If asked whether or not their organization has a set of core values, many leaders would respond in the affirmative.  A smaller number could recite all or at least some of those values, as well as identify where those values could be found within the organization (i.e. company intranet, posted on the walls in their building, conference rooms, etc.).  We submit that even fewer leaders yet, if many at all, know what those values specifically mean to and within their organization.   

Organizations who have thrived on the heels of a values-based culture have clearly identified the behaviors which reflect adherence to those values.  The behaviors are evident in multiple facets of the organization starting possibly as early as the first encounter with a potential candidate for an open position.  These organizations have figured out how not only to make these values a significant part of how the organization operates, but in how employees perform, communicate, interact, make decisions, and resolve conflict.

The evidence of a thriving values-based culture can be easily seen both inside and outside of the organization.  It is noticeable to vendors and other stakeholders in the relationships which are built and maintained.  It is evidenced in the way members of the organization interact with customers and how they deliver on their products or services.  Much of the success associated with these organizations can be attributed to the fact that culture was deemed a priority.  The details of it were specifically drafted, frequently taught, and strictly enforced.  Finally, employees in these organizations have bought into the culture.  They hold themselves accountable when their behavior doesn’t align with the values and are unafraid to call out their peers when similar behavior is displayed.  Such behavior might even be discussed and/or measured in performance appraisals. 

There are many benefits to implementing a values-based culture over a rules-based culture.  Yet, many organizations fail to go beyond simply selecting the values they feel are important to them.  The result is a stark contrast between the culture they feel the should or want to have versus the one that actually exists.  We urge leaders to put the time in to define what your values look like and mean to your organization.  Additionally, we encourage you to set the tone by displaying these behaviors and recognizing/praising similar behavior in others.  Once leadership shows that culture, and more specifically a values-based culture, is a priority to them, it will become a priority to other members within the organization as well. 

In this episode, we wrap up the conversation on resilience by looking at some character traits of resilient people.  The list is certainly not exhaustive by any means, but rather a starting point when thinking about your own capacity for resilience and how to ultimately grow it. 

Awareness – Understand that life happens.  Know that adversity is a big part of it.  Life doesn’t always need to come to a screeching halt when adversity strikes; nor do we have to become paralyzed by its impact.  Part of resilience is accepting that life is hard and that challenges will ensue.  Having this mindset is an important first step to building resilience.   

Self-Management – In addition to being aware that adversity is a fact of life, resilience is also about being aware of our emotional responses to adversity.  Through this awareness, we are able to manage these emotions before acting or responding to adversity.  If we don’t manage them, such responses can be compromised by heightened emotion or clouded thinking. 

Optimism – Another trait of resilient people is the ability to be optimistic.  Resilience doesn’t ignore what is going on around us or make us naïve to possible ramifications.  It helps us to persist nonetheless and to choose hope over helplessness.

Constantly Strengthening – What happens when we lift weights for the first time or when we resume lifting after a long hiatus?  That’s right, we experience pain.  A parallel can be drawn with resilience.  We have to work at building our capacity for resilience in order to become more comfortable with different forms of adversity.  Early on, responding to adversity is not absent of pain.  In fact, the pain may never fully go away when dealing with adversity.  Yet, it should lessen or dissipate more quickly as our capacity continues to build. 

Non-judgmental – To clarify, judgmental in this sense is not about judging others, but rather judging or making determinations on possible outcomes prematurely.  Lacking resilience means assuming the worst in most situations.  Conversely, resilience helps us to take a more cautious or optimistic approach.  We remain hopeful.  We look for growth opportunities or life lessons.  Despite negative consequences, many times there is something positive to take away from the experience. 

Curious – Stemming from the previous trait, resilience forces us to ask questions and seek information.  Commonly, when gaps exist, we tend to fill them in with assumptions.  Many times, those assumptions are negative.  Resilience teaches us to arm ourselves with as much information as possible so as not to draw uninformed conclusions. 

If after reading this list you feel a little deflated, realizing these traits simply don’t represent who you are; all is not lost.  As we’ve said throughout this series, measuring resilience is best illustrated using a dimmer switch; not an on/off.  It’s never too late to begin building your capacity.  Start by engaging and interacting with other resilient people.  What do they say?  What do they do?  Strive to emulate them.  Next, learn to better identify your emotions.  Once you acknowledge them, you will find yourself in a better position to manage them.  And finally, be optimistic.  Things rarely play out the way an overly negative or cynical mind believes it will.  Look for the good.  Look for the lesson.  If you do, you are well on your way to building resilience. 

It’s fair to say that just about every one of us has dealt with some form of adversity in our lives.  From smaller bouts that have come and gone quickly to more prolonged episodes that really brought on a significant amount of stress; life happens.  Yet, what is far less consistent, are the responses to adversity. 

Those with higher levels of resilience don’t shy away from it.  They may not have an immediate or wholly successful solution, but this doesn’t impact their willingness to face adversity head on.  Afterwards, they review the experience with reflection and assessment.  They understand the lessons learned and are able to recall those lessons in the future when facing new and possibly even similar adversity. 

Conversely, others try to avoid the adversity or separate themselves from it.  They might revert back to a place of strength or comfort when challenged.  They may transfer the adversity to someone else or simply do nothing; becoming essentially paralyzed by its impact. 

As noted in the last episode, leaders, however, should be cautious about making assumptions solely based on one’s experience with adversity.  Those who have overcome a great deal might become complacent in their efforts or even arrogant; feeling as though they can handle anything life throws at them simply because of their prior triumphs.  Whereas, others who have chosen to run away from adversity may ultimately end up realizing they don’t want to continue running the rest of their lives and decide to take new action going forward.    

Furthermore, and regardless of what camp you fall in, there are skills we can develop to increase our capacity for resilience. 

Emotional Intelligence – Becoming more aware of our emotional responses to adversity and surrounding ourselves with resilient people can both aid in increasing resilience.

Change Management – Working to become more change averse, as well as better equipping ourselves to handle the transition that follows major change can help us deal more favorable with the unexpected. 

Conflict Management – Many of the same responses to adversity can be applied to conflict as well.  Learning to appreciate the value in healthy conflict can translate to better identification of the opportunities and lessons taken from adversity. 

Stress Management – Oftentimes, we may lack the ability to improve our handling of adversity because we don’t take the time to reflect and process.  Things like prayer, meditation, and mindfulness can help to put us in the right mindset to face adversity.    

Problem Solving/Decision Making – As we get better at solving problems and developing a stronger track record for solid decision making, confidence begins to emerge.  In drawing on the knowledge learned or processes used, we may find we are able to generate solutions or make decisions more quickly in the future.

Life happens.  The most resilient are the ones who clearly see the adversity in front of them, but know it won’t always be there.  They don’t shy away from it, but they also don’t run directly towards it without a plan.  The resilient are grounded.  They are life-long learners who prepare for tougher problems which may or may not lie ahead.  And they don’t spend time patting themselves on the back after their victories; opting instead to document the things that were successful and realizing where additional work remains.  

In this episode, we start a new series centered on a word that quickly became synonymous with 2020 and the ability to handle adversity; resilience.  It’s our position that the ability to be resilient is comprised of three factors: personality, or our natural resilience; experience, or our exposure to adversity thus far; and skill set, or the tools we’ve developed in order to become more resilient. 

Two fundamental points stressed in the podcast are these:

1. Our ability to be resilient equates to our ability to not just survive, but thrive.
2. Capacity for resilience is something we can work to build and grow.

When it comes to facing adversity and being resilient, there are some individuals who seem to display a natural resilience about them.  While there are characteristics that tend to better align with resilience, we shouldn’t assume that said traits automatically translate to resilience.  Conversely, we shouldn’t conclude that other traits instantly signify a lack of resilience.  Substantial stress and associative resilience will look differently to everybody. 

It’s also important to look at how resilience was viewed and practiced in the past.  Some may have faced the adversity head on; taking away valuable lessons in the process.  Others may have operated from a standpoint of avoidance or reverted back to a place of strength or comfort.  Others still, may simply have not been exposed to a great deal of adversity.  As a result, they haven’t had much of an opportunity to practice resilience or benefit from important takeaways.   

Resilient individuals don’t allow adversity to permanently define them.  They know who they are at the core and rely on those truths and values to assist them in overcoming adversity.  Furthermore, they respect the possibility of future adversity without allowing it to consume their present.  In other words, they prepare for the future methodically and logically now in order to better respond in the future when emotions may be heightened. 

This is not to say they will be fully prepared for all outcomes or respond without making mistakes.  Rather, it helps to start a shift in mindset that while adversity is a fact of life; it can be overcome. 

While much of our resilience will take place in how we react to adversity, we feel there is a proactive side to resilience as well.  The priority we give to developing resilience and learning new skills in the process will aid in building our capacity for resilience and ultimately better position us to handle adversity in a healthier and productive manner going forward. 

Effective communication is vital to the success of an organization.  So much that oftentimes it represents what leaders feel is one of the largest contributing factors to a poor company culture.  While sometimes the issue lies primarily with the amount of communication taking (or not taking) place, other times this “quantity perception” is actually masking other problems. 

Leaders increase communication across various channels, or even create new channels, as a means of showing employees the importance of communication.  Yet, despite these efforts, the sentiment towards communication by many within the organization goes unchanged. 

Leaders can struggle to understand the emotional aspect behind what it truly means to the members of the organization to have poor communication.  Some employees may experience frustration with trying to comprehend the message.  They may appreciate the frequency in which leadership chooses to communicate, but they struggle to know how certain messages affect them personally. 

While its admirable that many leaders want to exercise transparency and immediately share a wealth of information, the process they use may not allow for the proper “translation” in how it is filtered down the ranks and explained to representatives at all levels. 

Other employees may feel that the problem lies in how little information flows upward.  They fully comprehend the message conveyed, but they have concerns or something to contribute which may have been overlooked by leadership.  But the effort and time by leadership spent pushing out communications is not reciprocated by the time and effort spent understanding the reactions to them.  In the end, leaders fail to elicit the appropriate feedback and simply continue to focus their efforts on what is sent out to the organization. 

We challenge leaders to hold themselves to a high standard in terms of what they communicate, how the message is shared, as well as the forums they establish for how questions or concerns are to be shared and answered.  There is no denying the role that communication plays within our organizations.  But ignoring other facets of communication by simply opting to share more information in different ways won’t make the problem go away.

As we wind down the conversation on the pressure and peace of leadership, we look at the peace that can come from looking outward.  When we lead solely from the standpoint of satisfying our own needs, we miss opportunities to put others as well as the organization in the best position to be successful.  This desire to satisfy our own needs can oftentimes lead to fear and arrogance; thereby increasing pressure.

Leaders who desire only for their own success have the propensity to downplay or even discard the need to develop those around them.  This, in turn, may result in the leader shouldering a much larger load.  The mentality that they are the only ones who can get the job done right begins to surface.  Or, this leader is plagued with micromanaging tendencies to ensure that even when others complete the work; it’s only under the leader’s watchful eye. 

Instead of generating peace in sharing the burden, the leader actually increases the pressure in either doing more work or operating under the premise that every task needs to be reviewed.  Looking outward to the needs of others and the organization as a whole can alleviate some of that pressure as it allows leaders to not feel as though they have to do or oversee everything.  Additionally, the pressure is also taken off their people who are freed up to work with greater latitude and without the stress that comes from constantly being watched and scrutinized. 

While much of this peace rests with leadership, it can also be tied back to the type of culture in place.  Does the culture allow for and treat mistakes as learning opportunities?  Does it champion reasonable risk taking?  Most importantly, though, does it create thinkers or just doers?  The role culture plays when examining the pressure of leadership cannot be overstated.  It can amplify pressure in creating an atmosphere where employees are afraid to make mistakes.  Or it can embody an environment of learning; placing more emphasis on the lesson compared with the mistake itself. 

Finally, there is peace in diversity and empowerment.  While diversity in the racial and gender sense garners most of the attention (and for good reason), we urge you not to overlook attributes such as diversity in perspective, skill set, and opinion as well.  Embracing these different forms of diversity cannot only strengthen teams, but also alleviate the pressure to experience growth with a narrow mindset or limited resources.  But it doesn’t stop here.  Empowerment shows that in addition to being open minded, leadership has confidence in turning over certain responsibilities.  Of course, this should only be done after clear expectations are set and ample support is provided.

There is no denying it; leadership is hard.  We’re called to play many different roles, exude many different characteristics, and possess many different skills.  However, there is peace in serving others and allowing them to lighten our load.  Invest in others.  Support them.  Give clear expectations.  You just might create a little peace in their lives as well.

As leaders, we must accept the fact that pressure applied by internal and external forces is a given.  If we set out with the mindset of trying to make it go away, we will be sorely disappointed.  But does this pressure have to consume our lives?  Rather, can we find ways to live with the pressure and maybe even turn it into an opportunity for growth?

Bad days, mistakes, and poor decisions can and will happen; period.  But one way to reduce the pressure associated with our leadership hiccups is to establish relationships based on trust.  When trusting relationships are forged and cultivated, those with whom we relate most often are more inclined to extend a little grace on those rough days or provide us with a little slack on the heels of a poor decision.  Just as we set out to see the best in them; because they trust us, they are more inclined to see the best in us.  While this is not a free pass to continue making mistakes or stringing together poor decisions one after another, it applies some peace to leadership on the days when we aren’t at our best. 

Another way we as leaders can apply peace to the daily pressures is to practice self-awareness.  Understanding where we excel and where we struggle sets us up to be more deliberate and less reactionary when it comes to our self-improvement.  Pressure can mount in the face of the unknown or the unaware.  Yet, understanding limitation and areas of weakness, and making a conscious effort to improve in those areas, is key in our ability to achieve peace.  Of course, none of this is possible without a willingness to be vulnerable.  When we constantly send the message that we can succeed on our own; not only do we keep the pressure on ourselves, we send a message to our followers that they, too, can’t be vulnerable.  Furthermore, we actually maintain or even increase the pressure when we miss opportunities to learn and grow.  

Once we’ve established trusting relationships and acknowledged we can’t go it alone, it’s time to ask for help.  Effective leaders apply peace through the use of support systems.  They create networks of people who possess different skill sets, employ different perspectives, and are capable of delivering critical feedback.  Some leaders who feel this is counterintuitive to establishing peace may actually do the opposite and stock their networks with like-minded people.  While this lack of pushback may seem like it drives peace; such peace is temporary.  Real peace is achieved when we expand our thinking, our skill set, and our overall learning; putting us in a stronger position to handle different forms of pressure.

While leadership pressure is real, peace is attainable if we are willing to look for it.    

We start a new series looking at the pressure placed on leaders every day.  Whether it’s the internal pressure we put on ourselves or external pressure applied by groups like employees, supervisors, clients, board of directors; the pressure itself is real.  But is it rational or appropriate?

Oftentimes the pressure itself isn’t as overwhelming as how we choose to accept it, debate it, or even resist it.  For example, leaders have a tendency to apply excessive pressure at the hands of critical feedback.  What comes from a single client or stakeholder is sometimes assumed to represent the majority.  What is presented as a developmental need or a useful tool is translated into a lack of competency.  Our message to leaders is to find a different reality. 

Pressure doesn’t have to knock us down.  In fact, it can elevate us.  It can make us stronger; stretching us in the process.  Rather than applying permanence (this is never going to get any easier) or absolutes (I’ll never be the leader every one else wants me to be); we’re urging leaders to find the peace within the pressure.  Accept the critical feedback.  Learn from it.  Apply it.  But don’t use it to bring everything you are or all of the knowledge you’ve amassed into question. 

The pressure, undoubtedly, can be very real in how its administered and ultimately felt.  Leaders have the option to allow that pressure to create a negative reality filled with assumptions and feelings of self-doubt.  Or they can look to generate peace by opting instead to use that pressure as motivation for change, growth, and self-improvement.  We invite you to choose peace. 

For additional encouragement and tips on dealing with pressure, check out this TED Talk with cognitive scientist Sian Leah Beilock. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/sian_leah_beilock_why_we_choke_under_pressure_and_how_to_avoid_it