A New Year's Resolution for Resilience

In many martial arts, it is an important discipline to calm the mind and prepare the body for getting hit. In doing so, there is less pain if you are hit because you’ve tensed or relaxed the right part of the body at the right time. This is known as ‘hardening training’ – the ability to be focused and relaxed at the same time becomes habit for many martial art students. 

 It’s difficult to think of the corporate equivalent of ‘hardening training’. Perhaps it’s the annual fire exit drill or standard team enquiry into potential ‘risks and issues.’ Whichever the closest corporate metaphor to hardening training, it’s unlikely to be preceded by a focus on staying calm. Disaster recovery planning, as the name suggests, is focussed on restoring order as quickly as possible after the damage is done not before.  

Better, surely, to prevent rather than cure? 

The resilience of any business is partly tied to how quickly teams can develop and adapt to changing external conditions. Ample research shows how resilience improves business performance, and, in this sense, resilience is equally important at the employee and team level as it is at the organisational level: 

"Resilient employees not only adapt to changing circumstances but also contribute to enhanced organizational outcomes, including improved job performance, engagement, and reduced turnover, thereby driving sustainable business success." 
— Youssef, C. M., & Luthans, F. (2007).  

And staying calm is one factor that supports resilience: 

“Calmness in the face of uncertainty allows individuals and organizations to allocate cognitive resources to problem-solving rather than being overwhelmed by emotional responses.”  
- Duchek, S. (2020).  

So, my new year’s resolution is simple:  

1. Remain calm and focused
2. Notice what I am feeling
3. Choose what I do about it.  

Then if I do get hit with the unexpected, hopefully I will be better prepared for it! 

References: 

Duchek, S. (2020). Organizational resilience: a capability-based conceptualization. Business research, 13(1), 215-246. 

Youssef, C. M., & Luthans, F. (2007). Positive organizational behavior in the workplace: The impact of hope, optimism, and resilience. Journal of Management, 33(5), 774–800.