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March 15th, 2009
Coping with resilience in tough times
Management Today February 2009 55
A large and successful South African company was recently experiencing tough times: consumers more discerning, competition fiercer, new entrants into the marketplace, stakeholders more demanding, skills shortage in critical areas, and legalisation compliance more onerous. The effect was that margins were under pressure, and, in response, top leadership launched several new initiatives to meet the challenges.
The impact on the organisation was to make an already difficult and complex business environment even more pressured. Many people struggled to cope, team members’ close knit relationships fragmented, cliques formed and productivity suffered. On the home front, loving relationships were strained as they spent more time at work, and even struggled to be “present” when at home. On the positive side however, there were a group of people who coped with the challenges and some even seemed to relish meeting and overcoming the challenges.
This range of reactions was typified by members of a team managing regional sales and administration. Stella was frequently overwhelmed, and reacted in a passive-aggressive manner towards leadership, customers and the organisation. She complained that her job had become too much for her and her life, in general, had lost meaning. She seemed defeated by the demands of her job and home. She was known at work as the “whiner”, and negatively impacted on her team’s outputs. She drifted at work, was disengaged and uncommitted, only rousing to deal with the urgent. Her minimal level of work output only just prevented her from losing her job. We label this type of coping as Succumb or dysfunctional.
Dennis coped somewhat sporadically better. He was characterised by enthusiastic beginnings, but typically soon ran out of steam when the going got tough. He typically blamed others for his problems, and he came to be regarded as an unreliable performer. His typical refrain was: “They just don’t understand!” and was known to sit in the coffee area and bemoan his lot and how management does not care about the staff. His team was frequently overtly irritated by his negative comments, and this led to friction amongst him and them. We refer to this type of coping as Disabled or stuck.
Nona coped better with a more balanced approach and avoided the emotional flooding that overwhelmed the previous two (Stella and Dennis). She was able to curb her anxieties and focus on her job. She commented: “I can’t influence the decisions the executives make and what will happen. I do my best and don’t worry about the things I can’t control. This approach has worked for me in the past, and I am sure it will work for me now”. She effectively managed her complex work–life balance, and was generally able to sustain her normal predictable usual level of performance throughout the challenges and changes in the company. Her coping method of tackling the challenges, dealing with issues and moving forward we refer to as Navigating.
Thabo’s coping was in an enviously different league. He was more than able to navigate the turbulent waters of change – he thrived with inner strength and resourcefulness. This was reflected by his openness to learning and consequent growth and development. Despite the pressures, he was able to maintain a sense of enthusiasm and realistic optimism. He had grit and mental toughness. His energy levels at both work and home were mostly unaffected. His “can-do” contribution to his team was always valued, the team’s output improved, and he became a top performer. Personal advancement inevitably followed. We call this type of coping Thriving.
These different coping levels are shown in “Table 1: The different reactions to adversity”.
To read or download the entire article, please go to the Resources section of this web site: www.buildingresilience.co.za