Emotional resilience refers to the ability of a person to handle overwhelming emotions. It is the ability to face life’s stressors and not get consumed by them. Emotional resilience is also a sign of emotional intelligence.
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How to know if you are an emotionally resilient leader?
A few qualities of emotional resilience are:
- Can navigate through stress.
- Have a high emotional intelligence.
- Are confident about their capabilities.
- Have a winner mentality.
- Feel resourceful and not powerless.
- Can inspire and make decisions
- Create resilient teams and organisations.
Building Emotional Resilience
Building emotional resilience is a process. Resilience is a developmental trait, meaning it can be developed. We are not born with it. It is cultivated through adaptation and nurtured in diligence.
Some points to remember while cultivating resilience:
- The first step is developing self-awareness. Identify habits, belief systems, and repetitive patterns. They are integral to awareness. Know how you behave due to these. Process them with the help of a mental health practitioner, an executive coach, or both.
- Insecurities arise from unprocessed emotions and feelings. Thankfully, self-awareness can take care of naming them when they show up. Primal emotions like fear, anger, sadness, and disgust go unnoticed. They are normally under the surface. Learn ways to manage them at first, and in time, thrive.
- Develop self-respect. Get clear on your core values. When others test the nature of the values, notice the need for boundaries. Boundaries keep you in a buffer area of safety. It will set your reaction around others.
- Build empathy. A natural consequence of inner work is empathy. For oneself and for others. Each of us show empathy differently. Identify your behaviours that arise from empathy and hone them. With empathy, others can be slowly inspired to work from their greatest potential.
- Nurture gratitude. A way to express thankfulness for what we have. It places a perspective on how much we have. When one expresses their gratitude, we get inclined to give. This phenomenon can be used as a hack to feel energised.
- Your body is not separate from the mind. There is value in restricting the body from the ill effects of stress. Learn to value peace and wish it upon others. Regulate your emotions to make your nerves stronger.
Senior Executives can use emotional resilience strategically. Here are 3 examples:
Example 1: Pradeep, the teacher-leader, and his 4 areas of focus towards his team
Self-motivated habits
Resilient leaders have a positive outlook with realistic optimism. They are disciplined in matters of health. They have a structured routine: healthy sleep cycles, nourishing food, and physical fitness habits.
Adaptability through role modelling.
Emotionally resilient people become life-long learners and seek self-improvement. This helps them become open-minded and broad thinkers. Pradeep understood that each person has different skills and capabilities. Instead of rushing the team to jump in, hurry up, and arrive, he imparted knowledge through role modelling.
Clear Communication.
Emotionally resilient leaders are good communicators. They understand others by way of understanding themselves. There is clarity in the expression of ideas, and he practises open communication by being authentic.
Coaching team members on psychological aspects
Resilient people can access and label many emotions. Pradeep often puts up with the uneasiness caused by difficult emotions. Others would repress/ignore/ deny those feelings. He had understood the only way out is through. He got better at handling his discomfort. and this helped him coach his team to understand themselves better.
Got friendly with failure.
Resilient leaders convert mistakes into opportunities to learn from. Pradeep handled his insecurity and became familiar with handling adversities. Leaders who can create a positive association with mistakes also coach the mistakes of their team better. Individuals and teams can perform better when they have permission to err.
Example 2: Veena the Resilient Collaborator
Collaboration, in essence, requires that one be prepared for a loss of self agenda. Sometimes, there is a loss in terms of values and rigid beliefs. Emotionally resilient leaders are flexible and can handle change. Disagreements do not threaten them. Hence, they invite collaborations not worrying about the fear of these losses.
Veena was a chosen leader during mergers and acquisitions because she brought a collaborative attitude to the table.
Example 3: Shilpa and group dynamics intelligence.
Group dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioural patterns of a group. Being educated on this topic is a value add. One can learn the subconscious roles played by team members. Through their actions and behaviours, you would spot negative group dynamics at play. They can use this to build teams that trust each other. Each of them gets inspired to become better.
Shilpa’s understanding of group and individuals’ behaviors in groups was helpful in navigating situations with her peers and with her teams. She was able to initiate tough conversations where needed. She tabled missing conversations that were pushed under the carpet. She was not reactive when irked by peers. This showed her in a good light with seniors and the management as she was viewed as mature and balanced.
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A Closing Reflection
Emotional resilience is an asset that enables leaders to navigate challenges with confidence and clarity. By managing stress effectively, they foster a positive work environment and inspire their teams to stay motivated. Resilient leaders make better decisions under pressure, adapt to change with ease, and maintain a focused mindset. Their ability to regulate emotions strengthens relationships and builds trust in all relationships.
Leadership coaching also facilitates the enhancement of building emotional resilience, building both personal and professional success. Explore leadership coaching here.
