Why is Resilience so important?

Resilience enables “bouncing back” after stressful organisational and life events such as significant change, stress, adversity and hardship, and incorporates the concept of emerging from the adversity stronger and more resourceful. Resilience is thus the life force to overcome adversity, heal and strive towards self actualisation and flourishing

Building Resilience Quiz

Take the free Building Resilience Quiz find out how much you know about resilience!   (See the Resources page)

Resilience at work

At work, resilience is the ability to remain task focussed and productive whilst experiencing tough times. Imagine your organisation staffed with people who have abundant inner strength and resourcefulness, which enables them to cope with mergers, new priorities, major change initiatives, new technologies, and downsizing. Wouldn’t that make a difference! 

New perspective on resilience

No-one wants to experience tough times and adversity, but for personal growth and development to occur, it is necessary for one’s status quo to be disrupted – adversity achieves this and initiates change. Horace is reputed to have said “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” After a life-disrupting change, one cannot go back to how things were – you will become stronger or weaker; better or bitter.

This personal impact of the adversity on you is determined by you. You use resilience to deal with the adversity and its personal impact, which encompasses more than just recovery elements and processes. It’s the process that enables turning the adversity into a growth experience, and leveraging it into new ways of working and living.

The implication for organizations is that there is as much personal benefit for staff in enhancing their resilience, as there is for organizations in having resilient staff at work. Good news for all!

What is the training based on?

We recently undertook research into resilience in the South African workplace to understand what South Africans actually do to cope with adversity, with the assumption that the findings may be different to other countries. The need for sound research was also highlighted by the fact that a lot of the present work in this field is either not based on sound research and theory, or is based on what works for people who are suffering with clinical symptoms: depression; post-traumatic stress and so on.    

 The research we carried out involved extensive critical incident interviews and focus groups. It identified seven building blocks, which have been used as the foundation to assist people build their resilience, and which has been published in a local journal (See the Resources page) 

A training workshop was developed based on this South African resilience research. It is known as: "Building Resilience: Strength for Life". Most importantly, there is an increase in delegates’ resilience after the workshop, which has been shown to be statistically sustained over time. This research has been written up in a local journal and is to be published in an international academic journal with Prof. Kurt April of University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.

 What does the workshop cover?

The programme assists people uncover their answers to the three key questions we all confront when adversity strikes:

·       Why persevere when things get really tough?

·       How can I develop grit and become mentally tough?

·       What should I do when experiencing the "dark night" of adversity?

  What is the content of the workshop?

·       Resilience Steps and Principles to deal with your darkest night

·       Reconnecting with what gives you meaning in life

·       Identifying and using unique personal strengths to create engagement

·       Analysing, identifying and choosing thoughts and feelings that assist in building resilience

·       Identifying the most effective personal ways of dealing with adversity

·       Being open minded, persistent and flexible when seeking solutions

·       Reaching out early for support and assistance and also supporting others

The training covers the full range of resilience applications: to cope with the “daily grind”, deal with life’s big adversities, as well as using the change inherent in adversity to strive towards self-actualisation and thriving.

The learning design incorporates high energy games and short exercises. Delegates work individually and in small groups to reinforce insights, build skills and develop personal practical resilience strategies. They report that it changes the way they deal with adversity and the way they live their lives.

  What are the outcomes of the workshop?

·       Understand how to remain task focussed at work during periods of prolonged stress

·       Increased adaptability and confidence when experiencing tough times

·       Ability to prevent the experience of stress negatively affecting work outputs, colleagues and family

·       Experience more hope, optimism and positivity and so better cope with job demands

·      Understand how to turn adversity into a growth experience, and leverage it into new ways of working and living  

The training results in sustained improvement in delegate’s resilience over time – proven by research!  

Why choose the "Building Resilience: strength for life" workshop?

Based on research: rooted in recent research with South Africans in the work place

Proven effectiveness: research has shown that delegates on the workshop report enhanced resilience delegates which is sustained over time

Accredited: SAQA accredited with Services SETA

Cost effective: can be presented in large groups and also in-company facilitators can be trained to present the workshop