The Leadership Resilience Conundrum: Decoding the Secrets to Change Resilience
Imagine you're leading your team through a major change — like transitioning to a hybrid workplace or adopting fancy new technology. It's a bit of a rocky time, with uncertainty and rapid changes being the norm. How do you weather the storm and empower your leaders and managers to navigate the choppy waters?
This challenge is the resilience conundrum leaders face in today’s workplace, which seems to be constantly changing. It’s about making smart decisions under pressure, adapting quickly to unexpected challenges, and guiding teams through wonky times – all while keeping your cool, building trust, and prioritizing what matters most.
A bit of a tall order, huh? But it's not impossible. With the right skills and tools, you and your leaders can build your resilience behaviors and create a workplace where folks adapt and thrive amidst change.
Ready to crack the code for resilient leadership? We’re sharing some of our top secrets for building rock-solid organizational resilience from ourAdaptivity & Resilience workshop.
Name it to normalize it.
Becoming a more resilient leader starts with understanding how people react to challenges and changes in your company. It's normal to feel stressed during change, and reactions are a natural way of coping. You can normalize the change process by naming and discussing these reactions.
Try this now: Identify the coping styles of your team members and the group as a whole. People and teams often have a cultural default mode during stress. Do they tend to go into:
Freeze: slow down or stall
Flight: tackle problems aggressively and debate
Rabbit holing: dig deep on one topic
Spin: jump from topic to topic or create distractions
Robot mode: show no emotion
Helper mode: give advice
Understanding how folks react helps you lead them through stressful situations.
What Does Change Resilience at Work Look Like?
Resilient behaviors
Patience
Problem-solving skills
Solution-oriented mindset
Balanced approach
Nimbleness in adapting
Prioritization of tasks
Flexibility in strategies
Emotional intelligence
Hopeful outlook
Non-resilient behaviors
Anxiety
Disengagement
Panic
Frustration
Combative behavior
Confusion
Inflexibility
Defensive reactions
Make small changes for big impact.
When you’re skilled at resilience to change, you not only roll with the punches but also create a more resilient vibe for the entire organization. Because leaders bridge big-picture goals and day-to-day operations, they have a distinct and essential role in building organizational resilience.
Research consistently shows leaders have a hefty impact on their teams and orgs. For instance, a Gallup 25-year study revealed 50-70% of how employees perceive their work environment is tied to the actions and behaviors of management.
Tackle the leadership resilience conundrum with these secrets to change resilience that immediately build leader and team adaptivity.
Change resilience secret #1 – Taking a breather settles uncertainty.
Sometimes, all you need to reset is a break. Deliberate pauses give you a chance to step back from the chaos, take a breath, and reset your balance. Modeling this behavior and encouraging others to do the same can make a real difference in your workplace.
Try this now: Think about where you can sneak intentional breaks into your operations to create a more balanced and resilient environment. Consider short and extended opportunities:
Micro breaks: Brief intervals for breathing, stretching, and movement to recharge throughout the day.
Meso breaks: Start and stop rituals or organization-wide agreements for lunch breaks, weekends, and after-hours downtime.
Macro breaks: Paid time off, vacations, and extended breaks to promote overall well-being and rejuvenation.
Change resilience secret #2 – The two-hander technique promotes clarity.
Here's a quick trick to help clear and organize your thoughts when things get confusing. Just hold both your hands up in front of you, sort of like saying, "On one hand, there's this; on the other hand, there's that."
This handy framework can help you figure out:
What's in your control and what's not
What you want to pay attention to and what you can let go of
What you're sure about and what you're not sure about
Change resilience secret #3 – Small talk reduces stress.
Resilient leaders get the importance of creating a space for team members to express themselves and blow off steam. At LifeLabs, we believe in the power of "small talk" because it opens the door for meaningful communication.
Here are some questions you can ask to invite sharing:
How are you feeling today?
What's on your mind lately?
What's been the highlight of your week and why?
Pro Tip: After asking a question, try using the playback technique. Repeat what you heard to show you're listening and ensure clarity. To promote resilience, invite folks to talk about their feelings and try to extract a deeper need from their share.
Change resilience secret #4 – Asking reset questions calms overwhelm.
When you find yourself or your team stuck in a stress response, take a moment to look at the big picture. Asking reset questions makes it easier to refocus and move forward.
Here's a basic framework to follow:
Pause.
Describe the situation with an observation statement (e.g., "It seems like things are getting overwhelming.").
Suggest a reset opportunity (e.g., "Let's take a quick break and reset.").
Ask reset questions like:
What's our top priority right now?
How should we best go about this?
What are our decision criteria?
Change resilience secret #5 – Scenario planning boosts decision-making.
If things start getting hectic, try this simple strategy. Think of three possible scenarios that could happen. Then, assign a percentage for how likely each one is and how ready you are for them.
This approach quickly prioritizes where to focus your time, resources, and energy. For example, if something's almost inevitable and you're not really prepared, focus there first.
Keep calm and carry on.
Leading change resilience at work is all about keeping calm, making clear decisions, and staying adaptive even when things feel uncertain. By understanding your team’s go-to stress responses, taking breaks and resetting when needed, and creating structure amid chaos, you can prepare yourself and your squad for whatever challenges come your way.
Bring our Adaptivity & Resilience workshop to your organization!
