The Ability To Recover Is a Measure Of Resilient Leadership Gianluca Bernardi and Dr. Mel Thomas Ortega believe that failure is more helpful than harmful and can often be an opportunity in disguise
By John Stanly
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Failure is one of life's most valuable learning tools. We are human; we will fail at some point in time or another. Gianluca Bernardi and Dr. Mel Thomas Ortega believe that failure is more helpful than harmful and can often be an opportunity in disguise. Not to mention how people handle failure is a testament to their resilience.
It is important to begin by clearly understanding the definition of resilience. Simply put, it is the capacity to meet then recover from adversity, setbacks and trauma. While resilience is an admirable quality, it is an essential characteristic of good leaders. Per Gianluca Bernardi and Dr. Mel Thomas Ortega, resilient leaders view failures merely as temporary setbacks. They are chances to regroup, analyze, and rule out what does not work. "The biggest takeaway is to learn from the mistake and keep moving forward," says Bernardi.
This ability to recover is a gauge of a leader's strength. It requires skills such as self-awareness, attention, stability, focus, sustaining positive emotions and letting go of negative elements on a mental and physical level. This creates an environment that will allow leaders and their teams to move forward and achieve that organization's shared vision. It is all based on having a positive outlook as people look to leaders for mental and emotional strength.
"Leaders bear the responsibility of protecting their staff's energy. This means high performance under pressure without harmful or dysfunctional behavior," shares Dr. Ortega. This has helped Gianluca Bernardi and Dr. Mel Thomas Ortega cultivate resilience and increase their teams' energy and performance levels. This goes back to the principle of sustainability, as leaders must demonstrate resilience if they expect their staff to share this characteristic.
Per Gianluca Bernardi and Dr. Mel Thomas Ortega, a person must be able to lead oneself before one can lead others successfully. This simple concept is beautifully captured in William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus, which ends with "I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul." These are words for resilient leaders to live by.
