🏋🏽Exercise: Build Resilience
Introduction
Today, business changes fast. Things are unclear and complex. For leaders, resilience is key. It’s not just about surviving tough times. It’s about getting stronger. It’s about being able to change quickly. This exercise helps you understand your current resilience. It helps you build more resilience for yourself and your company.
Why This Matters for Leaders
Executive resilience is vital for good leadership. It helps your company last. When markets change, or crises hit, a resilient leader:
Stays Clear: Doesn’t panic. Makes smart choices under pressure.
Inspires Trust: Gives stability and direction to teams and partners.
Helps Adapt: Guides the company through needed changes.
Avoids Burnout: Protects their own health. This ensures long-term leadership.
Building executive resilience helps you lead better. It makes your company stronger against future shocks.
The Exercise
Step 1: Think About Past Company Challenges (15 minutes)
Think of a big problem your company faced. Maybe a market change, a product failure, a PR crisis, or losing key talent. Pick one event.
Now, think about it as a leader:
What was the problem? How did it affect the company?
How did you first react? (Emotionally, strategically, operationally?)
What company resources did you use? (Money, people, processes, culture?)
What actions did you take to handle it?
What did you learn about your leadership and your company?
How did the company recover or move forward?
What new skills or strengths did the company gain from this?
Step 2: Find Your Resilience Strengths (10 minutes)
Based on Step 1, what helped you and your company get through that tough time? These are your executive resilience strengths. They might include:
Seeing Ahead: You can guess and prepare for problems.
Flexible Leadership: You can change plans and operations fast.
Strong Culture: Your company has a united and trusting environment.
Good Money: Your company has healthy finances.
Deep Talent: You have strong leaders and skilled workers.
Clear Talk: You talk openly and on time with everyone.
New Ideas: You can create new solutions and business models.
Personal Health: Your own physical and mental health as a leader.
List 3-5 of your strongest executive resilience strengths.
Step 3: Build New Resilience Habits (20 minutes)
Now, think about where you or your company can be more resilient. Pick 1-2 strengths you want to build. For each, list 2-3 actions you can take. Do this for yourself and for your company. For example:
To see ahead better: Do regular future planning. Learn about the market. Encourage constant learning.
To be more flexible: Give middle managers more power to decide. Review failed projects to learn. Encourage teams to work together.
To improve personal health: Get executive coaching for stress. Exercise regularly. Get enough sleep.
Step 4: Get Ready for Future Problems (10 minutes)
You can’t know every future problem. But you can make your company stronger. Imagine a future challenge. (Like a new technology, a big competitor, or a global recession.) How would you use your current and new resilience strengths to handle it? What can you do now to prepare your company for this?
Questions for Leaders
What was hardest about thinking about past company problems?
Which new resilience habit are you most excited to start? Why?
How will you make these new habits part of your team and company culture?
What does executive resilience mean to you now? How will it change your leadership?
Conclusion
Building executive resilience is an ongoing journey. It means seeing ahead. It means leading with flexibility. It means constantly improving your company. By understanding past problems, finding strengths, and building new habits, you prepare yourself and your company. You won’t just survive. You will grow strong. You will keep your edge.