{"id":49431,"date":"2020-04-07T10:48:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T14:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=49431"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:09:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:09:24","slug":"4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Increase Your Resilience as a Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a common myth that working harder is the best way to deal with the pressures of management. We like to think that extending work hours and multi-tasking are effective ways to be more effective at work. Yet, this thinking is flawed.<\/p>\n

We know from studies of stress that performance doesn\u2019t always increase as a result of putting more pressure on yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0Pushing yourself too hard will just lead to overwork and burnout.<\/p>\n

Additional pressure might lead to initial improvements, but then performance plateaus and ultimately may decline as the pressures associated with overwork increase. When crisis, industry volatility, societal shifts, or workplace pressures result in stress, it\u2019s time to focus on building resilience as a leader: the ability to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks.<\/p>\n

Too much pressure or stress creates narrowed thinking and increases the likelihood of flawed reasoning. It also turns on your body\u2019s stress response, releasing a tsunami of chemicals and hormones.<\/p>\n

Building resilience as a leader is necessary in today\u2019s uncertain and volatile managerial world. The question is, how can you develop it?<\/p>\n

As a first step, it\u2019s helpful to identify those situations in which you feel overly pressured. What triggers those feelings?<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re more attuned to what produces stress and feelings of pressure, you can then work on ways to build a personal reserve of resilience.<\/p>\n

\"Resilience<\/a>
\nDive deeper into 8 practices that keep you healthy, focused, and functioning with our book, Resilience That Works: Eight Practices for Leadership and Life<\/a><\/em>.<\/div>\n

4 Tips for Building Resilience as a Leader<\/h2>\n

Try These to Become More Resilient<\/h3>\n

There are many strategies you can use to build resilience, but these are the top 4:<\/p>\n

\"Infographic:<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Reframe how you think.<\/h4>\n

One of the most helpful tools in building resilience as a leader is to reframe a situation. This is where knowing what triggers your feelings of stress is helpful. When you get that feeling in your gut that you\u2019re overloaded, threatened, or in conflict, think about other ways to characterize the situation. Positive self-talk is incredibly powerful when leading in uncertainty<\/a> or difficult situations.<\/p>\n

Reframing requires examining a situation from a different perspective and asking what else could be going on. For example, if a valued staff member resigns, you might focus on the loss, or you can choose to reframe it as a chance to hire new talent.<\/p>\n

There are some basic questions you can ask yourself: \u201cWhat are the benefits of this situation?\u201d and \u201cWhat might my interpretation of the situation be missing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of our programs can help you increase your resilience by offering an opportunity to rethink your situation and a chance to consider alternative perspectives on both your situation and your response to it.<\/p>\n

2. Get some sleep.<\/h4>\n

We all know it offers numerous benefits, and sleep can make you a more productive leader<\/a>, but many people in leadership positions are still willing to sacrifice some sleep to get more work done.<\/p>\n

Yet, sleep is vitally important because it allows the brain to go from taking in new inputs to encoding, processing, and integrating the day\u2019s experiences in a way that makes it available for future use.<\/p>\n

Sleep is a built-in biological source of building resilience as a leader that many don’t fully utilize.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adequate sleep can result in enhanced attention and creativity \u2014 2 capacities needed in positions of leadership.<\/p>\n

\n

Access Our Webinar!<\/h3>\n

Watch our webinar, How to Promote Wellbeing at Work<\/em><\/a>, and learn how to build a workplace culture that supports and promotes wellbeing for all employees.<\/p>\n

Access Webinar<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

3. Find a substitute for sleep.<\/h4>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s impossible to get enough sleep. If you just can\u2019t get what you need, take a restorative break during the day<\/strong>. Try a short nap, a walk, yoga, or break to meditate.<\/p>\n

These practices take your attention away from the specific situation at hand and give your mind a chance to move beyond stressful thoughts, helping you in building resilience as a leader. Try mindfulness practices too; mindfulness is a simple way to lead better<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Explore the power of positivity.<\/h4>\n

Research by Barbara Fredrickson and others has demonstrated that positivity helps people recover from setbacks.\u00a0Positivity is a broad term covering many positive emotions including love, joy, appreciation, hope, serenity, and amusement.<\/p>\n

Researchers have found that when people are in positive states of mind, they think more broadly than when they’re in negative states of mind.<\/p>\n

So, look for the good in any situation. Savor your feelings of joy<\/a> and positivity so that they last. One way to do this is to keep a gratitude journal where you note the 3\u20135 things you are most grateful for on a daily basis. Giving thanks will actually make you a better leader<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Positive emotions can build sources of resilience that you can have in reserve when facing adversity at work.<\/p>\n

You need resilience not just at work, but also in your personal life. Having this sort of inner strength is helpful for all that life can throw at you \u2014 divorce, losses, illnesses, and unexpected change.<\/p>\n

Building resilience as a leader gives you the strength to bounce back and be at your best.<\/p>\n

Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n

Build your resilience as a leader and help your team to form habits that create conditions for peak performance with our resilience-building solutions<\/a>, which will help you avoid burnout \u2014 and burn bright instead.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working longer hours and putting more pressure or stress on yourself can actually hinder productivity. Focus on these 4 strategies for building your resilience as a leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":49433,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49431","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-resilience-stress","region-global","article-type-leading-effectively-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding Your Resilience as a Leader: 4 Tips | CCL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Working longer hours and putting more pressure on yourself can hinder productivity. Focus on tools for building your resilience as a leader.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Increase Your Resilience as a Leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Working longer hours and putting more pressure on yourself can hinder productivity. Focus on tools for building your resilience as a leader.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CCL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CenterforCreativeLeadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-08T11:09:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CCLdotORG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Building Your Resilience as a Leader: 4 Tips | CCL","description":"Working longer hours and putting more pressure on yourself can hinder productivity. Focus on tools for building your resilience as a leader.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Increase Your Resilience as a Leader","og_description":"Working longer hours and putting more pressure on yourself can hinder productivity. Focus on tools for building your resilience as a leader.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/","og_site_name":"CCL","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CenterforCreativeLeadership\/","article_modified_time":"2025-05-08T11:09:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":864,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CCLdotORG","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/"},"author":{"name":"Carrie Helton","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c3de2cfff0bc13a548c633bbf60c15ec"},"headline":"How to Increase Your Resilience as a Leader","datePublished":"2020-04-07T14:48:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T11:09:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/"},"wordCount":905,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/","name":"Building Your Resilience as a Leader: 4 Tips | CCL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-07T14:48:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T11:09:24+00:00","description":"Working longer hours and putting more pressure on yourself can hinder productivity. Focus on tools for building your resilience as a leader.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/building-resilience-as-a-leader-center-for-creative-leadership.jpg","width":864,"height":483,"caption":"Building Resilience as a Leader"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-tips-will-increase-resiliency-leader\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"LE Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/article-type\/leading-effectively-articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How to Increase Your Resilience as a Leader"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/","name":"CCL","description":"Leadership Development Drives Results. We Can Prove It.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#organization","name":"Center for Creative Leadership","url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/center-for-creative-leadership-ccl-featured-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/center-for-creative-leadership-ccl-featured-logo.jpg","width":864,"height":483,"caption":"Center for Creative Leadership"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CenterforCreativeLeadership\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CCLdotORG","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ccldotorg\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/center-for-creative-leadership\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c3de2cfff0bc13a548c633bbf60c15ec","name":"Carrie Helton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Carrie Helton"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/author\/carrie-helton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/49431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/49431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}