Building Resilient Organizations

For businesses and organizations that survive the impact of COVID-19, resilience is a required attribute. The definition of resilience is “the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” Right now, we are all in “difficult conditions” – I know my organization is, and I’m sure yours is too. Whether we come out of this intact or not will depend on our level of resiliency.

In action, resilience means going on in spite of – it is about being able to persevere in the face of adversity. This requires acceptance of our “new normal,” as well as a willingness and ability to adapt to it.

One of the common themes I have found in resilient organization is that they don’t initially think of themselves as resilient. They are too busy actually working and being innovative despite whatever circumstance they find themselves in.

Going on in spite of is key for any business’s survival. Organizations who are “waiting the pandemic out” will have a more difficult time than organizations who are innovating and adapting to the new reality. In short, we have to keep moving forward – we can’t give up or wait for things to get better. Many businesses simply won’t survive if they do nothing.

Going on in spite of is key for any business’s survival.

Practically speaking, what this means for my own organization – which is primarily a training organization – is we’ve moved everything online. We are not waiting to go back to the in-person training experience. Instead, we have put our energy into providing great training experiences virtually.

As a leader in my organization, this also means connecting with staff to make sure they are not just “waiting this out,” but that they are working on meaningful and helpful projects. These projects will both help us in the future and right now.

My encouragement to all organizations is to be intentional about what you are doing now, despite our current circumstances. Through this, you will be practicing, modeling, and building resiliency.


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Randy Grieser, Author & Speaker

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