April 2012
Radical Resilience: Leadership Skills for a Complex World
Consultant, trainer, and author Eileen McDargh, our April dinner meeting speaker was passionate and inspired us to meet our professional and personal goals for a more fulfilling life.
Here’s what she said about radical resilience:
Radical resilience is about growing through challenge OR opportunity. It does not mean “bouncing back”. There are four skills that resilient leaders work to develop: adaptability, agility, laugh-ability and alignment.
- The world is constantly changing and we need to change with it in order to remain resilient.
- In order to increase our adaptability, we need to seek what others know that we do not. Listening is critical, particularly those who are different from us in age, background, and education. There’s much we can learn from a younger generation.
- We need to reframe our thought patterns and become optimistic opportunists through positive expectancy. The watchwords for breaking a negative thought cycle are “no more red ants”.
- Requisite variety – we need to have many different moves in our back pocket when faced with obstacles. Those who have the most moves will always win.
- We can create our own resilient living based on how adaptable we become.
The following are actionable questions toward a resilient spirit:
- What are you personally doing in your business that makes you resilient?
- What do you need to do differently?
- What are you resisting?
- What steps or ideas do you have to further your personal resilience?
- What steps or ideas do you have to further your business’s sustainable future?
Eileen McDargh has been recognized as one of the world’s top leadership professionals. Her company, The Resilient Spirit, provides teams and workplaces organizational leadership training and consulting. In addition, she speaks and writes about Resiliency. One of her books is: “The Resilient Spirit: Heart Talk for Surviving in An Upside Down World”. Eileen can be reached through email at Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com.
Presentation recap written by Linda Schotborgh with 3D Pearl Photography, and Holly Files with IOI Pay, Payroll and Employer Services.