Resilient Leadership: Embracing Failure Instead of Fearing It
What is a leadership blog without a discussion about resilience?
As defined by Forbes a resilient leader is “a person who sees failures as temporary setbacks they can recover from quickly.” BINGO.
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from my clients (and, if I am honest, my own inner critics) that leaders aren’t “supposed” to experience failure, much less call it out. They aren’t allowed to make mistakes or not come out on top everytime. (Hello, Perfectionism). By Forbes’ definition, however, a resilient leader is able to fail, learn, grow, and repeat - which of course, one of the most fundamentally human processes there is.
I can’t think about resilience without thinking of my friend and former client, Ali T. Muhammad. Ali is an activist community leader with a fire for service and bright political future. When he was a guest on our Leadership Live, he revealed some of the hardships he’s faced and witnessed in our community.
“Think about your current career. Is it serving you? Are you continuing to grow? I couldn’t stay in a position that wasn’t serving myself and wasn’t serving the people that I wanted to.”
Ali is the epitome of a resilient leader; even in the face of deep-rooted obstacles, he sees opportunities to grow. After losing the election for public office in 2012 (barely 21 at the time), Ali ran again the next year. He explains his strategy, “I lost by 30% votes, so I knocked on 30% more doors, I reached 30% more people.” And you know what? He won!
Ali with my son, Jay
Another aspect of resilience is the gumption to bounce back. As you can see from Ali’s story, sometimes it takes getting knocked down to stand up stronger. A study at Zenger Folkman found that people with a strong preference for resilience, were quick to take action and act independently. They are risk-takers and decision-makers which also means they have a higher tolerance for failure.
As a leader, everyone looks to you to set the pace. It’s easy to question yourself when you’re in a position of power, especially when you take your responsibilities seriously. Just like any energy, our own doubt, if not handled with transparency and courage, can open the doors for others to doubt us too. If we trust in our inherent ability to bounce back from any situation, it’s easier to fail. As Confucius once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall." Perhaps he was on to something there. ;)
No doubt you’ve gotten where you are today by making a few mistakes. And look - you’re stronger because of them. Ali has had a series of set back and frustrations, and yet he keeps on truckin’. He is currently running for Orange County Executive in NY so if you’re in that area, check him out! Whether or not you align with his values in politics, he is most certainly a stellar example of passion, purpose, and the power of resilience.
So take a moment and think about some leaps you can take to prove to yourself you have the resilience to get back up again. Who are you surrounding yourself with? What messages are you feeding your brain and your soul? What old “tapes” are playing that don’t serve you anymore? How would you like them to change?
And what would be possible for you if you EMBRACED failure?
I’d love to hear about it.
For the full video about being a resilient leader, click below.
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