The Building Blocks for Resilient Leadership

After two years of the pandemic, resilience has now become more than ever a relevant concept for all companies amid the uncertain outlook for the global economy.

According to World Bank estimates, even with an ongoing recovery, COVID-19 flare-ups and complications for both trade and economic dynamics will continue slowing down growth, which is expected to reach 4.1 percent in 2022 and just 3.2 percent next year.

In this scenario, for companies struggling to adapt, resilient leadership translates into a critical factor. In fact, corporate resilience has become an overall priority, according to a recent McKinsey Global Survey.

But it must be said: disruption is not an impediment for companies to thrive. Difficult times can also bring a great many opportunities. For that to happen, leaders who prioritize innovation and advance despite the challenges are the enablers of change and growth.

Having stated its importance, what are the building blocks for resilient leadership inside companies? And how do you begin implementing them?

Since we are speaking of flexibility, there are no absolute rules. Nonetheless, there are a few perspectives that can be universally adopted.

1. Embed resilience in your team’s culture.Leadership is more about the people than just the person who leads. Resilient leadership is about communication, building positive relationships, and fostering more leaders who can turn teams into solid communities.To do so, it’s important to make resilience part of your day to day and embed it into your team’s culture. The focus must be to build trust and boost collaboration but not only on paper: make it a mindset and a measurable objective.
2. Immediate and long-term problem-solving.The planning stage is vital for any project to move forward. But sometimes overanalyzing can prevent you from being agile enough to respond promptly to different situations.Adaptability is aligned to problem-solving and the capacity to respond in the face of dire situations and disruption. But sustainability is also a factor you must consider. Don’t just change for the short term: implement strategies that are effective and viable for the long haul.
3. Take smart risks.Taking risks increases the potential for profit. But making bold decisions for the sake of staying afloat or reacting fast without thoughtful decision-making is not necessarily a good investment.

Adapting to change requires venturing to try new things and thinking outside the box. But rather than just breaking rules, choose to bend standards and pave the way for innovation, all based on proper analysis, data and insights from your team.

Being able to quickly adapt and have agile strategies to stay on the cutting edge is crucial for organizations in all industries. For us at SkyAlert, a company born in the tech ecosystem where agility and resilience are a constant, this is an inherent trait of our DNA.