Welcome to another wonderful week and a bright Monday!
Honestly, it feels like yesterday.
Mondays come faster, or maybe it’s just me.
Perhaps I am on a faster lane!
I guess it’s the same situation you are in.
Do Mondays come faster where you are?
Just asking.
Last week, we discussed the importance of determination in leadership, and today, we are looking at resilience. Similar in many ways but different still.
And before I continue, I want to apologise for publishing this late (leadership articles usually are published on Mondays). We encountered some technical issues and had to rectify some of them before publishing. I even thought we would publish this tomorrow, but thank God it’s going out today.
Back to business.
What Is Inside Vs What Is Outside
Trees sway in a strong wind! Their branches and leaves dance with the direction of the wind. They are built naturally to withstand the winds.
Healthy trees won’t just break in a storm or a strong wind unless it is a tornado or hurricane (mighty trees aren’t really bothered about the tornado, like the oak or Sequoia).
The trees that do break in a storm or strong wind have lost their ability to resist the external force of the wind, and most times, it’s because they dry up and become rigid, so when the wind comes, they are stiff and can’t move gracefully with the wind.
In leadership (and life in general), when people become stiff and rigid and can’t flow with the tide and be flexible, they break. They can’t resist. And resistance does not mean you push back. It means you’ve enough strength inside you to withstand what is thrown at you. It’s a “what is inside situation vs what is outside.”
Change Is Constant
When I was a young man, I learnt the art of being flexible, like water that takes the shape of its container.
I was going through some really tough times, trying to discover and understand my path in life.
I wanted to follow a particular path but discovered that the situation on the ground didn’t allow me, so I had to start to develop a flexible mindset that can easily accept change and not remain in a rigid state, stubbornly crying and wanting things to go the way I wanted them.
Things will never go the way you want them all the time. There will be times when things will go in the opposite direction, and at that period, how flexible and pliable you are will determine if you can be calm enough to flow with the tide and not break like a dried tree.
Don’t Resist Change
Embrace it.
There were a lot of businesses and companies that refused to embrace industrial change.
They were hell-bent on sticking with their old ways, believing the old way was the only way.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to fight change, especially revolutions sweeping over whole timelines and generations.
Resisting that kind of change is like forcefully hitting your barefoot against a hard wall covered with barbed wires. You will only end up terribly wounded or worse.
Most of us try to resist change in our lives, and at the end of the day, we end up with bruises and wounds.
In leadership, the only leaders that last long are the ones who know how to sway like the healthy tree. And the reason why the dried trees break is because they have been dried inside for too long!
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
Eric Hoffer
That’s a beautiful quote there.
Sometimes, knowing too much can be a burden. Your knowledge can stop you from being humble enough to learn new things. Well, if your knowledge prevents you from being humble to learn, then we need to investigate the type of knowledge you even had in the first place because true knowledge should make us pursue humility more and more.
Leadership Is A Battle For Survival
Leadership can put you in a position where it looks as if you’re struggling to stay afloat and not drown, trying to keep your head above water.
If you think it will all be smooth sailing, wait a bit more; the time will come that tests how resilient you are.
Resilience = flexibility.
While determination is the internal resolve to keep going, resilience is the strength that makes it possible for you to bend and adapt when there’s a storm or when there seems to be no way forward; instead of giving up or being stiff, you adapt.
Resilient leaders are the ones who always bounce back after a tough time. Their determination keeps them going, while resilience keeps them flexible and pliable, making it possible for us to bounce back.
Now, a leader can be determined or persistent, which means they know how to push forward and ahead. What happens when you can’t push forward? Are you still pushing against the wall? If you do that, you might break, and sometimes we may push too much and fall; well, it’s resilience that makes us get back up and look for a new path around the obstacle or challenge.
What Are The Major Characteristics Of Resilient Leaders?
- They understand and know how to solve problems.
- They know when it’s time to reach out and when they have approached their wits end.
- Resilient people don’t stay down; they know many ways to bounce back up and keep moving.
- Resilient leaders understand the importance of having people around them who care and support them.
Now, take a closer look at your life and determine if you’re resilient.
Look at how you’ve reacted to challenges in the past. Did you bend under the pressure, and if you did, could you bounce back?
Resilient leaders do not run away when they fall or make mistakes. They quickly get up and keep moving.
What can you pick out of our discussion on determination and resilience?
- Stay focused and determined.
- If you lose your focus and fall, bounce back and keep going.
- Be flexible enough to know when to change, adapt, and evolve.
- Don’t insist on using a typewriter when the world is using computers. Learn to move with the tide.
Next week, we will explore the importance of communication in leadership.
Catch you next week.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
