There are many values and virtues that we are all taught from school to our jobs when it comes to surviving and living our lives. All of these are valuable, but nothing probably is more important than resiliency. Resiliency is important in leadership as it is a quality that is especially useful when we’re in a position where people are looking at us and even emulating us. When a leader embodies resiliency, it can motivate and inspire his/her followers as well as peers to push on forward towards any goal despite setbacks.

Today’s webinar speaker, Ed Sherman, has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and has 40 years of experience in the public safety field where he had various roles including that of a law enforcer, firefighter, and paramedic. In his extensive career, he’s been assigned in patrol, traffic, investigation, critical event response, and training, among others.

Dr. Sherman will talk about resilient leadership and how it can impact ourselves, our followers, peers and even the entire organization we’re a part of. He will also detail on characteristics of resilient leaders and ways to deal with adversity. Some of the points he expounded on this course are:

• Resilient leadership and the set of leadership behaviors and approach that aids others to withstand challenges and motivates them to succeed.
• How we define our ideals of good leadership traits and how it is not enough to know of and have good leadership but to actually show it.
• The concept of authentic leadership where people follow and respect authority because they choose and want to and not simply coerced to.
• The two important characteristics of authentic leadership as observed in critical situations:
  • Strength that looks into our purpose, motivation and decisive direction.
  • Honor that considers confidence, optimism, character, and personal ethics.
• The four elements needed from a resilient leader being Optimism, Decisive Action, Integrity, and Open Communication.
• Optimism as the first characteristic where an individual believes tasks can be accomplished. It also deals with:
  • Practicing perseverance to achieve the goal amidst challenges.
  • A mindset that sees problems are temporary exceptions to the rule.
  • A grasp of the locus of control through awareness of what is within our control, and those that are not.
  • The concept of self-efficacy and how to employ organizational self-efficacy.
• Decisive Leadership where bold action and accountability is observed. It covers:
  • The ability to make decisions when needed
  • Communicating effectively when a decision or acting must be delayed.
  • Avoidance of analysis paralysis and gathering information as reasonably possible without crippling operations.
• Moral compass and ethical behavior as a pillar of resilient leadership where our honesty, integrity, and fidelity are scrutinized. It talks about:
  • Ethical behavior that ensures that our actions are for the greater good.
  • Treating people well to create a sense of safety allowing people to trust their leaders.
• Open communication as an important element of resilient leadership where:
  • We actually listen, understand and even empathize with what others are saying or feeling.
  • Active listening and paraphrasing are two easy techniques to practice open communication.
• Practicing self-care which is especially critical for public safety professions.
• Webinar participants raised their inquiries to Dr. Sherman during the Q&A involving:
  • Initiating change in an organization where negative culture is deeply embedded.
  • Embracing innovations and mistakes as part of life and learning.
  • Methodologies to identify between the fight, flight or freeze reactions.

Resources Mentioned During Webinar:

• The Secrets of Resilient Leadership: When Failure Is Not an Option – Six Essential Characteristics for Leading in Adversity (Book)
• New research: 7 ways to become a more resilient leader (Article)
• Surprises are the new normal; resilience is the new skill (Article)
• Why resilience is necessary as a leader (Article)
• Why is resilience so hard?  (Article)
• Blum, L. N. (2000). Force under pressure: How cops live and why they die. New York: Lantern Books.
• Duran, P. L. (1999). Developing the survival attitude: A guide for the new officer. Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications.
• Grossman, D., & Christensen, L. W. (2007). On combat: The psychology and physiology of deadly conflict in war and peace. Millstadt, IL: PPCT Research Publications.
• Sharps, M. J. (2016). Processing under pressure: Stress, memory and decision-making in law enforcement. Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications.