Kieran Flanagan @ThinkKieranF
Resilience has become the word of the moment.
How many times have you heard this conversation?
We’re facing a lot of change. We really need our people to be more resilient.
Resilience is so hot right now. (Best read with a Beyoncé flourish and finger snaps)
Yet I wonder if it is enough.
Is it sustainable?
Undoubtedly resilience is handy when you are going through a period of challenge.
Essentially, it means, “Suck it up, hold on and get through the tough time however you can.” Although "be more resilient" is probably a little easier to hear from a leader.
The problem is getting through is not really an option when you consider the amount of change we are about to be hit with. Some experts say we are about to experience more change in the next 10 years than we experienced in the hundred preceding them. i.e. a lot. When it comes to that much change your team can only 'suck it up' for so long until they will, eventually, break!
That is why resilience is not enough.
We need something more. So what are these skills that will future proof our workforce?
Agility and Creativity.
Agility is the ability to change, to bend and alter our points of view and approach. It's about re-thinking, un-thinking and out-thinking.
Creativity is ability to develop new thinking and ideas. Ultimately, it's a capacity to drive change rather than being driven by it.