Resilience: What It Is, How to Achieve It, and Why Companies Need it More Than Ever Now
Popularized in the 1993 Steven Spielberg megahit Jurassic Park, Chaos Theory posits any sufficiently complex system is inherently unpredictable. Or, to put it in more colloquial terms, “Sh*t happens.”
Unfortunately, Chaos Theory’s insistence that complex systems cannot be stabilized – that events can’t be meticulously planned and predicted – is anathema to traditional Western business thinking. Since the early 20th century, business leaders have focused on increasing efficiencies, optimizing performance, and trying to reduce risk to an absolute minimum.
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” Benjamin Franklin told us. But many, if not most, of our plans for ourselves and our organizations in 2020 were not to be.
For if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that life and reality don’t always line up with humanity’s desire for order and consistency.
Since last February, companies of all types have faced challenges most could not have even imagined just months before. And the brutal bashing of expectations – along with its maddening inconsistency – has left many businesses – workers and leaders alike – feeling punch drunk as a prizefighter who has just gone 15 rounds with a wrecking ball.
It’s exhausting, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
With the promise of vaccines delivering a “quick fix” to the pandemic looking more and more like vaporware – a result of increasingly hardy viral mutations and endemic government ineptitude – how is any company supposed to stay in the game, let alone thrive?
The answer is resilience.
In business, “resilience” signifies more than just endurance or perseverance. It also means more than just “staying the course.” In fact, it often connotes something quite different. Resilience can mean going off-course if that’s where the prevailing winds are blowing, recognizing – and pursuing – new opportunities as they emerge. Likewise, it has to do with seeing change as an ally to be embraced, not an enemy to be defeated. Today especially, resilience means beating COVID at its own game by evolving as quickly as it does.
Of course, in business, resilience is not a quality one can simply demand from a group or bake into a company’s culture. It’s an individual emotional response that needs to be carefully nurtured and encouraged on a daily basis. Ways to create resilience and make it part of your company culture include:
Expressing empathy and compassion for people who are feeling frustrated, oppressed, beaten down, and frustrated by COVID-19 restrictions (i.e., “COVID Fatigue”). This involves letting your people know we’re all dissatisfied – but this is just another challenge to be overcome.
Putting your focus on innovation instead of struggling to return things to “normal.” The playing field has shifted, the rules have changed, and you’re not going to win by playing the old game. As a result, it’s necessary to encourage and reward new ideas, even if they don’t conform to your pre-COVID operational paradigm.
Focusing on the short-term. Business today is much like a maze where every twist and turn springs a new surprise and just getting to the next junction takes all your energy. In such a situation, long-term planning is not just moot, it can also be a waste of resources. To foster resilience, set specific, short-term goals and adjust them as frequently as the changing ground game requires. Likewise, enjoying a series of daily victories, even minor ones, will energize your workforce, instilling a sense of optimism.
Fighting boredom and ennui by actively shortening meetings, staging competitions, sharing success stories, celebrating top performers, and promoting open communication.
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As the British author and motivational speaker Marcus Buckingham has noted, building trust is the cornerstone to business resilience. One simple, yet powerful way corporate leadership can promote trust is by being honest and always doing what they say they will. Is your business building the kind of trust engendering resilience in these challenging times? And is your business ready to bounce back stronger and more productive than ever before?
As this recent Forbes profile attests, I have spent the last two decades helping companies build cultures that are open, honest, and resilient. I can help yours weather the current crisis and actually become better for it. Just contact me today at laura@conoverconsulting.com. And let’s show the world what resilience is really about.