How resilience training can help managers develop key competencies

In Equilibrium’s Resilience Training for Managers course has been designed to help Managers meet some of the key competencies which are crucial to successful performance. Many organisations, in all sectors, are now incorporating this training in their management development programmes to equip their Managers with valuable skills to deal with ongoing challenges in the workplace.

In the descriptions below, we have highlighted some key competencies which are likely to form part of an organisation’s competency framework and have correlated these with elements of our Resilience training.

Adaptability:

Learning to respond, rather than react. The reactive state is the opposite of resilience. Whenever we are in a reactive state, we are functioning far below our true capabilities. To improve our ability to respond instead of react, we need to develop greater self-awareness, by reflecting on our personal patterns and behaviours.

Locus of Control is a continuum which assesses the degree to which you perceive that outcomes result from either your own behaviours, which is an internal locus, or from external forces which you cannot control. By understanding what it is, we can learn to practise greater internal locus of control and this is an essential building block to resiliency.

Boundaries. Every time you say “yes”; when you want to say “no” you’re jeopardising your ability to bounce back because you’re compromising your boundaries and this will eventually lead to resentments. Good boundaries mean that you spend your time and energy wisely.

Leading Change/Influence:

The ‘CUSP’™ Framework can give managers direction when they want to increase team resilience. Research tells us that resilience, motivation, and job satisfaction are influenced by Control, Uncertainty, Support and Pressure in the workplace. Team members who feel included, supported and empowered, will be more likely to achieve their goals.

Realistic Optimism. When faced with adversity, being ‘realistically optimistic’ means identifying the negatives and determining actions to take to manage them. Being able to create a new vision and see a better future enables the realistic optimist to be confident and persist in taking positive action despite obstacles and setbacks. Acting as a role model, the optimist encourages team members to embrace change.

Decision Making/Problem Solving

Problem Solving. When you have greater levels of realistic optimism your ability to create innovative and effective solutions for the problems and challenges you face increases. You feel more confident in challenging existing processes to achieve results.

Self-Efficacy is a belief that you are capable of completing a task or managing a situation. You have confidence in your ability and demonstrate a ‘can do attitude.’ Self-efficacy can be seen as the building block upon which motivation and personal accomplishment are formed.

Effective Communication/Building Relationships/Collaboration

Empathy is the basis of all communication. If you have difficulty empathising with another person, you will have difficulty communicating with them. To increase our empathy is to gain trust and trust is the basis of all healthy relationships and certainly honest communication.

Emotional Awareness and Regulation. Emotional awareness, (the ability to notice and name what we are feeling), is essential if we are going to be able to effectively regulate our feelings and demonstrate composure. Having good emotional awareness and regulation also helps us build strong, trusting and rewarding relationships.

Impulse Control is the ability to step back and think about things before acting. Controlling our impulses helps us to finish what we set out to do and to plan for the future. The ability to not rush to make judgements or snap decisions is closely related to emotional regulation.

Reaching Out. Working in a mutually supportive environment can help everyone during challenging times. The ability to ‘reach out,’ deepen relationships and strengthen support networks is important when facing new opportunities. Collaborating with stakeholders is key to building strategies for the future.

Resilience Training

The content of our Resilience Training can be tailored to fit the key competencies which have been identified for Managers or Team Leaders in any organisation. In addition to introducing new attitudes and behaviours to develop resilience, this training enables participants to focus on improving existing skills and sharing best practice.

Managers learn the importance of leading by example and focus on how their management style can encourage resilience and confidence in their teams.

Here are some delegate quotes from our Resilience for Managers Training course:

“I have identified key areas to improve on, in order to succeed at helping others to be

more resilient.”

“I think more managers would benefit from such a course and help them to understand their staff and the difficulties they are facing.”

“Very good. I won’t be reactive, I’ll be responsive, I’ll create further space for my team members.”

“More confidence in leading team through changes.”

“Understanding the changes I need to make within myself so I can manage change in others.”