Today’s post is episode number two in our new series on tools to build resiliency in your employees. In our last episode, I gave you the metaphor of helping your employees become more rubber balls and less raw eggs. Today I want to give you a simple, but very powerful action you can take to build resiliency in your people. It is to let them take action.
Let them take action
Give your employees opportunities to do something. Whether it is researching what the possible alternatives are for a current situation, or polling their co-workers for input, or putting together a schedule for work coverage, or quite frankly, just about anything else, just get them to take action. The very act of doing something helps people feel like they are in control. And when you feel like you have even a small degree of control, it builds resiliency. Be creative, it doesn’t even have to be something related to the current state of affairs, just the effort required to take action of any sort gives back a sense of control, and that is what it takes to build resiliency.
If you have an employee who is having difficulty bouncing back from repeated challenges, assign him a task that you know he’ll be successful at. The employee will need to take action, then feel like he has increased control, and will be one step further in building his resiliency.
This is a simple strategy, but don’t for a moment think that it is not effective. It is. Try it with one of your staff members and you’ll see for yourself that it is a compelling way to build resiliency in others.
I have lots more tips coming up in future episodes, but I’d love to hear more from you about how you are helping build resiliency in your people. Please share your strategies by adding a comment below.