Success Secrets and Stories
To share management leadership concepts that actually work.
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Success Secrets and Stories
Mastering Resilience for Effective Leadership
Unlock the secrets to becoming a resilient leader and transform challenges into opportunities for growth. Join John Wandolowski and Greg Powell on Success Secrets and Stories as we explore the pivotal role of resilience in leadership. We promise you'll walk away with practical tips on how to enhance your decision-making and motivational skills by harnessing the power of resilience. Discover how leaders can recover and adapt in the face of adversity, turning setbacks into stepping stones for success while staying focused on broader goals.
We also dive into the essential traits and techniques that define resilient leaders. Hear about a memorable experience where a former boss leveraged team diversity by bringing a lawyer into an engineering project, showcasing the power of diverse perspectives in problem-solving. Learn why understanding candidates' backgrounds and interests is crucial during interviews. We highlight key characteristics such as risk-taking, determination, and maintaining composure under pressure. Additionally, strategies like effective time management, delegation, and self-care are essential tools for fostering a positive organizational culture. Don't miss this episode packed with insights to inspire and empower your leadership journey.
Presented by John Wandolowski and Greg Powell
Well, hello everyone and welcome to Success Secrets and Stories. I'm your host, john Manoloski, and I'm here with my co-host and friend, greg Powell, greg.
Speaker 1:Hey everybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this podcast is an interesting subject. I wanted to talk about something that is really important for leadership, and it's called resilience. Okay, so the subject sounds like you know, I want world peace and resilience and I want good leadership. We all want those things. But to understand what it is to be resilient as a manager is also helping the organization to find out where their leadership is at If they're in trouble. There are more people that are hiding behind the organization, and that point of trying to step forward is where leaders come from, and the pretenders are more theatrical. They're more pretending to be a leader, and you're looking for people that are exhibiting certain skill sets when you talk about resilience. So let's talk about the most simple application. So let's talk about the most simple application. Webster calls it the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. So, greg, why don't you start us off with an article? I thought had a very good way of pulling the concept together.
Speaker 1:Thanks, john. This is about resilience and leadership how to thrive in turbulent times. It comes from Indeed and it's for employers. You can find it at wwwindeedcom slash hire. Slash see slash info. Slash resilience in leadership.
Speaker 1:So being an effective and well-rounded leader can be much easier when circumstances are in your favor, of course, right. However, seasonal and economic downturns are inevitable, so it's crucial that you're able to weather the turbulent times. In this article, you'll learn everything you need to know about resilience in leadership, including eight traits of resilient leaders and how you cultivate them. So what is resilience in leadership?
Speaker 1:Resilience is often thought of in terms of toughness, strength and infallibility. Many people picture a resilient leader as someone who never fails, is always right, has an unwavering approach and follows through with plans. In fact, the true definition of resilience revolves around persistence in the face of turbulence. A resilient person is able to keep making progress in the face of adversity. They aren't immune to it. They maintain composure rather than being infallible, and are able to remain focused on bigger picture goals rather than getting lost in negative emotions. Anyone can work to develop more resilience and be increasingly comfortable outside of their comfort zone by seeing failures and challenges as opportunities for learning and development rather than reasons to assign fault and blame. Learning, development rather than reasons to assign fault and blame.
Speaker 2:You can make effective agile changes and turn potential losses into wins. And you know, greg, one of the things that I thought when I was reading this is sometimes it's that leadership approach in terms of a dictator trying to get something done. Leadership approach in terms of a dictator trying to get something done, and it's that coin toss of how do you charge forward and lead the team versus how do you become empathetic and listen. It's kind of like a combination. Resilience is kind of tipping a little bit more towards you need to get it done, so there's a little bit more direction than exchange of concepts sometimes.
Speaker 2:Those are some of the complexities of talking about resilience and I think the rest of the article it kind of flashed. For me. It's that moment in time where we have talked about different leaders. That's that dictator kind of approach where you know you have to cut that fine line of when you're trying to push forward and then you're trying to be inclusive at the same time. You kind of have to have a split personality to be able to handle that type of leadership when it's applied.
Speaker 1:Thanks, John, and as a leader, you might already excel at one type of resilience, but you might need more work in another type. Let's explore the various forms you can draw upon to become a better decision maker and motivator. All right, the first one is social resilience. Leaders with social resilience build strong professional support networks and they feel comfortable seeking advice from trusted people during those turbulent times. And we have interpersonal resilience a leader who can inspire people, communicate well with others and resolve conflicts under challenging circumstances as interpersonal resilience One that John and I've talked about a lot, at least this topic.
Speaker 1:Psychological resilience being able to maintain self-belief and confidence in the face of setbacks is essential as a leader, and it's the essence of psychological resilience. Then there's cognitive resilience Stress can make it harder to function cognitively, meaning you might make more mistakes. You can build cognitive resilience by learning how to take a step back and remain calm under pressure. And finally, there's purposeful resilience. If you possess purposeful resilience, you're working toward a bigger goal that keeps you motivated during unfavorable circumstances. There's an overlap between some of these definitions. Breaking the concept of resilience down into its component parts facilitates a deeper appreciation of it. Understanding the different types of resilience can help you develop resilience in leadership and reach your full potential, John.
Speaker 2:You know the one about cognitive resilience and how we've talked about how the adrenaline starts to get into the system and that piece about stepping back and letting that chemistry get through your system first before you start making recommendations. Changes, orders, orders how your tone comes across can change with stress and it can take a positive conversation and drive it negative in a heartbeat. This article did a very good job of trying to put all the pieces together. I thought that was a good profile, and then he went ahead and talked about the eight keys in terms of resilient leaders. Cultivating the following eight traits can be helpful in navigating and inevitable changes that the uncertainties that come with being a leader. The first one was adaptability. Rapidly changing marketing conditions, shifting customer demands or unforeseen workforce challenges are part of daily life as a leader, and being adaptable is essential. Tips for cultivating adaptability Embrace change and frame it as an opportunity to improve rather than something to fear. When communicating with employees, Stay updated with the latest industry news so you're not surprised. You have to be engaged in what is happening in your market as it shifts and be able to adapt to customers' demands. Encourage pushback from other managers and demonstrate flexibility in decision-making to ensure you don't persist with ineffective strategies. And boy, there's like a ringing of the bell, of that's. That is the definition of adaptability. I thought I thought that rang true and these eight all kind of rang true in terms of that truth meter. Okay.
Speaker 2:Number two was confidence. Exuding confidence is critical for leading a team through challenges and setting a strong example in the face of adversity. How do you show confidence? Mastering your craft, by taking continual approach towards learning and ensuring that you excel in your field. You can lead with confidence because you've inherently equipped to face the setbacks. Plan to prepare to succeed. I've told people about this before. Put it in your mind that that is where you want to go and you want to succeed. In the article it goes ahead and says that when you are carefully planning what you're going to say when you're talking about important topics, you'll come across as competent and confident. You're also goal setting at the same time.
Speaker 2:Number three is humility, and humility for me is the test of truth. People can see if you have humility in what you're trying to do From the article, because true confidence is about demonstrating competence, not bravado. Humility is the most important skill to master when it comes to resilience. Without humility. It's impossible to be a resilient leader, because you must be able to admit when your strategy isn't working and, of course, change course. Developing humility involves seeking feedback from mentors and employees and taking on board what other people say and trying to see in yourself through the other people's eyes, being authentic, admitting that when you make mistakes you'll take full responsibility for making that mistake, that when you make mistakes you'll take full responsibility for making that mistake. Fostering a culture of appreciation is which people are congratulating each other for their contributions, and that piece of it is where people can tell if it's genuine or if it's artificial.
Speaker 2:So when I think of examples, I actually go back to the time where I remember an R&D director that was asked to try to get an operational system working again, a production line working again, and he would pull everybody in and he would be basically teaching a classroom environment on how to make a product. It was like the second meeting where the production manager stopped the meeting and said I'm not interested in the science of making the product. We have a problem that needs to get addressed and we need to get the line to produce something. So unless this meeting has an actual purpose, we're all done. Talking about the theory of making a product, we need a plan in order to produce the product. To make a long story short, the research and development director was one of the most senior people in charge of the organization that disappeared about two months later.
Speaker 2:The organization found another R&D director, but the truth was that R&D wasn't the core problem. The production staff needed to figure it out and they had to work with the engineers because the concept was already given to them from R&D. It was how were they going to actually implement it? And they found that leadership, that person who could actually take it the next step within their ranks. So it was an interesting example of how resilience was important. And that person who stood up was the general manager. He was the one that executive management put into that position to try to get the new product to work. But since it was all cutting edge, they thought the R&D director was the most knowledgeable person to make that change. Clearly, that wasn't the case. But to get back to our traits, Greg, why don't you pick it up from there? I think we have our fourth trait.
Speaker 1:Thanks, john. Number four is resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is essential for resilience because it prevents you from dwelling on a problem and compels you to focus on finding solutions. So some tips for developing resourcefulness include find ways to think more creatively by pursuing a creative hobby in your spare time. Build a vast network full of people with different strengths and talents and actually learn from them. And finally, always find ways to maximize your return on investment on your current resources and have contingency plans ready for turbulent times. Resources and have contingency plans ready for turbulent times.
Speaker 1:Number five is open mind. Open-mindedness is key to resilience. It requires that you have an open mind and value diverse perspectives and collaboration. It's not possible to have all the answers all the time, and open-mindedness means you'll prioritize getting the right solution rather than the most familiar or palatable one. Now here's how you can learn to be more open-minded Practice active listening to ensure you approach new solutions with a curious mindset rather than a judgmental one. I used to say this one about say three good things about an idea before you say something bad about it, just to make sure you listen and you think about the idea Right. So throw some things in there, some thoughts, and that'll help level set you for being more open minded. Challenge your own assumptions, in case that's what's holding you back. And I finally encourage employees to provide feedback on their experience of working for you, so you could learn from them.
Speaker 1:So let me talk a little bit about diversity of thought and teams and backgrounds. So when I think about diversity, I had a lot of time in diversity in a couple of jobs in my career, but we used to have this saying diversity is being invited to the party, but inclusion is being asked to dance, and diversity of thought applies here as well. So when you're building a diverse team, you're not just looking at people that look like you. You're not looking at people or searching for people that have the same education hey, I went to that school. I went to that school, hey, we think alike, let's go with that Right or people that have the same discipline. I want all finance people on this team because I'm a finance person. I'm not going to be very diverse. It's going to limit what solutions you're going to come up with.
Speaker 1:So when building diversity teams I did this a lot in human resources you've got to look at all types of diversity. You could start off with diversity of thought, perspective, age, gender, experience, companies they've worked at. I remember this story. It's about my old boss at my last company, actually, and we were looking at a business issue, trying to find a solution, and it was the energy field. A lot of electrical engineers in there Some folks are really, really bright and my old boss recommended putting a lawyer on the cross-functional project team. Now the first thought was there's no litigation going on here. What?
Speaker 2:do we need a lawyer?
Speaker 1:for there's no reason for that. But what he was trying to illustrate and it came to pass that this lawyer thought about things differently had a different way of to be extremely helpful. It was one of those situations that if you would have looked at the list of the description of the people on the team, you'd say why is this person here? I'm here to tell you. Not only did they get the right solution, everybody on the team benefited from having that diverse thought.
Speaker 1:Now, when I think about diversity as well, I look at myself. For some folks I'm just a vertically challenged African-American male, human resources, professional right. But I bring other diversity of thought to the table. I went to Catholic schools for 12 years. I grew up in the Midwest as a minority in the 60s. My father was in the military, my mother was a social worker, my younger brother is an architect, and it was one of those situations that lots of those things shaped me. Going to grad school, I went to one of the best grad schools in the world and that changed me significantly going to Kellogg. But I bring all of that with me, as anybody does when they come to the table to help problem solve, decision make, whatever, and so, when you're trying to build that diverse team, think about those different elements. How do they think about things? Where's their experience? How can we draw from that experience? How can they make us better? And once you open up your mind to do that, you're going to be very happy with the solution.
Speaker 2:When you were going through interviews and you were talking to potential candidates to hire, did you ever ask questions about their background, about how they grew up? What were the things that they were impressed by when they were kids? Was that ever part of the process of interviewing?
Speaker 1:It is indeed, john, and probably one of the basic ones is what do you do for fun? Ah, okay, it's not imposing, but you can find out if they're really into team activities, if they like to do charitable kind of things, if they're in their family Exactly Tells you a lot about what's going on behind that face of person that you're thinking about hiring, and so absolutely. And you find that if you ask those open-ended kind of questions, you're going to get some great responses. But ask it about curiosity. You're not trying to get personal, you're not trying to invade someone's privacy, but you do serve yourself well to not just find out different things about them and how they're made up, but they get a chance to express themselves. You get a chance to see that as well. So, yeah, there's all kinds of interview questions that are not harmful, not illegal, but give you a chance to learn more about the individual.
Speaker 2:The one I thought was most interesting when I was being interviewed is tell me who you think a hero in your life was, but you know ways of getting a personality involved to understand who's they're interviewing. Because it's such a short period of time to make such an important decision, especially when you're talking about resilience and you have an organization that might be through flex or change, you're looking for some triggers, like we're talking about these traits, to help you in terms of selecting new candidates or candidates to try to promote. So we have a couple of other points that I think are interesting in the eight traits. Then there's number six risk-taking. As conditions change, they change faster and faster as time has gone on. You have to negotiate the technologies and the customers' demands at the same time. No-transcript building up, for example, adopting to a new piece of technology or delegating a closely guarded task.
Speaker 2:Seven is determination. Sometimes the only thing that's keeping an effective leader going through hard times is sheer determination to reach their goal. With enough persistence, they can be resilient enough to overcome any setback. Cultivating determination by setting clear goals and remaining focused on them during times of adversity and maintaining a consistent level of commitment. Nurturing a growth mindset which helps to reinforce the belief that your ability to overcome challenges and achieve the goals under any circumstance.
Speaker 2:Number eight calm demeanor, a resilient leader. Your team looks up to you to set an example on how to behave. Remaining calm under pressure is a primary component of leading a resilient environment and influencing your company to operate under challenging circumstances. There's nothing worse than seeing a manager with his hair on fire. He's running through the hallway demanding results and calling meetings every half hour. There's nothing worse Tips to demonstrate a calmer demeanor. Manage your time effectively by organizing tasks in order to prioritize and never letting work back up, delegating the right jobs to the right people to lighten the workload and develop your team. I'm going to put a star in that one, because that is a key component of managing your department and understanding people who meet that requirement and what their skill sets, and your matching the skill sets Incredibly important.
Speaker 2:Last point developing healthy self-care techniques. Exercise regularly Don't we all hear that? And eating plenty of unprocessed foods to minimize stress and regulate your mood. I'm laughing because I have to do that myself and we know the things that we need to do, and there's nothing like that short term. Let me have a couple cookies, please yeah. So diet and how you actually treat yourself is just as important as how people perceive you in terms of a demeanor it helps. So, greg, why don't you wrap this up for?
Speaker 1:us. Thanks, sean. A real important one here that, I think, does add good closure. Inspire your team. One of the most rewarding elements of demonstrating resilience in leadership is the knock-on effect it has on your team. Developing a culture that prioritizes swift recovery in the face of adversity and sees setbacks as opportunities for improvement benefits everyone. Learn from mistakes, deliver targeted training opportunities and provide opportunities for feedback to inspire resilience in your team and yourself.
Speaker 2:John. I think that last sentence is the one that is so true Learn from your mistakes, target your training and listen to feedback. You called feedback a gift, greg, in the past. Yes, and really that's the essence. When you're dealing with a resilient leadership kind of environment, it's not the best environments. This is where you need self-control and direction, and feedback is helping you when you're running off course. If you're listening, so that's the magic dust. So, if you like what you've heard, yeah, building your Leadership Toolbox is my book and e-book that's available on Amazon and Barnes Noble. Success Secrets and Stories is on the podcast format that you're listening to, thank you. It's also available on other popular podcasts formats like Apple, google and Spotify. A lot of what Greg and I talk about comes from, really, dr Durst's books on the Management by Responsibility program at successgrowthacademycom, and if you'd like to contact us, my email address is wandos75.gmailcom and Greg.
Speaker 1:I can be reached at gpowell374 at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:And the music is brought to you by my grandson. So we want to hear from you. We appreciate the input. It has helped us with the program and things that you guys have told us that you find interesting and helpful, and it really does inspire us to do more. So thanks, greg.
Speaker 1:Thanks, John, as always.
Speaker 2:Next time.