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What Does it Mean to Be Resilient at Work?

by | Aug 1, 2022 | Professional Development

“Everyone has the power within them to conquer any challenge life throws at them and be stronger because of it” ~Kris Barney.  Believe me, it’s true!

Resiliency Begins When Change Occurs. 

To be Resilient is to be flexible and formattable. This makes you a powerhouse and a trailblazer.  Being a trailblazer means that you are creating a path for others to follow. This might not sound like what you are searching for, but let’s face it…when we can influence others in a good way, it creates success. 

Think about it, as a parent, don’t you want to have a positive influence over your children? What about with friends? Don’t we all want to have a positive impact? Even in our professional lives, we are always striving to have a powerful, positive impact. Being a Resilient Trailblazer can create this and will affect your personal and professional success.

Today we want to share with you 3 Virtues of a Resilient Trailblazer.

Virtue #1-Flexibility

  • When we are flexible, we are willing to do things differently. This means that we are willing to consider other people’s suggestions and ideas. We are open to feedback and ideas of how we can do things differently for a better outcome.
  • It also means that we are flexible, and we avoid getting into resistance and pushing away other’s suggestions and ideas. We get to allow things to flow and be flexible in all situations. This allows us to work together for a better outcome. It gives us group effort and a larger pool of experience to draw from. Don’t get us wrong…not all ideas will be good ones, but when we allow everyone to be heard and every idea to at least be considered, it will lead us to solutions that could be out of the box that we have tried and find things that will work better. Just because it was not the CEO’s idea does not mean that it will not work, right?
  • Question why you are doing things the old way. Is it just easier than implementing a new plan or idea? Could there be a more efficient way to do it? Could you streamline the process or create a system that would be more efficient? Is there technology that could make communication more effective? Could you be doing things differently for a better result?

When have you been willing to do things differently?

Virtue #2-Creativity

  • Be willing to risk and be wrong. We would not have the world we live in with all its many choices if people would not have been willing to be creative and be wrong! Everything we have, like TV, Internet, cell phones, computers, cars, planes, ships, all of it…started as someone’s creative idea. It began as a creative thought and dedicated action with perseverance and fortitude to be created. All of them had ways that some of the creativity was wrong. It all needed fine tuning and over the years, was perfected to have phenomenal things in our world. Change is good. Creativity is an intricate part of being resilient and being able to move through change with success.
  • The enemy of Creativity is fear. FEAR of Being wrong. “Fear can Stop you or Propel You…the choice is YOURS!” ~Kris Barney We must never allow fear to hold us back and stop us from being resilient and from being all that we can be. Rather, allow it to propel you forward into new territory and even just being able to get through things when challenges are too much to bear.
  • Come up with new ways to do things. Do not censor your ideas in the beginning. Allow everyone on your team to be heard and consider all possibilities. I cannot tell you how many times teams tell us about this far off idea that they considered, and it got the creative juices flowing and they had a break-through on their next big thing! Be willing to play the “what if” game if needed to start brainstorming and creativity to flow.

Story: Here is creativity and brainstorming that added an entirely new revenue source.

It was a Saturday Evening at 9:00 pm. My husband and I were driving past Carver’s Steak Restaurant when I noticed they had added a drive-up window!  Now, Carver’s is a fine dining Steak Restaurant, what on earth are they thinking to add a drive-up window. Well, during the world pandemic and the entire shut-down of Restaurants for minimum of 90 days, they decided to be creative. They decided they could be safe and social distance while creating a way to still serve food. This idea not only kept them in business, but it put them on the map. Every night, weekdays and weekends, they have a full dining room of repeat business, and they now have a line of 20+ cars in the drive-up window and curb side takeout. A new way for revenue due to social distancing. Customers are waiting 20-30 minutes to take their “fine dining food” home to eat! This has added a HUGE revenue stream that did not exist before the shut-down and were one of the first in our state to adapt, grow and thrive because of it!

Virtue #3 – Perseverance

  • When you are looking for new solutions, not every idea will be a home-run hit. But for the ones that are, PERSEVERANCE is required! We can learn this from the best of the best!
  • Let’s mention some of the famous failures that led to success… Babe Ruth – homerun king was also the strike out king. Bill Gates’ first company crumbled. Walt Disney was told he lacked Creativity. Steve Jobs was booted from his own company. I love to use these examples because it would have been absolutely insane for any of them to quit! But it took extreme perseverance to have the reality of their idea come true.
  • Being persistent is choosing to take the harder path when given a choice, because at times it would be easier to quit and take the easy way out. Now I am not saying that there is never a time to hang it up and decide that the idea is not going to work…there are those times but be willing to be persistent enough to know that you have done enough due diligence and taken enough action to know what that answer might be. There are a lot of quitters out there…far more quitters than winners. Which are you going to be?

These 3 Virtues will take you a long way in business and in teamwork at being more resilient at work and at home. I also feel that the following Be Resilient Acronym can be an important piece to also build upon with your teams. I want to share it with you, as we have seen how powerful it can be in changing lives and improving resiliency.

BE RESILIENT

B=BRAVE  Get out of FEAR. Go to Courage that you can and will do this. Be honest and allow yourself to be vulnerable as you share with others. Keep Going. You can do this.

E= EXAMINE  Assess your situation, what can you do and what do you need to change? What is working and what is not working? Take a good look and decide how you are going to handle it. PLAN.

R=REVIEW  Go to Stop, Look and Listen. This will assist you as you evaluate your circumstances and determine your next steps. Find WIIFT “What’s In It For Them? Your co-workers, your family, etc.

E=EXERCISE  Exercise Positivity, Faith and Perseverance! Make sure you are having Movement with your body – getting fresh air and the peace you find in nature. Exercise being the Victor NOT the Victim!

S=STRENGTH  Be Strong. Allow your Leadership to come forward and be a Leader. Own your Confidence and allow yourself to Be All that YOU Can BE. Be Motivational for others. You Can DO Hard Things!

I=IDENTIFY  Dial in on your FOCUS. Focus on what you GET to do. Become a Problem Solver. Identify the emotions you are feeling and what you get to do about them. Find your true Purpose.

L=LONGEVITY  Trust Yourself. Trust the Process. Persevere. You are in this for the long haul. Stick to it even when it is hard or frustrating. Find your Vision of where this is going and the good that will be there.

I=INTEGRITY  Stay strong in your Values and Characteristics. Be who you know you are! Be TRUE to YOU. Hold yourself accountable for your actions, your emotions, your feelings and your process.

E=EMBRACE  Embrace Change. Be willing to look for ways to solve the challenge. Look for the Growth. Put in the Effort. Be positive and do not allow criticism in. Be Inspiring. Do what it takes.

N=NURTURE  Lean in to self-care. Be willing to nurture yourself through this process. Be forgiving of yourself and others. Serve others through this process. Lift Others. Nurture your relationships. Serve!

T=TAKE ACTION  Do Not Quit! Take Action to create momentum. Keep Moving Forward. Move through the Challenge with Strength and Fortitude. Come out Stronger than Before. Achieve New Levels for Yourself!

Yes, this is quite the list! BUT, if you will Trust the Process. This will work!!!

Look at how this tree has created the strength to Stand. It has done everything it could to survive and thrive! You can too!

It does not matter what you are facing…a Pandemic, a takeover of your company, a huge economy slide or a relationship in your life. This WORKS! I know it does, as I have faced it head on and it has worked every time!