How can you demonstrate your resilience in a leadership role?
I am going to share my top 3 takeaways of what I believe to be the areas leaders need to focus on first to increase their resilience.
“You cannot pour from an empty cup – take care of yourself first” – Unknown
1. BE YOURSELF
We are all unique and have different strengths and weaknesses. For those that have worked with me, it will come as no surprise that I frequently say “play to your strengths”. It’s important that whilst you need to develop areas of weakness, it is also good to delegate to others in your team who have your areas of development as a strength. I also love encouraging leaders to express who they truly are even if that presents a vulnerability challenge because by being authentic, playing to strengths and shining bright, others will follow because they will trust you and be inspired by you. All great leaders have followers and by being yourself, you will encourage others to be their best selves in their own unique way.
2. CONNECT TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Over the last few years, leaders have had to embrace the use of technology and adapt to the changes of leading in a virtual world. This has proved challenging because it is new, it feels uncomfortable, you’re not able to read body language as easily as you can in a room, there are bandwidth problems and we’re all working from home and inviting colleagues into our safe and secure sanctuary. These are all things that leaders have shared with me which prevent them from connecting to the wider community. Those who have embraced the challenge have continued to network, been visible on social media platforms, and reached people in different parts of the country and world because there are no longer any boundaries and travel restrictions in place. Connection is one of the 5 ways of wellbeing and something that we should all seek to do daily so don’t be afraid to pick up the phone, go on a Zoom call or send a message to someone who you’ve not spoken to in a while. Just letting them know that you are thinking about them and you care is enough.
3. SELF-CARE & WELLBEING
When we are busy and in flow, it’s not unusual to move from one activity to another. Remember to stop, pause and breathe. As mentioned in the unknown quote above “You cannot pour from an empty cup and you need to take care of yourself first”. We need to make sure our human needs are being satisfied and I personally love making time for my privacy. For all of you who are working parents, you will understand me when I say “Having a bubble bath in peace and quiet with the bathroom door locked so none of the children can enter is like heaven”. That doesn’t mean to say that I don’t love my children dearly and enjoy spending quality time with them, it means that to enable me to be my best self and enjoy the intimacy of snuggling under a blanket and watching a movie or Emmerdale (which is my daily guilty pleasure), I need some time for ME and this is not selfish, far from it, it is saying “I am equally important”.
I invite you to answer the following questions:
· Where is the gap in your leadership resilience?
· What can you do to improve the gap?