One definition of resilience is:

“the universal human capacity to face, overcome, and even be strengthened by experiences of adversity.”

Edith Grotbery, Ph.D

The most important part of this definition is “be strengthened by”, we aren’t working to get back to where we were before hard times, we are developing qualities that will help us grow and get stronger through hard times.

Everyone has a busy life.  We all juggle the constant challenges of family, friends, careers, and self on a daily basis and then we regularly interrupt that cycle with major life circumstances such as illness, relationship or career troubles, and societal or environmental trauma events happening around us.  Resilient people are able to navigate all of these things while maintaining hope and a positive outlook.  They manage stress as it occurs, without letting it get out of control.  Does this mean they are perfect and never spend an evening binge watching a show or getting stuck in negative thinking?  

No, resilient people are still human!  But they recover sooner, rather than later.  They know that behavior does not serve them in the long run and while they may indulge, they actively plan the next step.

Here’s the great news:  Resilience is build-able!  Even if you think of yourself as a “glass-half-empty” type of person, research has shown that resilience is a quality which can be learned and enhanced.  PBS tells us in This Emotional Life, “Resilience is a capacity that involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned by and developed in anyone.”

Resilience and Mindfulness go hand in hand.  Resilient people have qualities like hope, optimism, self-efficacy, confidence, and self-compassion.  These qualities are developed through self-awareness and Mindfulness teaches self-awareness!

Resilience in the Workplace? Why is that important?

Traditionally we’ve spent most of our training time on hard skills in the workplace; the skills leadership deems as important to physically do the actual job.  But more and more companies are recognizing that our employees need skills like resilience and emotional intelligence to be able to effectively communicate and use the hard skills we’ve always supported. 

I have worked with a variety of organizations from civic, to education, and healthcare on resilience. When doing so, it is important to know who you want the training to support and why.  Are we focused on the organization as a whole?  The leadership? Or the individuals working at all levels?  

Below are a few examples of the possible areas where resilience training can be critical to well-being. Note, there can be overlap between these breakouts.  For example, there are going to be caregivers or leaders who experience secondary trauma.

To learn more about how this training can support your organization or team

Workplace Resilience for Secondary Trauma:

Unfortunately, there are many populations who deal with trauma daily through their jobs.  This may include paraprofessionals in human services, law enforcement, firefighters, and medical personnel, just to name a few.  But it is not limited to these groups, there are many people dealing with trauma in a variety of ways.  Our goal is to provide tools that can be used in the moment, both on the job and on an on-going basis off the job, to increase the ability to auto-regulate emotion and to decrease physiological hyper-arousal.  Participants in this program will learn how to reach inside for practiced tools they can use, reach out for helpful resources outside themselves, and have a sense of how to take care of themselves, via slowing down and focusing energy on their own health, as well as the practical issues, when faced with traumatic situations.

Resilience for Caregivers: 

If professional caregivers hope to not burn out, they must develop the skills they need to care for themselves while caring for others. Caregivers come in many forms.  We care for family members.  Educators are often caregivers. And then there are the professionals, caring for our health at all levels and ages. The goal is to teach caregivers about what makes them resilient and support them in finding their own personal practices to develop that well-being.

Personal Resilience: 

Life is full of continual change, both in our personal and professional life. We have all felt resilient at times and not so resilient at others. Thankfully, research shows that each person can develop resilience, giving themselves a base from which to move forward into stressful times. 

General Workplace Resilience:

By training individual’s resilience from the view of how it’s used in the workplace, it’s possible to positively impact focus, communication skills productivity, and awareness.  In so doing, we work to decrease stress and conflict.    If the practices are put into action, we can begin to imagine a workplace that is running more efficiently between clients, co-workers, and bosses; and with less stress, individuals are healthier and happier, thus missing less work and personal activities.

Resilient Organizations:

Developing a resilient organization and workforce is a strategic action for organizations.  Crisis happens.  Natural disasters occur. Resource lines are interrupted and human resources turn over. To develop an organization that can survive crisis is a strategy that every organization should undertake.  We'll study how organizations can develop resilient leaders and a resilient culture; how organizations can use resources in sustainable and resilient ways; and how organizations can expect and react to change in positive ways.  All of this will support the growth of a resilient workforce.

Resilience for Leadership:

Resilient leaders have all the personal stresses of a normal life, plus they take on the success of an organization and the people under them every day. Resilient leaders navigate all of these things while maintaining hope and a positive outlook. In Resilient Leadership, Bob Duggen describes resilient leaders as “leading with calm, clarity, and conviction”.  Through resilience work, leaders will gain important insight not only into their own abilities, but into human brain functioning and how habits are created.  Leaders will be able to take this insight into working with their teams to better understand why people react as they do, and how they can help them develop their own resilient qualities.