Resiliency in Action
 When Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with late stage testicular cancer in 1996, his chances of living were 50-50. There was no mention of his chances to compete at a World Class Cycling level. Yet in 1998, after aggressive cancer treatment and grueling strength training he entered the Ride for the Roses, a benefit ride to support cancer research, and won. This was followed by an attempt to re-enter the professional circuit. At the Ruta del Sol, outside of Paris on a rainy day, Lance Armstrong pulled his bike to the side of the road and quit. As far as he was concerned, he was done with the sport of bike racing.
But his coach, Chris Carmichael, saw it differently. He knew that Lance had faced a series of setbacks but was resilient. So with another past teammate, they invited Lance for a bike ride in the mountains of North Carolina. His friends' leadership and devotion taught him to love the bike again and the rest, as they say, is history. Resiliency can make the difference between success and failure, between moving forward and standing still.
| Here are some questions leaders can ask: |
- What did you set out to do?
- What happened?
- Why do you think it happened?
- What would you change next time?
|
Unfortunately, in the corporate world, a series of setbacks like Lance Armstrong's are often viewed as taking an employee out of contention for the next level. In reality, successful careers are shaped by both personal and professional failures. Leaders who can help their employees respond with resilience ensure their unit's successfulness. Much like an athlete's coach, at the worst times, leaders provide a key difference.
The first step is to encourage reflection. Reflection has a developmental quality needed to learn from adversity. In the biking world, Mr. Carmichael knew that if he could bring back the feeling of training with friends that Lance Armstrong's internal competitiveness and resiliency would kick in. In the corporate world, the coaching might take a less personal nature but the goals are the same.
Next, a leader should help their employees re-frame the experience. Often at times of change or adversity people can experience learning. Help employees re-energize by discussing the next step. Focusing on the strategy to move on helps re-frame the negative into an opportunity for positive.
| This is a big challenge to leaders but one that is easily taught through a series of logical steps called the ABCD's. |
"A" stands for adversity. This could be something like "No one returns my phone calls."
"B" represents the belief that the person has. "I never do anything right," or "Why do bad things always happen to me?"
"C" means the consequences of the beliefs. If bad things always happen, then you become immobilized with fear. If you think you can never say or do anything right, you begin to avoid the person to prevent any further difficulties.
"D" is the disputation of all this negative thinking. This is the step where leaders can move their employees from pessimism to optimism. Pessimists always latch on to the worst of all causes for any events. By moving toward a more optimistic outlook leaders can help their employees see that maybe there is cause for a dispute or a solution other than avoidance. |
Lance Armstrong says cancer was "the best thing that ever happened to me." This is actually a viewpoint shared by many cancer survivors because through their resiliency they are able to clarify their priorities and appreciate all that life gives them. As leaders, the job is to harness that tendency in those who have it and encourage it in those who don't. Help your employees see other possible reasons for a failure. Help employees to accept the defeat and move on. Only through resiliency can a company truly realize the benefits of trying and failing.
|
contact us site map home 
"Helping leaders with creative and flexible solutions