North East Leading Improvement for Health and Well-being Programme 2011

Learning Event 3 23rd June 2011

Resilience: A Definition

Resilience is the capacity for an individual to deal effectively with stressors, pressures and challenges and perform to the best of their abilities irrespective of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

It is referred to by some as the ability to ‘bounce back’.

More Resiliency Definitions

• The process of coping with disruptive, stressful, or challenging life events in a way that provides the individual with additional protective and coping skills.” (Richardson, Neiger, Jensen, & Krumpfer, 1996)

• “The process of self-righting and growth.” (Higgins, 1994)

• “The capacity to bounce back, withstand hardships, and to repair yourself.” (Wolin & Wolin, 1993)

“Public-sector organisations have benefited from a huge injection of funding in recent years, yet with budgets being radically reduced while citizen expectations continue to rise, public sector leaders will be challenged to demonstrate a set of skills and insights that will be unfamiliar.”

Leadership at all levels, Deloitte 2010

Adversity is the test of effective leadership – resilient leaders are defined by what they do during the worst of times, not the best of times.

Resilient leaders re-energise, motivate and inspire optimism in others.

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES FRAMEWORK (LQF)

Vision (Understanding Personal & Organisational Needs)

Action (Plan to Facilitate Resiliency)

+

= Resilient Leadership in Turbulent Times

“It is important to note that it is not the coping skills that individuals have or do not have that are important. What counts are the coping skills that individuals believe they have or do not ”

(Ray, 2004)

Importance of Vision

Clear Goals and Actions

• Making the goals and actions of the organisation and senior leadership clear to staff

• Communicate clearly key activities, issues and developments

• Develop policies that facilitate transparency and openness.

Dysfunctional Response

Resilient Response

Return to Comfort Zone

Survival

Adversity

Multiple Ways to Respond to Adversity

Stress can be defined as the psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when people perceive an imbalance between the level of demand placed upon them and their capacity to meet that demand.

Stressors - the factors which people report as causing stress e.g. workload etc

Individual Stress Response

• Physical

• Emotional

• Cognitive

• Behavioral

• Spiritual / life-view

How can you enhance your personal resilience?

Immediate Coping Skills• Draw on your network of colleagues and

friends for support• Relaxation techniques – deep breathing• Yoga or Tai Chi• Massage• Health promoting activities – walking, sports

etc• Laughter• Developing your problem-solving skills• Sleep

Do: Stay calm

Listen

Agree whenever appropriate and when you can

Focus positively on the issues

Reframe

Build a bridge

Address unacceptable behaviour

Don’t:Expect others to calm down because you ask them to

Seek resolution until others are calm

Walk away

Get upset, threaten or be defensive

Shut down

Fundamental Questions

During turbulent times, assess:

•What is the impact of the changes on me personally?

•What is my organisation going through?

•What are my team going through?

•What does this mean?

•What can I do?

Resilient Leaders

• Have a positive attitude – ‘a glass half full’

• Look for opportunities in problems

• Find their power in every situation

• They are agile and adaptable to the situation

• Overcome difficulties

• Learn from mistakes

18

Weathering the Storm: Resilient Leadership

Emotional

Intelligence

Political

Savvy

Emotional Intelligence

The skill of identifying, assessing and managing your own emotions and the impact your behaviour has on others.

Political Savvy

The art of understanding your organisation and its partners well, and using that understanding to get things done.

Unless transition occurs, change will not work

NEUTRAL ZONE

BEGINNING

ENDING

transition starts with an ending the neutral zone is the no-man’s-land between old reality and new transitions end with a new beginning

Key Principles for Resilient Leadership

• Acting with integrity• Communicating effectively• Effective decision making• Persevering and taking responsibility for your

actions• Building a positive culture for resilience• Developing personal behavioural strategies

and using stress management as a competitive advantage.