Resiliency
FountainBlue's August 30 When She Speaks in East Bay event was on the topic of 'Resiliency as a Secret Weapon'.
We were fortunate to have such a diverse and powerful panel of leaders who shared both inspiring stories and practical tips on how to find strength, courage and perspective as we each navigate our own path.
Our panelists represented a wide range of educational, professional and personal backgrounds, but they had much in common:
Parents and other advocates who instilled in them early in life a drive to become excellent, a passion for learning and growing, and a resiliency which helped them overcome obstacles
A network of supporters, mentors, champions, and friends who can help them stay centered even through the toughest challenges
A desire to be kind and supportive and give back to others all that they have gained personally and professionally
Below is a summary of thoughts and suggestions on how to be more resilient and centered personally and professionally.
Know Yourself
Know yourself well - your values, your strengths, your purpose. Then have the moral courage to stand for your principles, the resiliency to be persistent in accomplishing challenging tasks, the strength to make the people, company, project choices which would set you up for success.
Take care of yourself - physically, mentally, spiritually. Surround yourself with people who know you well who can help you make sure you take care of yourself.
Know what and who are important to you and act accordingly.
Create boundaries in your work life so that you can be there for the important people in your personal life.
Embrace Change
Be flexible and open to change.
Reach for what you want, but also accept what you get. It may be even better than what you wanted.
Ask for what you want and fearlessly reach for those stretch opportunities.
Go where you've never been and learn with every iteration.
Think outside the box.
Live and learn with every choice made. Learn to live on your own terms.
Build that Network
Ask for the support and feedback that you need to succeed.
Have others do the little things for you, even if they don't necessarily do it the way you want it to be done. (It's easier on both of you if you adjust your standards accordingly.)
Recruit the mentors, sponsors, partners and other stakeholders to help you get centered and remain centered especially during tough times.
Be a Magnet for Positive Energy
Have a positive and constructive mindset. Don't expect to be perfect, but do expect to learn from every experience, good or bad.
Have a thick skin. Being overly-emotional makes people less likely to absorb the lessons learned through failure.
Have faith that you can make something happen, that you can help make tomorrow better than today.
Manage your self-talk and embrace a positive growth-oriented mindset.
Manage Yourself
Work hard. Keep learning. Be resourceful. Add value. Keep reaching for stars!
Choose to work with the company and people who can help you feel focused, productive and fulfilled.
Be consistently bold and decisive.
Be consistently open and coachable.
Be consistently strong and resilient.
Block off dedicated time for yourself.
Compartmentalize to help manage stress and remain positive and productive even through difficult times.
Don't judge yourself or others too harshly. You don't know the full circumstances of what others are going through, and it's unproductive to judge yourself too harshly.
Lead a Team Through Adversity
Connect leaders to a common purpose and focus on taking productive, measurable outcomes which would gradually again build traction.
If you have to do it to prove yourself and you know that you are right, be willing to outwit, outplay and outlast others.
Helping Others Be More Resilient
Encourage and support others in being self-reliant and solving problems
Have empathy for the circumstances of others
Be a role model for others
Help others see failure as a badge of courage, as a predictor for success
I'll conclude with the comment that this resilient panel left a mark on all of us, inspiring us all to have a Vision larger than we dared to dream, to push through obstacles and have Faith that we too can do our part and Change the world.
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Please join me in thanking EFI, our hosts for FountainBlue's August 30 When She Speaks in East Bay event on the topic of 'Resiliency as a Secret Weapon', and our panelists:
Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Gayathri Badrinath, Head of Global Marketing Services, Siemens Healthineers
Panelist Sharawn Connors, Vice President, Global Total Rewards and Diversity, Flex
Panelist Sherry Guo, Head of Global Analytical Science and Technology, Analytical Chemistry & Bioassay, Genentech
Panelist Jaya Nair, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel, ASML
Panelist Meena Narayanan , Global HR Leader, Livongo
Panelist Jill Norris, CIO, EFI
Panelist Vicki Sam, Chief of Staff, EFI