Reflects a pattern of how individuals view their current reality and how they assess probability of influencing the future.

Definition of Resilience

Warren BennisAmerican Psychologist Journal

January 2007 pg. 5

“I believe adaptive capacity or resilience is the single most important quality in a leader, or in anyone else for that matter, who hopes to lead a healthy, meaningful life.”

A resilient leader demonstrates the ability to recover, learn from, and grow stronger when confronted by adversity within the

organizational context.

Definition of a Resilient Leader

Resilience is a long-term, not a short-term, construct. A person’s resilience reflects an overall orientation or approach to how one responds to adversity.

Leadership resilience refers to one’s resilience within the particular context of one’s leadership role.

Assumptions About Leadership Resilience

The term “resilient leader” is not

synonymous with the term “effective leader.” A resilient leader is not necessarily a highly effective leader and a leader may be effective under so-called normal conditions, but not be highly resilient under adverse conditions.

Assumptions About Leadership Resilience Cont’d

The Resilience Cycle

Time

survival level

normal conditions

adversity strikes

deteriorating

phase

High

Resi

lienc

e Le

vel

Low

dysfunctional level

adap

ting phas

ere

cove

ry phas

egr

owin

g phas

e

stability (Level I resilience)

growth (Level II resilience)

The major goals of this project were to:

Develop a valid, reliable instrument to measure key indicators of educational leaders’ resilience.

Develop professional development experiences to support leaders in strengthening their leadership resilience.

Leader Resilience Profile

First valid, reliable instrument that measures the resilience strengths of

leaders.

Take the Survey and Get Your Individualized Profile

The web address to access the instrument online:

http://www.theresilientleader.com

Leader Resilience Profile

Leadership Resilience Profile Results – Strengths Analysis

Were there any surprises in your profile? Low/High?

Which are your strongest or most developed?

Which areas need to be strengthened or further developed?

Authors Dr. Diane ReedDr. Jerry PattersonDr. George Goens

Published: Rowman and Littlefield Education, Lanham, MD. 2009

Book TitleResilient Leadership for Turbulent Times

Thinking Skills Understanding reality Optimism about the

future

Capacity Skills Values Efficacy Support Well-being

Action Skills Courage Responsibility Perseverance Adaptability

Developing Professional Growth Opportunities to Strengthen Leaders’ Resilience

Reflective Questions for Resilience Thinking Skills

How can I: Effectively deal with the very real presence of

ambiguity and complexity inherent in organizational life?

Accept the reality that adversity is both inevitable and generally unexpected?

Work positively within the unavoidable constraints imposed by the reality of the adverse circumstances?

Find ways to make a positive influence in making good things happen in a bad situation?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Thinking Skills

How can I:

Focus my energy on the opportunities, not the obstacles, found in the midst of adversity?

Shift my thinking from ‘if only’ to ‘how can I’ thinking when faced with tough times?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills

How Can I:

Extend my leadership ability to privately clarify and publicly articulate my core values in the face of a storm?

Consistently align my leadership actions with what matters most to me among competing values?

Regularly gather feedback about the alignment to make sure I am walking my talk when the going gets rough?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills

How Can I: Compensate for any relative weaknesses I have in an

area by turning to others who have strength in this area?

Maintain a genuinely confident presence as leader when adversity strikes?

Build on my experiences with adversity to gain greater resilience capacity when adversity happens again?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills (Cont’d)

How Can I:

Better understand my emotions during adversity and how those emotions affect my leadership performance?

Find healthy ways to channel my physical energy as a stress reliever?

Apply personal introspection and a sense of spirituality to steady myself during adversity?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills (Cont’d)

How Can I: Protect the necessary time and space to replenish my

capacity to lead an emotionally, physically, and spiritually rich life?

Build the resources of a strong support base to help me through the tough times.

Recognize and then act on the need to seek constructive advice when adversity strikes?

Nurture and sustain trusting relationships with those who can be supportive in difficult situations.

How Can I:

Adjust my expectations about the future based on what I have learned about present adversity?

Nimbly change my strategies as conditions change?

Put leadership mistakes in perspective and move beyond them?

Reflective Questions for Resilience Action Skills

Strength: Personal EfficacyChapter 4 – pages 57-68Resilient Leaders:

Try to offset any relative leadership weakness they have in an area by turning to others who have strength in that area.

Remain confident that they can learn from their adversity to help them be stronger in the future.

Strength: Personal EfficacyResilient Leaders (cont’d):

Maintain a confident presence as a leader in the midst of adversity

Take a deliberate, step-by-step approach to overcome adversity

Demonstrate the essential knowledge and to lead in tough times.

Reflective Table Discussion Activity

Think about this past year when the district faced a crisis or a dilemma bubbled up that created stress and pressure. How did you handle the situation?

Discuss the following and report out commonalities to the total groupHow Leaders Sustain and Strengthen Personal Efficacy1. Consider some ways that you can increase your

sense of efficacy (the belief of your own capability)

2. How can setting short-term, specific, attainable goals help you to increase your sense of success?

3. Think of some “small wins” that you have achieved recently that you may not have previously claimed for yourself.

4. How can you recover more quickly from setbacks?

How Leaders Sustain and Strengthen Personal Efficacy (Cont’d)

5. How can you reduce your defensiveness and stay open to new information, even when it is negative?

6. What strategies can you think of to reduce your anxiety during moments of stress in order to enhance your competence?

7. How can you better use your network of personal and professional relationships to enhance your sense of efficacy.

Questions / Answers