Shane Fitzsimmons on Resilience and the art of ‘bouncing back’
Whilst many businesses have reported amazing innovations and behavioural shifts in response to COVID-19 (as discovered in our COVID-19 report), these benefits do not come without consequences. Our research showed over 56% of organisations surveyed claiming their boost in performance had come at the cost of mental health and employee burnout.
So how do we continue these organisational gains without the threat of a crisis to push us forward? The answer lies in fostering resilience in your organisation and your people to not only survive a rapidly changing world, but to thrive in it.
We Are Unity recently had the pleasure of hosting the NSW Commissioner of Resilience, Shane Fitzsimmons, to speak on this very topic, providing some important insights and essential tips for building and sustaining resilience.
What is resilience?
Resilience is not about being impervious to adversity. It’s about learning how to adapt and manage ourselves to better bounce back afterwards. Shane notes the wise words of Charles Darwin:
“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”
So considering resilience is not an end state, but a skill to be practiced and honed, how do we flex our resilience muscle when there is no longer a crisis to navigate?
Shane’s tips for fostering resilience:
Share the load
No matter what problem you face, whether it’s personal, organisational or perhaps even a global pandemic, there are always synergies and unity to be found with others. Building resilience is an uphill climb, but the solidarity and support of your peers will lighten everyone’s collective load.
Be your(authentic)self
You can’t hope to grow and adapt if you are not open and honest with yourself. Recognising what we’re good at and where we may need help allows us to fill those capability gaps and build a stronger, more effective team. This will also allow for more candid conversations with your people that will build trust and confidence in your leadership.
It’s not always about you
When dealing with challenges or obstacles, try to decentralise yourself from the problem. Freeing yourself from your own biases allows you to make better, more informed decisions and inspire the same from your team.
Care is the key
Everything that you do needs to be underpinned by care – for yourself and for others. Apply yourself to everything you do and recognise and reward others for doing the same. Try to be present and show an interest in what your people have to say. Find out their birthdays, what’s going on at home, what pets they have – it’s those little things that could mean the world to someone. Finally, be polite, warm and courteous. As Shane’s mum always says: “Manners cost you nothing, but not having them could cost you everything”.
Analyse and reflect
Setting yourself up for future success means learning the right lessons now. As we take what we’ve learnt from our ‘crisis mindset’ and apply it to what comes next, it’s important that we gather and reflect on all the information at our disposal – good and bad. From post-action debriefs to company wide surveys, look at what’s worked and what hasn’t and consider everything in the greater context. Seek feedback from those around you for suggestions and strategies to improve yourself. Treat every challenge, every crisis and every character defining moment as a new learning opportunity.
Finally, never stop flexing your resilience muscle, because when it comes to tackling a crisis, hindsight is 2020.
Looking to build resilience in your organisation?
At We Are Unity we consider resilience to be a crucial cornerstone to a positive workplace. Our proprietary HEART framework defines the key characteristics of employee wellbeing as an ecosystem of health, empathy, appreciation, resilience and togetherness. As corporate Australia begins to design a future that works for them, building and sustaining resilience has and should become a key focus for ongoing organisational success.
To learn more about our approach to Resilience development or any of our Leadership Curriculum modules, get in touch at nicola@weareunity.com
Watch the video here:
