Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - August 2004 Issue

Becoming Resilient: Leadership, Uncertainty, and Learning to Thrive in Times of Change

Managers, the media and academics all cite flexibility, agility and adaptability as essential traits for individuals and organizations in today's fast-paced and uncertain times. But resilience — the ability to recover from change, hardship or misfortune — extends those concepts even further. By developing resiliency, we can not only survive change but also learn, grow and thrive in it. For leaders, resiliency is critical for making decisions in the face of uncertainty and dealing with the personal (and emotional) toll of the unknown.

This issue of Leading Effectively focuses on personal resiliency — what it is and how to hone it. We also share some thoughts on how organizations can become more adaptable and resilient.

What is Resiliency?
One executive loses a job, sends out thousands of resumes, receives little response and is angry and bitter. Another loses a job, too, but returns to school, changes careers and creates a new professional life. Why is one executive frustrated and stuck in behavior that is not working while the other is able to adapt? The difference has to do with resilience, says Mary Lynn Pulley, a CCL adjunct faculty member.  (more... )

When Things Go Wrong: Lessons Learned and Bouncing Back
It happens to everyone sooner or later. Things go wrong — big, important things. We are hit hard by a death or illness, a job loss or a difficult challenge at work or at home. These hardships are also the way we learn new lessons and become more resilient.  (more... )

Relax, It's Only Uncertainty
Leadership requires getting the work done amid change, ambiguity and uncertainty. Authors Philip Hodgson and Randy White maintain that, The real mark of a leader is confidence with uncertainty — the ability to admit to it and deal with it."  (more... )

Beyond the Leader: Building Organizational Resiliency
Like individuals, organizations must be resilient to survive. Resilient organizations support and encourage individual resilience, but they also cultivate resiliency through organizational systems and culture.  (more... )

Leadership Poll Results

David Baldwin

Curt Grayson

Effective Influence
Our July 2004 Leading Effectively e-Newsletter was about influence. Readers were asked for their thoughts about the way influence is used in their organization and how effectively they influence others. Nearly 300 people responded to the poll. David Baldwin, CCL faculty member and Curt Grayson, a CCL senior program associate, co-authors of the CCL guidebook Influence: Gaining Commitment, Getting Results comment on the findings.  (more... )

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