According to Dave Anderson, Founder of LearnToLead and leadership expert, resiliency is not just a personal trait; it’s a cultural one.
On the latest episode of Lessons in Leadership, Anderson identifies resiliency as the 17th trait, which Anderson defines as a team’s ability to recover quickly from setbacks, disappointments, and defeats before a temporary dip becomes a deeper problem.
"When we hit a wall, we bounce. We don't splatter. That's what you find in high-performing business cultures."
In identifying the characteristic, Anderson alludes to the three pillars that separate resilient teams from those that stall under pressure.
The first is hiring. High-performing organizations deliberately seek out candidates with mental toughness and what Anderson deems “killer instinct,” people who are wired to work through difficulty rather than around it.
The second pillar is standards. Anderson argues that setting high expectations conditions employees as much as it evaluates them. When leaders consistently push their teams to work through discomfort and challenges, employees build the mental fortitude to handle adversity when it inevitably arrives.
Finally, the third pillar and perhaps the most critical pillar is leadership. According to Anderson, resilient cultures don’t build themselves. Leaders who stay proactive when things go wrong drive resilience by gathering their teams and focusing on identifying the next right action to change the picture, rather than waiting for momentum to return on its own.
Together, Anderson says these three pillars create a culture where setbacks are temporary by design.
Lessons In Leadership