Organisational resilience is the ability for organisations to freely adapt, survive and prosper through changes and challenges. Organisational resilience isn’t about predicting the future – it’s about building up the capability to respond to it well, even when under a lot of pressure or time limitations.
In the modern world, we are constantly confronted with new developments, technologies, trends - and even global pandemics, that can seriously affect our way of working.
The key to building a resilient business is to be willing to embrace change, anticipate it and plan ahead. The goal is to create working practices that allow us to evolve, and deal with any challenges that may come with it. Regardless of the cause, we need to feel prepared and ready to tackle new challenges head-on.
Getting resilience right.
The first step is to start actively reviewing current business practices. To do this, ask yourself a few questions; Are your business functions up to date? Are you using the best technological solution available? Is there an easier way to complete tasks? Is there anything that could be developed or changed to fit the current climate? Are you using environmentally safe procedures? How can you stay current within your market?
You should review risk management procedures, financial plans and check that the company values are aligned with your processes.
Agility is the Key to Success.
In order to develop resilience, organisations need to learn to become more agile. Follow our guide on how to champion agile leadership:
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Reflect on future trends, and be bold enough to change plans in order to adapt.
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Get one step ahead of competitors by creating a range of different scenarios in which to respond, and decide amongst teams what the right response might be.
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Regularly review data and identify spikes or trends that might require a response or a change in the way you work.
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Encourage openness and honesty within teams around risk, even if it isn’t good news.
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Create a culture where staff feel confident and safe enough to make suggestions, propose new ideas or identify outdated business practices.
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Build reliable day-to-day processes and ensure performance standards are real, demonstrable and up to date.
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Use examples of unexpected events to learn how to adapt to change. Take the time to teach senior leaders about underlying root causes of issues, and how to address them in a positive manner.
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Build accountability for mistakes made in the face of major change, and reflect on how it has been dealt with, and what could have been done better.
True organisational resilience is likely to be achieved when everyone is on the same page and feel they are in the capable hands of a good leader. Can your teams trust your ability to navigate change, and be confident in the outcome?
With so much happening in the world, it is our ability to manage change in the right way that will set us apart from others. So, embrace change by being prepared and ready for the next step – whatever that might be.
Want to learn more about adapting to the future?
Why not brush up on your leadership skills with our Leadership Essentials on
Resilience or Future Readiness?
This blog has been edited from the original version by Monte Maritz that first appeared in EDGE journal.
