Leadership skills, transitioning, positive confrontation, strategic volunteering for career success and tactics for better compensation; these issues came up during a recent luncheon hosted by Philadelphia's Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown where a panel of experts facilitated and engaged the participants on soft-skills in the workplace. I respected a presenter who was very insistent on the positive impact resiliency has on female leaders. Like this lady I believe we must find the lesson in today's problem to help make life easier tomorrow.
The participants made it clear far gone is the notion of women crumbling at the onset of crises and challenges, especially in decision-making positions. Sure the loud voice of the inner skeptic shouts a plethora of reasons why she will not make it out of this. But in actuality she can find peace in the moment being in harmony with her intelligence, resourcefulness, courage and resiliency--whether or not she knows it.
With an ongoing call that women must hold her place at the negotiating table and such overt controversy surrounding it, she can rest on resilience as her ally. There undoubtedly will be bumps and bruises in her journey. To master this fate with control and calm, here are 20 traits of resiliency she must consider for finding the hidden lessons and inspiring a courageous leadership culture:
- She not only presses forward through troubles, but celebrates even the small wins. With style and finesse she takes on actions that respond to fresh and ever-changing realities.
She quickly adapts to circumstances and corrections. Leading with her eyes focused forward she recognizes opportunities and is aware of the trouble indicators. She understands resilience is an inside job and strives to maintain control when presented with unforeseen situations. She pulls on her best experiences to find peace in the midst of chaos and never makes poor decisions based on boredom. She is not in tune with organizational politics but is commitment to pursuing the path that is right though challenging. She appreciates her vocational purpose and seamlessly connects this drive with her actions. She is part of something bigger than herself . She rallies the strength and expertise of a good mentor and takes advantage of coaching so she can add the most value to the people she leads. Through trials and difficulties she develops the greatest gifts she has to offer for making an impact on the lives of others. She revitalizes herself physically, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally making it easier to turn her restlessness into a strategy. No matter the challenge, she fuels her untapped genius within for making a significant impact giving life meaning and satisfaction. She learns from her past but never revisits or reinforces the negative to define her future. She channels her energy wisely to explore possibilities, inspires others, and creates a constructive emotional climate for growth. She is well-rounded and doesn't compromise family and fun times by sacrificing her personal life for her work. She embraces her intrinsic value and can sever who she is from what she can accomplish. Her behavior is not defensive. She quickly diminishes the impact of a problem by finding a way to resolve an issue rather than casting the blame on someone else. She takes a resilient approach to ensuing setbacks by harnessing a support system before any challenges hit. She is intuitive, but not full of herself, so she can make well-informed decisions based on quantitative research and integrating the perspectives of others. She embraces the opportunity of change and is not opposed to refining and reinventing a new perception of who she is. She honors other women for who they are and not for what they do. She celebrates their achievements and picks them up when they stumble. She is a perceptive, strategic thinker who is addicted to learning and growing--exploring the hot issues that are emerging in her industry. She makes herself indispensable. Perhaps you aren't good at all of these. But you can begin cultivating the ones you may wrestle with by deciding to be responsive rather than reacting.
Today's female leader has resilience under her control. Challenges can be easiest handled by taking the time to observe the experience. By learning how to listen to your thoughts and discerning your resilient voice above dire expressions, you can lead effectively through the havoc life sometimes brings.
