Leadership is a critical aspect of any organization and its success. Two essential forms of leadership are Resilient and Strategic Leadership. While both have different approaches, they are interconnected, and organizations can benefit from having leaders who embody both qualities. In this article, we'll discuss what Resilient and Strategic Leadership are, how they connect, and how organizations can foster both in their leaders.

What is Resilient Leadership?

Resilient Leadership is a leadership style that emphasizes the ability of a leader to adapt and overcome obstacles and challenges. Resilient leaders can bounce back from adversity and maintain their focus on their goals, even in the face of difficulties. They possess a positive outlook and maintain a sense of hope, which helps them to motivate and inspire others in the organization, especially during hard times.

What is Strategic Leadership?

Strategic Leadership is complicated, but it is a leadership style that focuses on planning, directing, and implementing long-term goals and strategies. Strategic leaders deeply understand the organization and its stakeholders and use this knowledge to make informed decisions. They are visionary, creative, and innovative and can align the organization's resources toward achieving its goals.

How Resilient and Strategic Leadership Connect

Resilient and Strategic Leadership complement each other, and organizations can benefit from leaders who embody both qualities. Resilient leaders can weather the storms of change and maintain a focus on their goals, while Strategic Leaders can create a vision and plan to achieve those goals. These two leadership styles make a powerful combination that can help organizations navigate challenges and achieve success.

Integrating Resilient and Strategic Leadership

Getting started is the hard part. The organization must set the stage for the shift toward resiliency and strategy. However, it can be done if the organization is committed to this shift.

To integrate resilient and strategic leadership into organizational culture, organizations can follow these steps: Firstly, they must align their leader's goals with the organizational vision to ensure everyone is working towards the same objective. Secondly, organizations can foster a learning culture where information and education are valued as a means to overcome individual and organizational gaps. Thirdly, organizations can encourage teamwork by creating opportunities for proximity outside of work and by providing time for collaboration while at work. Fourthly, organizations can encourage open communication by creating a culture of transparency and honesty, which helps to build trust and encourage leaders to share their thoughts, ideas, and challenges with their teams and stakeholders. Lastly, organizations can recognize and reward success by acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of their leaders and their team (even the small ones), which helps to build a positive work environment and foster a culture of resilience and achievement.

Fostering Resilient and Strategic Leadership

Once the approach has been established, it must be fostered. As I tell my students, "It's just what we do now." Your organization will need a similar thought about the shift.

To foster resilient and strategic leadership, organizations can take several steps to support their leaders. Firstly, they can encourage open communication between leaders, their teams, stakeholders, and customers to build trust and establish a transparent work culture. Secondly, organizations can invest in training and development programs that focus on strategic and resilient leadership to help leaders enhance their leadership, communication, and strategy skills. Thirdly, organizations can create a work environment that promotes accuracy, resilience, and strategy, which helps to build a strong team culture that supports leaders during challenges. Fourthly, organizations can emphasize the importance of accurate feedback by encouraging leaders to seek it from their teams and stakeholders (without punishment) to identify areas for improvement and make informed data-driven decisions. Finally, organizations must continually promote proximity and collaboration between leaders and their teams to foster teamwork and creativity, which helps to build a strong team culture that supports leaders in their efforts to achieve the organization's vision.

Resilient and Strategic Leadership are both critical qualities for leaders and organizations. Organizations can create a work environment that encourages growth and success by fostering a culture that supports both qualities. Organizations can also integrate Resilient and Strategic Leadership by aligning their goals, fostering teamwork, and encouraging open communication. By doing so, they can ensure that their leaders and team can navigate challenges and achieve success, now and in the future.