Resilience for you and your team
A common question I come across with the leaders I work with is “how can I improve the resilience of my colleagues and teams”.
The 4 Cs model, developed by Nan Henderson and Mike Milstein gives some great clues on how you can build your own resilience and the resilience of those you lead over time, and offer support to overcome a range challenges.
Let’s start with the first C, competence. Obviously, this refers to the skills and knowledge that enable us to do our jobs effectively, and the behavioural skills to help us to handle different situations effectively.
The good news is that we all have a high degree of base competence which enables us to be who we are and empowers us to do the jobs we do. Often, it is helpful to look back at all the great things we have achieved personally and professionally to remind ourselves that we are good at being us and doing what we do.
The next C is contribution which Henderson and Milstein define as the feeling of making a positive difference and giving back to your community. I would use the term community really broadly here and use to include one’s family, the team at work and the organisation as a whole.
It is so often the case that we make a massive contribution to those around us, and often we are either just not aware of it or are too busy to take the time to appreciate the massive impact we are having. So, sometimes, just ask for feedback and I bet the response you get will really surprise you.
C three is confidence and is the critical belief in your own abilities and worth. When times are really tough confidence and self-worth can be really hard to hold onto.
I encourage those I work with to build up a “good news” file of great feedback and messages you have received over time. Having a look back at these messages can really help when you having a low moment, and can really help when you are going for promotion or asking for a pay rise!
Our final C is connection, which is the sense of belonging to and receiving of support from others. Really foster strong relationships with those around you as these will be critical bonds when times become tougher. Think of building these connections as paying forward the creation of layers of resilience armour that will be there when you need it most.
How strong is each of your C? Stop, reflect and have a think about what you need to do to tone each ready for that time that you need all the resilience you can muster.