Unleash The Resiliator Within

We are in print and sales have already kicked off. I’m doing a happy dance.

My latest two books “Unleash the Resiliator Within. Resilience – A Handbook for Individuals” and “Unleash the Resiliator Within. Resilience – A Handbook for Leaders” are published.

In this article I answer some questions people have asked me.

Why did you write about resilience?

We have been in need of resilience well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit us.

Change is happening to organisations, and to the people within them, at a speed never encountered before. It is not going to slow down. We cannot predict it or control it.

Post COVID-19 it will continue to increase in speed, volatility, ambiguity, uncertainty and disruption.

We must all embrace the uncertainty, be truly agile, diverge and converge, and be ready to adapt and reposition at pace not experienced before.

The question that raises is, “How do we do that whilst dealing with the difficulties, demands and stress without burning out?”

We need to be The Resiliator. The Resiliator has a myriad of superpowers to use in the face of adversity, challenges and problems.

The Resiliators don’t just bounce back from setbacks – they bounce forward and make good of the situation.  They embrace change and are ready to adjust as necessary.

I am passionate about the mental well-being of employees everywhere and these books equip them with the superpowers they need to thrive.

Why are there two books?

Each one contains twenty superpowers. There are twenty for individuals – which is everyone. There are twenty for leaders - which is anyone tasked with leading others.

There are two sides to the resilience coin. Everyone can learn how to be resilient, but leaders also have to create the best environment in which that can occur.

Let me give an example.

One of the superpowers everyone can use (individuals) is The Revealer.

The Revealer is authentic. They present as their true and authentic self.

This means they are prepared to say, ‘I don't know’, ‘I don't agree’, ‘Why are we doing that?’ and so on.

If they do not understand, they are authentic and say so. They do not pretend to know something because they think that is what is expected of them. They do not pretend to know something because they think they will be frowned upon.

There is nothing more tiring and fatiguing than trying to hide behind a mask. Not being your authentic self is tiring, stressful and creates anxiety. It lowers resilience.

That is all well and good and a great superpower to have.

Superman has many superpowers including flight, heat vision, freeze breath and X-ray vision which make him resilient. They are only strong in the right environment and if he is to encounter the radiation of Kryptonite, they are weakened, and resilience is lowered.

In the same way, The Revealer can only use this superpower in a conducive environment. That environment is one of psychological safety

Psychological safety is being able to show and employ one's self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career. It can be defined as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking. In psychologically safe teams, team members feel accepted and respected.

Leaders have a key part to play in providing employees with psychological safety.

Therefore, in the leader’s handbook, leaders have access to a superpower called The Caretaker. The Caretaker makes sure there is psychological safety in the workplace.

How do I know which superpower(s) to use?

I am currently working on a more detailed taxonomy, that will classify each superpower and the situation it could be applied to. The challenge is that there are so many variables that will determine the best superpower(s) to be used.

These variables could include a person’s current psychological state, tenure with the organisation, age, role, location. The choice will definitely be influenced the organisation’s culture.

Choice of superpower(s) will also on the context and situation in which a person finds themselves, the challenge they are faced with, the adversity they need to overcome, the problem they need to solve, and the people they need to work with.

The choice of superpower(s) cannot be prescriptive.

It is also important to remember that the choice is not an ‘either/or’ choice. It is an ‘and’ choice. Superpowers can be complementary to each other.

You will choose the superpower(s) you believe will best meet your needs in any given situation and context. Just like any superhero, you will use the superpower(s) best suited to overcome the challenge currently in front of you.

Let’s look at an example. Our superhero needs to undertake a covert mission and pretend to be someone else. They choose the superpowers of shapeshifting and invisibility. The other superpowers available to them such as time travel and telekinesis, are great superpowers to have, but are not as suited to the challenge they face as the ones they have chosen.

A real-life scenario could be that you are feeling self-doubt and questioning whether you can achieve a task you have been given. In this scenario, you may choose the superpowers of The Believer and The Celebrant. The Believer is confident in their own abilities and is resilient as a result. The Celebrant celebrates both successes and setbacks and sees the latter as a learning opportunity. The chances are you are not going to choose The Solver to help increase your self-efficacy as it is not best suited to that task.

Your choice of superpowers is a personal one.

Categorisation

All that said, I am getting requests for assistance with superpower selection, at least whilst people are exploring and discovering.

This is the categorisation I have come up with so far and will be developed and refined overtime as it is tested in the field.

The superpowers in blue are from the superpowers for individual’s handbook. The superpowers in green are from the superpowers for leader’s handbook.

Thanks

Before I summarise this post, I have to give a big thanks to my publisher Sylvie Blair at BookPOD, my editor Jo Yardley at The Editing House and a massive shout out to Peter Phan at Flimp Studios for his work on all the illustrations and the book covers.

Summary

There are so many benefits to individuals and the organisations in which they work, to be resilient in the face of constant and uncertain change.

Whilst my categorisation may change through consultation, engagement and feedback, everyone can initially explore all of the superpowers and become familiar with them.

When faced with adversity, a challenge or opportunity, they will then be able to select the superpower best suited to assist with increased resilience.