Resilience is becoming the buzzword of today’s aberrant, VUCA world. Suddenly, we are recognizing just how badly we need it. And we are seeing its results – those with it are pulling ahead, or at least keeping their head above water, while the rest of us are left floundering in the waves or going under when the tide comes in. Becoming more resilient has become a top priority. Resilience is now mandatory.
Resilience is the ability that an individual or an organization has to adapt well to adversity, stress, threats, and trauma. Like building physical strength, it is a growable trait with time and intentionality. Resilient people are acutely aware of themselves, their situations, their emotional reactions, and the behaviors of those around them. This understanding gives them control over the behaviours and reactions of themselves and others inside the circumstances. Because it is all about that understanding of self, emotions, and a deep understanding of others, resilience is rooted in compassion and connection.
In 2018, a study was released by the University of Basque Country in Spain that proved a positive and very significant relationship between emotional intelligence and resilience. They found that resilience, simply put, is established in emotional intelligence. A different study, published by the Swinburne University of Technology in 2011, discovered that not only is there a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and resilience but that the dimensions of emotional intelligence are central to resilience.
Emotional intelligence – or EQ – is the delivery system for your IQ. It is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others, enabling you to harness the power of emotions and apply them to tasks and to the achievement of goals. High emotional intelligence empowers you and helps you to influence others to achieve superior levels of business impact. EQ is one of the most sought-after competencies in today’s business environment, and for good reason! Actually, emotional intelligence is considered the single greatest predictor of success. Someone who leads with emotional intelligence accelerates performance, attracts top talent, fosters innovation, expands engagement, inspires loyalty, and, as a result, stimulates impressive resilience. In today’s environment, emotional intelligence, like resilience, is no longer optional.
Thankfully, emotional intelligence is a learnable trait! This means that there are resources available to help you to increase your emotional intelligence.
Increasing emotional intelligence is a critical element of developing the resilience necessary to face and overcome the crises and challenges we are facing today and will be facing in the future. Individuals and organizations that are defined by resilience are characterized by self-awareness, stress management, social competence, and empathy. Those who find themselves in environments of emotional intelligence, known as zones of psychological safety, feel safe to seek support from others, self-advocate, share ideas, contribute, and to problem-solve. This creates settings of high productivity, inclusion, general happiness, strong and trustworthy relationships, loyalty, empowerment, and engagement. With emotional intelligence, you become resilient and will survive and thrive during and after the crises and challenges of both today and tomorrow. Without resilience, you can still have your sliced bread; but with it, you can have your cake and eat it too.
To increase your resilience, or for educational and professionally-vetted resources and emotional intelligence solutions, click here. For more information contact [email protected].
Michael Gillespie is the Founder of BlueEQ, a global consulting, training, and assessment organization focused on Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Safety.
Kaitlyn Dyshkant is a leading BlueEQ researcher, writer, and content developer.