they will be able to deal with uncertainties and master these challenging tasks without support.

How can companies support managers?

For example with external coaches! In fact, a study has found that coaching supports managers in difficult situations very well. It helps them to strengthen their self-confidence and to see a broader perspective. In addition, coaching provides more thinking space and enhances executive learning (see Lawton). As we've learned, these are all factors that strengthen our resilience. And that's what this study found: Coaching made leaders feel much more resilient!

So working with a coach helps leaders themselves to better deal with challenges and improve their own leadership behavior.

So how do you find a competent coach?

This is where thankscoach can help! thankscoach offers digital coaching that can support any manager in any situation. The Coaching Journey fits seamlessly into the daily work routine. This means that your company's executives can discuss challenges inside and outside of work with thankscoach's coach. Since it is a digital coaching, this is possible anytime and anywhere. The topics of the coaching are of course 100% based on the needs of the executive and can be self-directed at the individual pace. Thanks to digital coaching, managers therefore have the opportunity to strengthen their own resilience in an uncomplicated way.

Want to learn more about our digital coaching journey and interested in how thankscoach can support your organization? Then contact us without obligation for a first meeting.

Sources:

1 Steyer, V., & Sullivan-Taylor, B. (2017). Why resilience managers aren't resilient, and what human resource management can do about it. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(8), 1261-1286. 

2 Markman, G. M., & Venzin, M. (2014). Resilience: Lessons from banks that have braved the economic crisis - And from those that have not. International Business Review, 23, 1096-1107.

3 Sommer, S. A., Howell, J. M., & Hadley, C. N. (2016). Keeping positive and building strength: The role of affect and team leadership in developing resilience during an organizational crisis. Group and Organization Management, 41, 172-202.

4. Carmeli, A., & Russo, M. (2016). The power of micro-moves in cultivating regardful relationships: Implications for work-home enrichment and thriving. Human Resource Management Review, 26, 112-124.

5 Bimrose, J., & Hearne, L. (2012). Resilience and career adaptability: Qualitative studies of adult career counseling. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 338-344.

6 Lawton Smith, C. (2015). How coaching helps leadership resilience: The leadership perspective. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(10),