The reasons we give up can be categorized and studied. We can even determine how to avoid giving up, look back at the potential mistakes and try to take lessons from those mistakes. So why don’t we? 

Managers and leaders determine the overall success and sustainability of a business. Poor leadership and less-than-average management will create high turnover, profit loss, and an overall lack of trust from customers. This is nothing new. We know this also. 

So it makes the most sense, from a pure success viewpoint – to build a culture and leadership principles into your business that maintain such a high level of resilience – that you cannot fail. But if you happen to, you use that to innovate and pivot into something even better. 

Successful leaders don’t quit. They prepare. They proactively think, talk about and plan for change. They use those conversations to teach their people how to adapt – not only to the change but also to the potential for change at any moment. Because this is the world we live in. 

Sustainable businesses don’t quit. They debrief. Once change has occurred, the moment is ripe to look at every crevice of the experience, the good, bad and ugly, and reflect on what you’ve learned. This sets the tone for transparent communication, creates safety in growth instead of fear of future failure, and ultimately builds resilience. 

These processes, when consistently employed throughout the culture of a business, are what creates long-term success. It’s not a secret but we have to put in the work. Big business around the world dedicates percentages of their annual budget to leadership development, training and so on. They all understand the importance of this as a foundational element for growth but often don’t know what to put in place or how to really tackle the issues at hand to be better. 

Retired Marine Janet Polach. Janet wrote The Seven Mistakes New Managers Make and she shared with me how she uses these simple tactics to help leaders find clarity in their leadership and with their managers and teams.

Put It In Action

One simple pivot Janet recommends often is to ask questions as part of your resilience rituals (you know I LOVE this part!). By simply asking, “In order to do _________, you have to do what?”, you’re creating space for actual pivots to take place. You’re teaching your people how to adopt a resilience mindset. This kind of critical thinking and planning for contingencies creates a truly Change Proof culture. 

When I speak to organizations about resilience, I love to see their minds working around the idea that simple pivots, like the ones mentioned above, can create a new culture within their organization. If you’re ready for this same A-HA moment, take the resilience assessment to find out how your resilience measures up.