RESILIENCE ANALOGIES - SERIOUSLY BROKEN

A week or so ago I shared an article and a series of video blogs called “Resilience Is Not Like A Rubber Band.” I made a call for the analogy to stop because rubber bands snap and dry out if not looked after.

Both the article and videos received great feedback. Therefore, this week I thought I would continue the theme and look at other resilient analogies and why they should be scrapped or thought about more carefully.

1.     BAMBOO

The analogy goes something like this.

Bamboo is flexible and can bend with the wind whilst never breaking, capable of adapting to any circumstance.

Whilst that might seem like a good analogy, the backstory is that bamboo can take about three years to grow and establish before it will begin to shoot up.

It can also require a lot of care. Young bamboo requires a lot of water and you must always make sure bamboo does not dry out. Bamboo does well with a good mulch layer to retain moisture, provide feed and prevent weeds.

You should not just expect your employees to bend like bamboo in the wind and flex when trauma hits. They need time to establish and build their resilience.

You have to develop and grow your employees to be resilient in the face of constant and volatile change

You have to nurture them and continually provide the support, resources and services they need to maintain their mental wellbeing. 

2.     DIAMONDS

The analogy goes something like this.

The life of a diamond begins with a sudden disruption, and for billions of years thereafter they go through conditions of intense heat and tremendous pressure.

Like diamonds have a natural resilience, so can our employees. Stress and change bring out their true strength, value and worth.

Ahem!

It took the diamond over 3 billion years to form beneath the earth’s surface.

You cannot compare the journey of a diamond creation with that of a resilient workforce.

The workforce has not had 3 billion years to become resilient. In comparison, they have only had a moment.

Illustrating that point is the fact that the acronym VUCA only really entered the business world in early 2000s. VUCA - used to describe the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world of change that we live in – has only been around for a couple of decades.

Whilst the diamond has a natural resilience, your employees need support and resources to continually handle the stress and anxiety that change can bring.

Do not put them under the sort of pressure that the diamond underwent in order to form. They will not survive – they will crack.

3.     BLOW-UP BALL

The analogy goes something like this.

Resilience is like a blow-up ball – you can put pressure on it by squeezing it, but when you let go it quickly goes back to its original shape. It is able to bounce back.

If your employees just keep bouncing back – I can assure you that they will just stop bouncing at all.

You need to build resilience in employees that allows them to bounce forward. This means they accept setbacks not a failure, but as a learning opportunity from which they can grow 

It is the way in which resilient people respond to events that differentiates them from people who are not so resilient. They respond to it in a positive frame rather than react to it in a negative one 

Unlike the blow-up ball that is put under pressure and then the pressure is released, your employees are under constant pressure in the face of constant, uncertain and unprecedented change. When do you give them time to return to their original shape 

If you keep putting pressure on your employees and squeezing as much out of them as you can they won’t keep returning to their original shape. Just like the blow-up ball – they will burst.

A burst blow-up ball, like a broken employee, is of no use to anyone.

Your employees need support, help, education, and resources to cope with the demands, stress and anxiety of constant change.

4.     PLANTS BREAKTHROUGH CONCRETE

The analogy goes something like this.

Just as plants can sprout through concrete sidewalks and driveways, resilient employees can keep pushing until they break through.

We have all seen the images of the plant breaking through the concrete used as an analogy for resilience. I have been guilty of using it myself.

The reality is that the plant did not sprout through a dense and impenetrable surface.

The concrete contains microscopic cracks. The sensitive tips of a plant’s roots have the power to seek the path of least resistance for growth. The microscopic crack is this path.

Do not just expect your employees to break through the barrage of change that can feel unyielding, impregnable and unbeatable. They won’t.

All your employees require support, help, resources and education to find their path of least resistance and embrace constant and uncertain change as their norm.

Your leaders need to be able to identify low resilience and take immediate and effective action to help employees avoid the stress, anxiety, and fatigue that can lead to burnout.

5.     MUSCLE

The analogy goes something like this.

Building resilience is like building a muscle. Just as repetitive exercise makes muscles stronger; facing adversity repeatedly builds resilience. 

Muscle building does not just happen by repeating some random exercis

What sort of exercise builds muscle?

Which muscles do I need to build?

What is the routine?

What is the regime?

When and how often do I exercise?

Should I eat particular foods?

Building resilience needs education, guidance, resources and support. It does not happen on its own and it does not just happen by repeatedly experiencing setback. We are talking about our employees here and not elite Navy SEALs.

Whilst Navy SEALS training is designed to stress the SEALs beyond their limits to make sure they prepared for military service, the training teaches them to turn a negative experience into a productive one – that is to counter adversity with resilience.

They are taught to thrive on the adversity – not succumb to it.

Your workforce also needs relevant training, direction and practice to be resilient in the face of volatile and unprecedented change.

Summary

Stop belittling the need to make a concerted effort to build employee resilience at every level of the organization by using throw-away analogies.

A resilient workforce is your competitive advantage so invest in it. This is serious.