With yet another Steve Jobs movie recently in the theaters, I am reminded of the characteristic in Jobs that I find most fascinating: his resilience. Through all the ups and downs of building the Apple computer, being stripped of his duties at Apple, roller coaster rides at Pixar and NeXT and then rebirth at Apple, Jobs remained an undeterred visionary, innovator and decisive leader.

In these times of unprecedented pace of change, economic ups and downs, and a shifting workforce, creating an organization built on resilience is more important than ever, as we discuss in today's Promotional Consultant Today.

George S. Everly Jr., co-author of the book Stronger: Develop the Resilience You Need to Succeed, believes the best way to foster organizational resiliency is to build resilient leaders, with a focus on front line leadership. Everly offers these five supervisory characteristics as keys to resilient leadership:

  • Active Optimism: Step one of active optimism includes having a vision for success and seeing the opportunity in every crisis. Step two is speaking convincingly of that vision but being honest about the impact of the change when it occurs and where the organization needs to go next.

  • Ability To Make A Decision: Have the courage to make a decision and take responsibility for your actions, both of which build trust and respect. Make the decision and try relentlessly to succeed, because anything worth having is worth fighting for, and possibly failing for.

  • Use Of A Moral Compass: Work with integrity. Only leaders of the highest integrity take responsibility for plans that don't succeed and don't push down blame. This kind of integrity fosters loyalty and the courage to take risks that's often necessary for success.

  • Tenacity And Persistence: Tenacity is a rare trait and those who have it can use it to a great advantage. Those who use it also set an example for those they lead. Set the example to make tenacity an organizational value.

  • Organizational And Department Cohesion: Everly writes: "Understanding you are part of something greater than yourself is empowering." Taking on a no-person-left-behind approach builds support systems, networks, cohesive teams and even friendships that can create an organization greater than the sum of its parts.

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Source: George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, FAPA, is one of the founding fathers of the modern era of stress management. He is the author of numerous books and research papers and serves on the faculties of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is a co-author of STRONGER: Develop the Resilience You Need to Succeed.