Building a resilient organization
In today’s hyper-competitive business world, one thing you can bet on is that change will accelerate and make the marketplace more complex. You can also bet that leaders who embrace change and create an adaptable organization will enjoy greater success than those who don’t.
The question is, how can leaders make change, a terrifying black hole of uncertainty for many, a driver for greater success? Resilience to change is one of the three “human” elements that I train executives to adopt on their path to greater personal and corporate performance. An Awareness of your strengths and weaknesses and a Connection with stakeholders are the other two elements that make up my ARC Leadership methodology.
As I mentioned in my first article on Resilience, a resilient leader integrates four fundamental elements into their leadership style to create an adaptable organization that is ready for new opportunities. The four foundations of Resilience are:
- Own Risk Management
- Effective personal “brand” alignment
- quick reaction
- timely execution
Resilience Foundation #1: Risk Management
In the last article, I discussed how education and knowledge, managing your business relationships, and having a mitigation plan, are keys to proper risk management. In today’s article, I’ll go into detail about the second and third critical foundations of resilience: alignment and reaction.
Fundamental Resilience #2: Effective Personal Brand “Alignment”
The second fundamental element necessary to master Resilience and seize opportunities for change is to align your brand or public image with the desired image. Being a credible leader who leads by example is one of the most powerful and difficult means of inspiring change. Most successful leaders or companies surround themselves with smart people, and it’s the smart ones who are the first to see a disconnect or synergy between what you say and what you do… and then follow suit. To achieve that alignment, build their credibility, and then influence behaviors, leaders must adopt the following:
- Show your commitment. Public and internal commitment and dedication to the tasks, strategies and objectives of the organization is key for any leader. Leaders who spend time publicly communicating their company’s mission and are present within the organization to articulate the vision and answer employee questions are true leaders. They have a pulse on the market and are in touch with their people… and vice versa. So when the time comes to react and implement the change, employees won’t be surprised and will understand the context of the conversation. If you only show up to deliver bad news, people will become defensive and resistant when they see you approaching them.
- Be positive. Have you ever seen a leader who focused on negative events or possibilities? It is very depressing to hear that we are doing a poor job with little hope of success. Good leaders can acknowledge the current struggle AND take the time to weave together positive messages of hope and achievement for their organizations. If you can highlight what’s going well and communicate positive opportunities in times of chaos, people will be much more motivated to keep fighting in difficult times of change.
- Radiate confidence. Leaders must communicate their confidence in people, processes, and themselves to get the job done in times of uncertainty. A key assumption here is that you’ve assembled a team you trust…and if you haven’t, then you have other problems to handle! Their confidence must be transmitted in all aspects of the company and the market. If you don’t believe in yourself or your team, this will show and lessen the impact of actions taken during difficult times.
Resilience Foundation #3: Quick Reaction
The third foundation of Resilience is your ability to react in difficult times. As a leader, how you react to change—whether it’s fast, slow, or not at all—will have a huge impact on how your organization reacts as well. Do nothing and changes or difficulties will be accepted as inevitable. React slowly and in small increments and you risk impacting your corporate culture… which is very difficult to change later. Prompt reaction is what you should strive for. In general, employees, customers, and vendors value leaders who react quickly and have a “take charge” attitude. They value you because they see you, the leader, addressing the problems and they feel more comfortable that the change can be addressed effectively.
To increase your ability to react quickly, integrate the following into your leadership skill set:
- Be empathic. When someone learns of or is confronted with a difficult reality, many people go into shock or even denial and avoid addressing the problem for as long as possible. Experts agree that we can better manage shock, and therefore move on by releasing the energy, anxiety, and stress it creates, as soon as possible. Obviously, it doesn’t look very professional if a CEO cries in public or during a town hall meeting; However, as a leader, by acknowledging this “pain” he validates that it is perfectly normal to be anxious and stressed by these changes. Your empathy makes a huge difference in making people feel comfortable that you understand their pain, and they are much more willing to “hop on board” to move in the desired direction.
- Accept The Reality. Many organizations and leaders continue to resist change in the marketplace or in their corporate culture. McDonald’s is a good example of this. For many years, McDonald’s made small changes to its operations and marketing, constantly tweaking the menu in hopes of expanding its customer base. Eventually, they realized that they needed a full-scale overhaul if they were to remain competitive. Because they resisted the changing market for so long, they had to completely change their brand image to retain and then expand their target audience. McDonald’s now offers a healthier menu, a more refined cafeteria experience, has updated its interiors and exteriors, and offers free Wi-Fi. Although these changes are costly, I applaud the leadership team for having the strength and courage to fund such an important initiative. On the other side of the coin, a company like Nortel was not resilient at all. They failed to make the transition from Bell Northern Research, a government sponsored organization, to a commercially viable entity we all know as Nortel. Their government-based mindset and resistance to being agile in the highly dynamic, customer-focused marketplace lead to the end of this great organization. The lesson here is that change is inevitable, the way you deal with it is not!
- Watch your health. While we all understand the impact that alcohol or recreational drugs have on our ability to appropriately assess and react to a situation, there are other health-related factors that must be considered. Lack of sleep, side effects from prescription drugs, and our general level of health have a huge impact on our energy level and clarity of thought. Take time to rest, exercise, and eat well; it will pay off in terms of mental stamina and personal productivity.
Effective personal brand alignment and quick reaction are the second and third foundations of Resilience. The last article we discussed the first fundamental, risk management, and the next article, we will look at the final fundamental and timely execution. I encourage you to focus 5-10 minutes a day on exploring these two foundations on your journey to mastering the art of Resilience. Until then…
Be amazing!
