1. Open a Dialogue about Resilience.
‘Wellbeing’ is often perceived as fluffy and ‘mental health’ still has a huge stigma attached to it. Take the conversation away from headlines that might alienate some people, and instead have an open dialogue with employees. What is preventing people from being at their best? What tools and strategies do they use for coping with adversity? What will help them move forward?
The message leaders should convey is, “We recognise you’re having a tough time, and that’s nothing to be ashamed about. What can we do to help you?”
2. Give Teams a common framework to think / talk about their Resilience.
Resilience has been increasingly weaponised in recent years and a way to put the responsibility back on the individuals or teams facing challenging circumstances. People are often told, “You need to be more Resilient! You need to meditate, you need to eat right, you need to exercise”. Without a common way of talking and thinking about Resilience and why it is important, it becomes impossible to bring people on the journey for building Team Resilience. You might even consider ways for identifying or measuring Team Resilience.
3. Build Resilience, together.
Far from being reserved for leaders and those struggling, true Resilience is developed in a team environment and carried by the collective contributions of each person. Leaders of highly Resilient teams have learned to build their individual Resilience, but so have their colleagues. They’ve collectively learned a practical and proven set of Resilience abilities, enabling them to harness a Resilient mindset and Resilient habits day-to-day. By building their Resilience together, the team is set up to support each other during even the toughest challenges and hold each other accountable for monitoring and maintaining optimal wellbeing and performance, as a unit.
Resilience = Retention & Motivation!
93% of Resilient employees say they would want to stay with their employer, while 86% of Resilient employees feel fully motivated at work. – Aon, Rising Resilient (2020)