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Resilience Toolkit

How to Be Ready for Anything

Resilience Toolkit of 65

Resilience Toolkit

This e-book is published by:

Mind Tools Ltd, 3rd Floor, The News Building, London

Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SE, United Kingdom.

Copyright © Mind Tools Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

“Mind Tools” is a registered trademark (US 4,566,696,

EU 012473377) of Mind Tools Ltd.

Version 1.0.

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corporate license.

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Contents

Welcome 4

Executive Summary 5

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 Preparing Yourself 8

1.1 Set Your Goals 10

1.2 Manage Stress 13

1.3 Develop Self-Confidence by Recognizing Your Achievements 18

1.4 Positive Thinking 20

1.5 Build a Support Network at Home and at Work 23

1.6 Take Good Care of Yourself 25

1.7 Drawing This Together 27

Chapter 2 Preparing Your Plan 29

2.1 Analyzing Risks 30

2.2 Risk Management and Contingency Planning 33

2.3 Communicating in a Crisis 35


Chapter 3 Coping When Crisis Strikes 37

3.1 The Inverted-U Model 38

3.2 Identify and Manage Your Feelings 39

3.3 Review Your Resources 45

3.4 Take Control With TDODAR 46

3.5 Support the People Around You 49


Chapter 4 After the Crisis: Recovering, Reviewing and Learning 52

4.1 Managing Your Recovery 53

4.2 Learning From After Action Reviews 55


Chapter 5 Your Resilience Action Plan 58

Chapter 6 What’s Next? 65

Resilience Toolkit of 65Resilience Toolkit Page 4 of 65

We all get buffeted by life’s ups and downs, but we

can choose not to let them get the better of us. We

can learn to expect the unexpected, and to prepare

ourselves for the worst.

In days like these, resilience is what makes the

difference between keeping your cool and losing it.

This toolkit will help you to cope in tough times. You’ll

discover how to take control, keep happy and well,

and bounce back stronger.

And when you boost your resilience, you set yourself

up to thrive, no matter what life throws at you.

Enjoy using this Resilience Toolkit!

Now’s the time to strengthen your coping skills, so you’re ready for anything!

Resilience Toolkit

James Manktelow

CEO, MindTools.com


Here’s a summary of the key learning points covered in this toolkit:

Having resilience is about acknowledging that you

live in a volatile world, and being ready for tough

times. It’s about being resourceful and embracing

challenges when they arise, and seizing the

opportunity to rebuild, so that you can snap back

stronger than before.

By preparing diligently, you can lay a solid

foundation for when things don’t go to plan.

After all, you’ll struggle to deal with the unexpected

if you’re already stretched to the max, because

you’ve no reserves to call on.

When you prepare on a personal level, you can

ensure that you’re ready to cope with crises when

they arise. It’s crucial to have a clear idea of what

you need to achieve in your job, and to be self-

confident and positive. The way that you feel

about a setback will determine how you handle it,

and positive thinking will help to steer you through

the storm.

Having a good support system will help you

through tough times, too. You don’t have to push

yourself to the limit when you have people who you

can rely on. Their support allows you to conserve

your personal resources, so that you can stay calm

and focused and make good decisions.

Planning is part of being prepared. You’ll less

likely be caught out by setbacks when you actively

identify and plan for them, and you can respond to

them quickly and minimize their impact. Of course,

you can’t predict every eventuality, but having

some contingency plans ready means that you’re

not starting from scratch.

Crises can blow up suddenly and unexpectedly,

and knock you off course. It’s important not to

panic and to keep a clear head when a crisis

does happen. This isn’t easy, but you’ll more

likely see it through when you respond with care

and composure.

Recovery in the aftermath of a crisis is key to

preparing for the next. You can be tempted to

continue on the adrenaline high, but you need

to acknowledge your feelings, to celebrate your

“survival,” and to calm down. Only then can you

regroup, learn from the situation, and nurture your

growing resilience.

Resilience Toolkit – An Executive Summary


Resilient people tend to have a problem-solving

or “can-do” attitude. They’re capable of rising to a

challenge – even when it’s unexpected. They don’t

dwell on failure but acknowledge the situation,

learn from their mistakes, and move forward.

However – a word of warning – resilience is not

about “doing it all yourself” when a crisis hits.

The likely outcome of this approach is stress,

poor decision making, and eventual burnout.

You can avoid these pitfalls with a little forethought

and preparation. This way, you can give yourself

the best chance of success in turbulent times.

The coping strategies that you’ll find in this toolkit

will help you to remain cool, calm and controlled

in a crisis, and time out afterward will allow you to

recover and learn from your experiences. You’ll

emerge stronger than you were before.

The first step is preparing yourself. You can cope

in difficult times, and function smoothly, if you are

stable and certain to begin with.

You’ll start by pinpointing your key workplace

goals. When you identify what you need to achieve

in your job, you can be clear about what you have

to concentrate on and what you can ignore.

Then we’ll think about how you manage stress

and tasks. This will help you to uncover reserves

of energy and time to deal with the unexpected

successfully, by adapting how you work.

From there, it’s time to pay attention to your

confidence, thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs.

Remembering that you don’t have to “go it alone,”

you’ll start building a support network at home and

at work. And you’ll put your self-care center stage,

so you have firm physical and mental foundations.

So, you want to be more resilient. You want to be the person who meets difficulties head on and deals with them. But how do you fulfill your current obligations, attend to an emerging crisis, and maintain your health?

Introduction


Next, you’ll look outward at preparing your plan.

Take time to consider what threats you face and

what their consequences could be. “Thinking the

unthinkable” in this way will help you to manage

risk and to protect yourself if things do unravel.

You’ll begin to prepare contingency and

communication plans, and identify opportunities

to practice emergency scenarios so that they no

longer paralyze you and your team.

Being resilient is “top heavy” in favor of

preparation: the more you’re prepared, the better

you’ll cope with adversity. The toolkit’s two

preparation sections will take several hours to

complete, so set aside blocks of time when you

won’t be distracted.

As you progress through the toolkit, you’ll think

about how you would cope when things don’t go

to plan. You’ll discover the relationship between

pressure and stress before learning techniques for

managing your emotions.

When you’re in the midst of a crisis, your adrenaline

is high and you dig deep into your personal

resources. When it’s over, you need a recovery

period. So, as you go through the toolkit, you’ll

explore how to manage the aftermath of a crisis,

and consider how to review the situation and

learn from it. This is the time for praise, rebuilding

relationships, and some new plans.

Finally, in this toolkit, you’ll bring all this together

by laying out your Resilience Action Plan.

What course of action will help you to deal with

difficulty more effectively? Read on to find out!


1. Preparing Yourself

Well, you can! Because developing resilience is

a bit like training to run a marathon: most of the

hard work is done in the months before the big

race. And, just like a marathon runner, you need

to ensure that you’re in “good shape” before you

approach the start line.

This means having the internal and external

resources, plus the reserves of energy and time,

to handle the unexpected. So, your preparation for

becoming more resilient involves looking inward

at yourself (for example, your self-confidence and

positivity) and outward into the workplace and

beyond (including your goals, your activities, and

your support network).

We’ll start with workplace goals. Having a clear

idea of where you’re heading means that you’re not

blown off course by every wind. This will give you a

clear focus and show you when saying “no” is the

most appropriate response – for you.

We’ll then look at your ability to manage stress

because, no matter how clear you are about your

goals, crises have a habit of throwing up obstacles

to achieving them. Simple tools like stress diaries

and activity logs allow you to improve your stress

management skills and to clear space for dealing

with the unexpected.

Next, we’ll look at how acknowledging your past

achievements can help you to develop self-

confidence. Confident people are generally more

positive and resilient, so working on your own

self-confidence is extremely important. And when

you’re confident, you’re in a good place to be able

to hone your positive thinking.

However confident and positive you are, though,

you can’t get through tough times alone – and nor

should you – so we’ll give you some advice about

creating and maintaining good support networks.

When we don’t have strong relationships, we may

not get support when we need it and our resilience

can falter.

Preparing for the unexpected may seem contradictory. Just how can you plan for something that you don’t know is going to happen?

3 4

Preparing Yourself

Preparing Your Plan

Coping When Crisis Strikes

After the Crisis: Recovering, Reviewing

and Learning

Your Resilience

Action Plan

1 52


We’ll close the chapter by helping you to take good

care of yourself. Your physical, emotional and

mental wellbeing is essential to building up your

resilience. This is because setbacks and crises

become more manageable when you feel strong,

fit and confident.

Enjoy this journey – you’ll have a better

understanding of how resilient you currently are

once you’ve completed it!

ACTION

How Resilient Are You?

You may have already tried the Mind Tools online

quiz, How Resilient Are You? If not, it’s a great

way to assess your resilience before you start

your journey through the toolkit, and it will take

you just 10 minutes to complete. The interactive

quiz calculates your score and gives you a

summary of your “resilience quotient.”

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/resilience-quiz.php


1.1 Set Your Goals

The most resilient people have a clear mission and

goals, and are committed to achieving them.

Your goals guide and direct you. They should help

you to make good decisions, provide yardsticks

for your progress, and encourage you to work

toward something defined and tangible. And your

goals are there to support the mission – the bigger,

overall purpose of your organization.

Unfortunately, workplace goals can be confusingly

vague or frustratingly irrelevant. They might involve

impossible deadlines or unhelpful measures,

draining your energy and enthusiasm.

But when your goals are SMART (Specific,

Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-

bound), you make them clear, attainable and

meaningful. This means that you can develop the

motivation, plans, and support that you need to

achieve them.

When you have a very clear idea of what your most

important goals are in your job, it becomes easier

to distinguish the urgent from the important when a

crisis hits. A greater ability to identify the tasks that

you must focus on, and those that you can safely

ignore, prepares you for potential setbacks and

makes you more resilient when they strike.

You can identify these important goals, and the

tasks you need to do to achieve them, by looking

at your job description and at the documentation

from your last performance review. You can also

read your organization’s mission statement and

understand its business strategy, and think about

your day-to-day work.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/smart-goals.php


SMART GOAL

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OBJECTIVE

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OBJECTIVE

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ACTION

Identify the objectives that matter most in your

job, confirm them with your boss, and express

them as SMART goals. Use the table below.


SMART GOAL

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OBJECTIVE

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OBJECTIVE

5.

OBJECTIVE

6.

You should now have a much clearer idea of where

your priorities lie during turbulent times. You’ll

know what to focus on, and what not to focus on.

You’ll also have the confidence to say a polite

“no” to tasks that won’t help you to achieve your

organization’s mission.

This will make you more resilient, because you’ll

be more able to perform the key tasks of your role

without getting blown off course.

ACTION

Copy the five most crucial things to achieve in

your work into the relevant spaces on page 27.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newCS_92.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newCS_92.php


1.2 Manage Stress

One key benefit of becoming clear about your

goals is that you reduce the potential for stress.

Now you know what your objectives are, you’ll

experience less stress about where to focus your

attention when times are troubled.

Nonetheless, the nature of a crisis means that

you’ll be drawing on your physical and mental

resources to get yourself and your team through it.

And there’s no doubt that managing during a crisis

involves increased stress.

If you tend to get stressed, you need to learn how

to handle it. To keep yourself balanced, remind

yourself that you are resilient – you have ample

resources to deal with any situation. Remember,

though, that you also have limitations, so do

prioritize, delegate or ask for help.

TIP

Mindfulness, meditation, visualization and

physical exercise are proven to be highly

beneficial stress management tools.

You’ll find more about how stress works, plus

lots more helpful advice in our article, Managing

Stress and its related resources.

IMPORTANT

Stress can cause severe health problems and, in

extreme cases, death. While these techniques

have been shown to have a positive effect on

reducing stress, they are for guidance only. You

should take the advice of suitably qualified health

professionals if you’re feeling unwell through

stress, or significantly or persistently unhappy.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/mindfulness.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTCS_79.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newHTE_81.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/exercise.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/managing-stress.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/managing-stress.php


1.2.1 Keeping a Stress Diary

So you know what stress is. Like most people,

you’ve experienced it often enough, right? But

have you ever tried to pinpoint the situations that

make you feel the most stressed?

This is when keeping a stress diary can be a good

idea. You record the stresses that you experience

as you experience them, so that you can analyze

the causes, identify your optimum level of pressure,

and see where you need to improve your stress

management skills.

This gives you the capacity to deal with a crisis

when it occurs without it completely melting you

down – the essence of resilience!

ACTION

To keep a stress diary, start with the table on the

next page and make regular entries under each

of the headings, for example every hour or every

evening after work. You can also make entries

after individual stressful events.

Reflect on incidents that have caused you a lot of

stress, why they happened, how well you handled

them, and how you feel. Write your thoughts in the

appropriate column of the table on the next page.

Start analyzing your diary when you have several

days’ worth of entries. First, identify your most

common stressors, and the most unpleasant ones,

and work through their causes to assess how

well you dealt with them. You may find patterns

or repeated problems that you need to fix, so try

brainstorming ways that you can change these

situations for the better.

It’s also worth looking to see if you can find a

“middle ground” where you felt under pressure

but managed to perform well. (You’ll find out more

about the relationship between pressure and

stress in chapter three.)

ACTION

After analyzing your diary, choose five areas

where you could improve your ability to manage

stress. Note them down, with your plans for

dealing with them, in the space on page 27.


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1.2.2 Keeping an Activity Log

A similar but equally effective way of boosting

your resilience is to keep an activity log – a written

record of how you use your time.

When you build up an accurate picture of what you

do at work, and how you spend your time, you can

target your efforts where they’re most needed.

You can identify low-value and non-core activities

and keep them to a minimum – or eliminate them

completely – so that you can create the time and

capacity to deal with problems without becoming

completely overwhelmed by them.

An activity log can also help you to do your most

critical tasks at the best time of day for you. For

instance, if you’re a night owl, schedule your most

important work for the evening to give you the

greatest chance of doing it well, and allocate time

in the morning for less critical tasks that don’t help

you to meet important objectives.

ACTION

It’s simple to keep an activity log. Make a start

with the one on the next page, noting the date

and time of each activity, a description of it, the

time you spend doing it, and its value.

Analyze your activity log every few days. This will

allow you to identify low-value activities that you

can eliminate or delegate, minimize the amount of

time you spend on personal tasks, and identify the

times of day when your energy levels are highest.

ACTION

Identify five activities that you could minimize

or eliminate, to free up time for when problems

strike. Note them down on page 27.


Date/Time Activity Description DurationValue

(High, Medium, Low, None)


1.3 Develop Self-Confidence by Recognizing Your Achievements

Self-confidence is a key factor in developing

resilience. Confident people are sure of their

strengths, and they believe in themselves. They

recognize and take pride in having achieved their

goals, and believe in their ability to repeat their

past successes. This frees them to take risks and to

cope with setbacks, knowing that they’re going to

succeed eventually.

Applauding your achievements will give you a

boost, too. We all have things in our lives that we’re

proud of – so celebrate them!

ACTION

When you identify successes, your confidence

will soar. Give yours a boost by celebrating what

you’ve already achieved. List your strengths and

achievements, and the things that you’re most

proud of, in the table on the next page.

Now put this list up on the wall, or somewhere else

that you’ll see it regularly, to remind yourself of

what you’ve achieved.

ACTION

Write down three things that you can do to bring

more of your strengths and achievements into

your work, in the space provided on page 27.

ACTION

Select the achievement that you take the most

pride in and describe it further in the space

provided on page 28. Explain why it matters so

much to you, and what positive impact it has had

on you and those around you.


My strengths:

My achievements to date:

Goals I’m proud to have achieved:


1.4 Positive Thinking

If your self-confidence is high, you have strong self-

belief, and you’re checking your view of the crisis,

you’re already well on your way to resilience.

It’s now time to examine your thinking. Sometimes

we can be unreasonably harsh or negative in the

way that we talk to ourselves, and this makes us

less resilient to the ups and downs of daily life. That

internal, self-critical “chatterbox” can sabotage us if

we don’t keep it under control.

For example, say you’ve just handed a report

in to your boss and you get a message to see

her urgently. You could jump to the conclusion

that she’s not happy and that you’re “in trouble.”

However, this may not be the case. Perhaps she’s

satisfied with the report, but has just discovered

some statistics that she’d like you to include.

Negative thoughts like these damage your

confidence, harm your performance, and paralyze

your mental skills. They are usually due to:

• Feelings of inadequacy: Did you have the

training, experience and resources that you

needed to do the task?

• Worries about performance: Did you have the

necessary information and resources? Had you

planned and prepared thoroughly?

• Problems with issues outside your control:

Did you think through and manage all likely risks

and contingencies appropriately?

• Worries about people’s reactions: Did you do

the best you could in the circumstances?

But a thought is just... a thought. It’s not a reality.

Thinking more positively can change your

perception, your feelings and, ultimately, your

behavior, so let’s banish negative thinking,

right now.

“”

For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

from ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare


1.4.1 Dealing with Negative Thinking

Turning your thinking around can seem easier said

than done, but follow the steps in this part of the

toolkit and you can make it happen. You’ll restore

your hope and faith in yourself, combat your mental

gremlins, and increase your resilience. You’ll then

work hard to prove that your optimism is justified.

You also need to consciously capture negative

thoughts, and challenge them. Such thoughts can

often flit in and out of our brains without us even

noticing, so counteracting them takes mindfulness

and effort.

ACTION

Step One: Think about a situation where you

had negative thoughts. In the table on the next

page, describe the situation and write down the

negative thoughts you had.

Step Two: Reconsider your negative thoughts.

Apply the questions in the bulleted list on

page 20 to the negative thoughts that you’ve

described. Is there any evidence for your

assumptions and fears? Do they stand up to fair

scrutiny? Write down your new, rational thoughts

in the next column.

Step Three: Use positive thoughts and

affirmations to undo the damage that negative

thinking may have done to your self-confidence.

Base your affirmations on the realistic

assessment of facts that you made using rational

thinking. Write down your positive thoughts

about the situation in the third column.

NOTE

Affirmations boost the way that we feel and

push our brains to rewire themselves, to think

more positively. Telling yourself, “I have plenty of

creativity for this project,” “I am excellent at what

I do,” or “My opinion is respected and valued by

my team” can really boost your resilience.

NOTE

Resilient people view failure not as something to

fear but as a positive learning experience.

Positive thinking can help you to overcome

fears of success, too, by analyzing those fears

rationally. For more advice, read our articles,

Fear of Success and Overcoming Fear of Failure.

ACTION

In the space provided on page 28, describe your

strategy for disarming your two most common

negative intrusive thoughts.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/fear-of-success.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/fear-of-failure.php


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1.5 Build a Support Network at Home and at Work

OK, you’ve got to grips with your self-confidence

and turned around your negative thinking. But as

the old saying goes, “no man is an island,” and,

without allies to support you, you risk slipping back

into destructive habits.

An important factor in sustaining your resilience

is having strong relationships with your manager,

your colleagues, your family, and your friends. The

stronger the bonds you have with them, the more

resilient you’ll be, and the more confidently you’ll

be able to depend on their support when the going

gets tough.

A positive, dependable network can provide

practical and emotional support when times are

hard. Supporters at home and at work can help you

to put problems into perspective and take some

of the burden from you. They can advise, assist,

inform, protect, and help to keep a smile on your

face. Simply put, allies are invaluable. But for all this

to happen, you first need to nurture your network.

Fostering high-quality connections involves

communicating clearly and engaging with people

by “being present.” This means putting your

own agenda aside while you give them your full

attention. It involves making eye contact when

they’re talking, asking questions, and reflecting

back what you’ve understood. It also means being

willing to compromise, for instance by rescheduling

a meeting so that your colleague can meet

her deadline.

Presenting yourself honestly and authentically –

warts and all! – also goes a long way to creating

good relationships. Sharing information about

yourself or simply using inclusive language helps

this process along. Saying “we” instead of “I” or

“you,” for example, helps you to gain people’s trust,

respect and support.

So, make an effort to start cultivating a supportive

network today: ditch your plans for this evening

and spend some quality time with your partner, ask

a team member out for lunch, or lend an ear to a

colleague in need.

ACTION

To think about how you could foster more

supportive relationships, consider the questions

below. Then brainstorm your answers in the

space on the next page.

Could your working relationships be more

mutually supportive? If so, what steps could you

take to achieve that?

Could your personal relationships be more

mutually supportive? Are there any aspects of

your work that negatively affect how you interact

with family and friends? If so, what could you do

to build a stronger personal support network?

Choose the top three actions you could take to

improve your home and workplace relationships,

and write them down in the space provided on

page 28.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/high-quality-connections.php


My Home and Work Relationships


1.6 Take Good Care of Yourself

Once you have a strong network of allies in place,

you can focus on strengthening yourself.

Your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing is one

of the pillars of your resilience. When you maintain

a healthy lifestyle, you’re in a far better position

to cope with life’s challenges. So a key step in

developing resilience is to look after yourself –

by getting enough sleep, eating well and taking

regular exercise.

It can be tempting to “burn the candle at both

ends” to manage your workload, but the effects of

a lack of sleep will inevitably creep up on you. On

average, people need to sleep for seven to eight

hours a night. If you regularly have less than this,

your ability to concentrate and your energy levels

decline. It’s a vicious cycle: when you work longer

hours to cope, your effectiveness diminishes and

you end up working longer hours to cope.

TIP

Getting a good night’s sleep involves:

• Avoiding drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol

before bedtime.

• Doing things to help you to relax before

bedtime, such as taking a warm bath or doing

some gentle yoga.

• Making sure that your bedroom is quiet, the

temperature is right for you, and that your

mattress and pillows are comfortable.

For more information and an online sleep test,

see our article, Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.

Eating well is important, too. Skipping lunch

because you’re too busy is just going to lead to

low energy levels and, because you’re hungry and

distracted, it will decrease your productivity. With

a little forward planning, you could be eating a

healthy, energy-boosting lunch that you prepared

the night before. This is much better for consistent

levels of focus and energy than simply grabbing a

sugary drink and calorific snack.

Similarly, regular exercise has tremendous

benefits: just 30 minutes every other day will raise

your IQ, relieve stress, make you more productive,

and boost your energy levels.

It’s simple! When you exercise, your brain releases

chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and

norepinephrine, which all relieve stress and help

you to be more resilient. And “exercise” doesn’t

mean that you have to start running marathons.

A 30-minute walk, cycle or swim is sufficient.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTCS_94.php


ACTION

To take stock of how good you are to yourself,

and to highlight areas where you could do better,

work through the questions below.

Do you currently get seven to eight hours of sleep each night?

Do you sleep sporadically, or have a consistent sleep pattern?

Do you manage to exercise for 20-30 minutes each day?

Do you often eat large meals close to bedtime?

Do you tend to grab quick snacks throughout the day? Could you find time to plan and make healthier meals?

Do you often drink alcoholic or caffeinated drinks in the evening? How easy would you find it to cut them out?

Picture your bedroom. Is it a calm, relaxing oasis or a cluttered, hot room that doubles up as an office?

When you’ve considered these questions, boil

down your answers to five significant changes that

you could make to take better care of yourself:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


1.7 Drawing This Together

Well done for reaching this point! You should now

have a better understanding of how resilient you

currently are, and how resilient you could be.

Use this section to prepare the first part of a

manageable action plan to achieve greater

resilience for yourself.

I will focus on these five goals at work:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

I will manage my stress in these five ways:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

I will minimize or eliminate these five activities, to

free my time for when problems arise:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

I’ll bring these three strengths and achievements

into my work:

1.

2.

3.

.


The achievement that I feel most proud of is:

My achievement mattered because:

I’ve been able to disarm negative thinking in these

two ways:

1.

2.

I will take these three actions to improve my

support network at home:

1.

2.

3.

I will take these three actions to improve my

support network at work:

1.

2.

3.

I will take better care of myself by making these five

significant changes:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


2. Preparing Your Plan

Although you have no crystal ball for predicting

setbacks, it is possible to identify those that are

most likely to strike and prepare to deal with them.

In this chapter, you’ll achieve this by using risk

analysis and a tool called the Risk Impact/

Probability Chart. This allows you to choose which

threats to focus your energies on.

You’ll reduce the likelihood of some risks

occurring and share others. But, for those that are

unavoidable, you’ll start drawing up contingency

plans. Identifying potential problems and planning

how you’ll cope with them is a surefire way of

staying resilient in the face of adversity.

But in some types of jobs, you can get engulfed by

events. We’ll look at how training and rehearsal

can help you when there’s simply no time to think.

Planning high quality communications is another

way of remaining in a strong position throughout

challenging times. When you do a good job of

communicating in a crisis, you reinforce people’s

belief in your abilities and they trust you more for

your honesty.

In short, the more you can plan ahead, and the

more you can prepare for the unexpected, the less

likely you are to be fazed when times do get tough.

And this makes you more resilient.

So you’ve laid the groundwork by clarifying your goals and starting to get yourself in good shape. As a result, unpleasant shocks will soon be far less likely to knock you off balance. Your next step is to take your preparation a stage further, by planning for the unexpected.

3 4

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Preparing Your Plan



and Learning

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Action Plan

1 52


2.1 Analyzing Risks

As a responsible manager, you must be sure that

you can depend on your critical “infrastructure” –

your resources, processes, procedures, and so on

– when unexpected threats arise.

Threats to the work you do can come from many

sources:

• Human – Illness, injury, death, or other loss of

important individuals.

• Operational – Disruption to operations and

supplies, loss of access to key assets, or

distribution failures.

• Procedural – System and control failures.

• Technical – Failures in key equipment or

computer systems.

• Structural – Situations where staff, technology

or products can be harmed.

• Reputational – Damage to market or personal

reputation.

• Political – Changes in government policy, tax,

public opinion, or international relations.

• Financial – Stock market fluctuations, interest

rate changes, business failure, or funding

problems.

• Natural – Earthquakes, extreme weather or

epidemics.

• Project – Schedule delays, budget overruns or

quality issues.

The best time to strengthen your infrastructure

against threats like these is before they strike.

You need to make the key aspects of your work

resilient enough to withstand threats, and robust

enough to bounce back quickly.

Your first step is to identify and assess the most

likely threats that you face.

TIP

The more catastrophic events – like earthquakes,

fires, floods, and terrorist attacks – can deal

sudden and crushing blows, and you’d certainly

be wise to plan for risks like these. But small-

scale, “everyday” threats – like suppliers going

bankrupt, laptops crashing, urgent product

recalls being needed, and team members falling

ill – are more common, and can cause great

confusion and disorder, so don’t overlook them

when assessing risk.

ACTION

Make a list of crises that you could face using the

form on the next page. (Print off as many copies

as you need.) Use the points on the left of this

box as a starting point but brainstorm potential

issues unique to you as well.

Next, assess the probability of each risk

occurring by giving it a rating from 0 to 10.

Then estimate the impact of each on your

organization on a scale of 0 to 10.

TIP

Make your list as comprehensive as possible,

and be sure to address your most important

responsibilities.


Possible CrisesProbability of

Occurring 0-10

Impact if Occurred

0-10


ACTION

Now, map out your ratings on the Risk Impact/

Probability Chart below. This chart allows you to

categorize potential risks by the probability of

them occurring and the impact they would have.

Then you can pick out the most threatening risks

and focus on managing them.

IMPORTANT

Some risks, such as those to people’s health and

lives, or catastrophic financial or technical failure,

don’t fit with this approach even if there is a low

probability of them occurring. Be sure to address

these risks appropriately.

Figure 1 – The Risk Impact/Probability Chart


2.2 Risk Management and Contingency Planning

Now that you’ve pinpointed the identity, impact and

likelihood of the risks that you face, you can focus

on managing the most important of them. This will

make the difference between acting effectively or

rashly, and determine how resilient you are.

There are three broad strategies for managing risk:

• Avoid the risk – This is when you decide to

cancel, stop, postpone, or divert any activity that

may be generating the risk. For example, you

may opt not to get involved in a new line of work

or a high-risk activity.

• Share the risk – This involves joining forces

with a third party to mitigate the level of risk that

you’re exposed to. Insurance arrangements

and working partnerships are examples of risk

sharing in action.

• Accept the risk – Accepting a risk may be your

only option when you’re not able to share or

prevent it, and in situations where potential

gains make it worth your while to accept the risk.

But accepting a risk doesn’t mean that you must

also accept its full impact. You can control the risk

by using:

• Business experiments – rolling out the high-risk

activity on a small scale rather than affecting

your whole team or organization. Our article

on Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) describes

something similar.

• Detective action – identifying the points in a

process where something could go wrong and

knowing how to deal with problems promptly.

• Preventative action – protecting yourself from

damage by, for example, buying equipment or

services that will stop it happening.

ACTION

Start to consider how you will respond to the

top three threats that you identified on page 32.

Which of the three strategies listed to the left of

this box will you apply to each, and what will you

do? Write your answers on page 62.

For those risks that you’ve opted to accept but

control, it’s important to plan in detail what you’d do

if they become a reality.

Devising contingency plans takes time and

commitment but, in the event of something

untoward happening, you’ll be so glad that you

made the investment.

Our articles, Planning for a Crisis, and Contingency

Planning have more helpful advice.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newPPM_89.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newLDR_70.php




2.2.1 Rehearsing Your Response

In some types of job, particularly those that deal

with critical emergencies, you have very little time

to think when mayhem strikes. Here, it pays to have

rehearsed a whole range of scenarios, so that you

are practiced at recognizing them and dealing with

them effectively in the heat of the moment.

The Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) Process is

a way to prepare yourself to make quick and sound

decisions in a dynamic, pressured situation.

RPD comprises:

1. Experiencing the situation you’re in. Here, you

use your observation skills to make an initial

assessment of what’s happening around you.

2. Analyzing the situation. This involves

comparing it to similar situations that you’ve

experienced before, to see if you can detect

clues about how it will develop.

3. Implementing your decision. Lastly, you take

action based on your analysis in step two.

In the fast-moving reality of an emergency, this

whole sequence can occur almost instantly and

subconciously if you’ve done enough practice.

So, by putting yourself in situations that resemble

the characteristics and pressure of the emergency

as closely as possible, you can practice how you

would respond until this process becomes

virtually automatic.

Consider designing and running scenario training

and rehearsals until you and your team can operate

in an emergency setting calmly and instinctively.

This is the root of the saying “the training just

kicked in” often heard from first responders to

disasters around the world.

ACTION

Consider the risks that you have chosen to

accept but control, and identify which of them, if

any, you should run scenario training for.

Write these down on page 62.

TIP

You may find it useful to consult our articles on

Active Training and Role Playing here.

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/active-training.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/RolePlaying.php


2.3 Communicating in a Crisis

Now that you have multiple strategies in place for

responding to threats, you’ll probably just want to

get straight on with it when the time comes.

It can be difficult to think about communication

when you’re in the midst of a disaster. But shutting

down your communication channels when you

most need them can be damaging.

A huge part of remaining resilient and credible

during times of trouble is to communicate the facts

and issues of the situation to all stakeholders –

clearly, quickly and consistently. To do this, make

sure that your communications follow the 5Cs of

Communicating in a Crisis:

1. Concerns – focus your attention on the

audience’s needs and concerns. Don’t focus the

message on you or on damage control. Where

appropriate, acknowledge people’s concerns

and deal with them directly.

2. Clarity – where possible, leave no room for

improper assumptions or best guesses. The

clearer your message is, the more people will

believe you are telling them everything they

need to know. When communication is vague,

it implies that you are hiding something or only

telling partial truths.

3. Control – remain in control of what is being said.

When you lose control of the message, there is

no stopping the flow of inaccurate information.

Your whole communication plan needs to center

on staying in control.

4. Confidence – your message and delivery

must assure your listeners that you’re taking

actions in everyone’s best interests. It’s one

thing to deliver bad news openly, and it’s

another to effectively convey that you are doing

everything you can to minimize the negative

impact. Speak with confidence but don’t lose

sight of your humanity – acknowledge that you

can’t make everything OK, but make sure that

people know you’re doing your best.

5. Competence – convey the notion that you are

able to handle the situation and that you have

the advice and support of many people (and, of

course, make sure that you do). When you use

the 5Cs, you assure people that you can handle

the situation and that you are not being deceitful

in any way. This reinforces their belief in your

ability to manage the situation the best way you

know how.

ACTION

For the top three threats that you worked on

in sections 2.1 and 2.2, think about the key

messages that you would need to communicate

to your colleagues, to your manager, to your

customers – and to your family.

What information would be most important to

update them with, what are their concerns likely

to be, and which channels would you use to

reach them? Outline your decisions on page 62.



So that’s your second chapter completed – well

done! You’ve now put in some serious groundwork

and considered how you’ll work through the most

likely setbacks and crises.

You’ve also got a strategy up your sleeve to help

you to quickly regain equilibrium when things

don’t go to plan. You’re more prepared, and better

equipped to adapt to changing circumstances, too.

In short, you’re more resilient.

Now use this section to prepare to identify and

manage your risks, and to begin to work toward a

contingency plan.

ACTION

Explore how you will control the risks that you

will accept.

For example, what and who will you need to

consider in your contingency plan?

Which scenarios could you rehearse for and what

skills will you need to learn and practice?

And how could you apply the 5Cs of

Communicating in a Crisis?

Fill in more of your answers on page 62

ACTION

Take this second opportunity to consider

whether to Avoid, Share or Accept each of

your top three risks, and to write your answers

on page 62. (Be sure to research, consult and

collaborate as appropriate.)

ACTION

Prioritize your risks so that you know which of

them to put time and effort into managing.

My top three risks are:

1.

2.

3.


3. Coping When Crisis Strikes

Laying the foundations for a possible future crisis

is one thing. Dealing with the reality of one in the

here-and-now is quite another.

Even if you planned for this moment, events may

unfold in unforeseen ways or move faster than you

expected. And your own reaction to them might

surprise you.

In this chapter, we look at the connection between

pressure and stress, with the help of the Inverted-U

Model. This knowledge will help you to understand

what’s happening to you when a crisis hits, so that

you can take control.

You’ll consider your emotions and how to manage

them, so that you can stay calm in a crisis and

emerge with your head held high.

Next, you’ll review the resources that you have

available to help you, both internally and externally.

And then it’ll be time to act. We’ll introduce you

to TDODAR, a tool that can help you to react to

situations as they unfold, without being knocked

off course.

Lastly, as a manager, it’s important to support the

people you work with. So we’ll look at how you can

do this while problems whirl around you all.

We work in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) business environment. If you can accept this and prepare yourself, you’ll be in a good place to cope.

But even if you’ve had to skip chapters one and two of this toolkit to deal with an immediate crisis, you can still get by – as long as you have a set of robust personal skills and tools in your back pocket to see you through.

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3.1 The Inverted-U Model

Chances are that, whenever the waters around you

get choppy, you naturally dig deeper to deal with

the situation. But when the pressure on you gets

too high, no amount of extra effort can prevent your

performance falling.

This familiar experience can hide a more subtle

relationship between pressure and performance,

which is best illustrated by the Inverted-U Model,

as shown in figure 2 below.

So, according to the model, some pressure is a

good thing. If you are under too little pressure,

you’ll feel bored, unmotivated and stressed,

and you’ll perform badly. A moderate amount

of pressure will “keep you on your toes” and

help you to reach peak performance. But your

mind becomes crowded with worries and your

performance will likely drop when you go beyond

that point and feel under too much pressure.

Frustratingly, this dip comes at the time when you

need to be at your strongest. You’ll find yourself

less effective at everyday tasks as well as the tough

new demands you’re facing. And you’ll experience

a range of negative emotions that could add to your

problems even more.

So, let’s take a look at what those emotions could

be, and how you can manage them so that you

move back toward peak performance.

Figure 2 – The Inverted-U Model


3.2 Identify and Manage Your Feelings

Emotions can be hard to handle.

When a crisis strikes, it’s natural to feel a sudden

rush of strong emotions. You may, for example, feel

anger when you discover that your software has

let you down, fear when the exchange rate turns

dramatically against you, or panic when you hear

that a family member has been taken to hospital.

Dealing with powerful, and sometimes

overwhelming, emotions like these when you’re

highly pressured can be a mighty challenge. But

the harder your feelings are to manage, the more

important it is to succeed. If you fail, your emotions

will hinder your ability to act rationally and to make

intelligent, assured decisions.

TIP

Be sure to avoid simply wishing away your

feelings or trying to ignore them. Self-control will

only get you so far – and eventually the lid will

blow! Instead, take note of your emotions and put

into practice the advice on the following pages.


3.2.1 Using Physical Relaxation Techniques

When things go really wrong, your body reacts.

Your heart may start racing and a sense of panic

may take hold. You might then find yourself making

instinctive, “knee-jerk” responses instead of well-

considered and wise ones.

So, you must deal with any rush of adrenaline that

you feel. You need time and space to gather your

thoughts, so that you can consider the situation

calmly and objectively before you react.

Physical relaxation techniques such as deep

breathing and centering calm your mind and

body. They help to “ground” you. They make you

more composed and level-headed, and help

to equip you emotionally to manage situations

dispassionately and objectively.

Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is a simple, effective relaxation

technique. It takes place when you breathe so

deeply that your lower belly expands. It’s the

opposite of shallow breathing, which is how many

people breathe for much of the time – filling only

the upper part of their chests with air.

ACTION

It’s simple to practice deep breathing.

Find somewhere restful to sit that’s comfortable

but supported, and out of the sight of co-workers

so that you don’t feel self-conscious.

Place a hand on your stomach and take a slow,

deep breath in through your nose. Only your

stomach should move – the air you breathe in

should push against your hand – not your chest

or shoulders. Now exhale slowly through

your mouth.

Repeat this for a few minutes, concentrating on

how it feels to fill your lower belly with air.

TIP

This might sound too simple to be true or useful,

but there are good physiological reasons why

deep breathing works, so give it a go!

And if you can’t get away to do this, discreetly

take 10 deep breaths where you are.


Centering

Centering is another effective relaxation method.

Derived from the Japanese martial art of Aikido, it is

a visualization technique that helps you to channel

nervous energy to the “here and now.” Centering

enables you to remain grounded, focused and calm

in difficult situations.

Centering has three basic steps:

1. Concentrate on your breathing. Focus on

breathing deeply and slowly, drawing air right

down into your lungs.

2. In your mind, locate your center of gravity. In

centering, this is about two inches below your

navel. Focus your mind on it, concentrate on

what your center feels like, and breathe in and

out deeply at least five times. Feel the sensation

of being grounded, balanced and in control.

3. Expel your negative energy. Visualize your

negative energy – your worry, anger and

unhappiness – collecting in a ball at your center.

See it moving upward toward your hands and

visualize throwing it into the distance. As you

inhale again, focus on thinking positively and on

succeeding in what you want to achieve.

TIP

It can take a while to become confident with

centering, so practice it as soon as you have the

time and space to do it in a stress-free situation.

Then try simulating how your body would react

to a stressful situation by doing some vigorous

exercise beforehand.


3.2.2 Turning Negative Emotions Into Positive Action

You might not be in full “fight, flight or freeze” mode

but other, less hard-hitting, negative emotions

can still grind you down and undermine your

performance. So it’s important to be able to spot

and deal with a wide range of feelings.

According to Bond University professor of

management Cynthia Fisher, the most common

negative emotions in the workplace are:

• Frustration/irritation. This often occurs when

you feel unable to move forward in some way,

and it can develop into resentment toward the

perceived cause.

• Worry/nervousness. Worry is usually the result

of anxiety about the unknown, and it can hold

you back from taking action.

• Anger/aggravation. Anger is a particularly

destructive emotion if you can’t control it.

When the “red mist” descends, it can damage

relationships and cloud your ability to find

creative solutions to problems.

• Dislike. Chances are that you have to work with

at least one person, or on one project, that you

don’t like, but such feelings can easily spill over

into open conflict.

• Disappointment/unhappiness. It’s not difficult

to feel disappointed or unhappy during difficult

times, but allowing yourself to adopt a victim

mentality drains your and others’ energy and

productivity.

You’ll likely not be able to choose your emotions

in any particular situation, but the way that you

respond to them is up to you.

The first step toward managing yourself in this way

is to identify what you’re feeling and why.

ACTION

It takes practice to become aware of your

emotions and what triggers them, so let’s start

right away! Take a few minutes to “tune in”

and reflect on your feelings about your current

situation. Some emotions will be close to the

surface and easy to put a name to, while others

might be harder to pinpoint. Use the questions

on the next page to explore further.

http://works.bepress.com/cynthia_fisher/23/

http://works.bepress.com/cynthia_fisher/23/


Am I feeling frustrated or irritated? If so, what or who is this about?

Is there anything or anyone that’s worrying me or that I’m nervous about? What am I afraid of?

What am I feeling driven to do or say by my anger, and why?

Right now, I really dislike… because...

I’ve noticed some other feelings, including… , which arose when...


Negative Emotion Trigger Positive Action

1.

2.

3.

The sooner you recognize the warning signs and

what led to them, the sooner you can take action to

prevent your feelings getting the better of you.

For example, you could ask for facts and figures

to give you a clear picture of what’s really going

on, to stop you worrying about the worst that

might happen. Or you could move to a less hot

and crowded place so you’re more comfortable,

allowing you to become less irritable and to

concentrate on making a decision.

ACTION

Choose the three strongest emotions and their

triggers from the list that you identified on the

previous page.

Think about what action you can take to reduce

their effects or to remove them altogether.


3.3 Review Your Resources

With your racing heart calmed and a strategy in

place to minimize your negative emotions, it’s time

to remind yourself of all the resources that are

available to you in your time of need.

It can be hard to decide on priorities in a crisis, so

refer to any key policies, strategies and goals that

will help you to focus, especially the goals that you

identified in chapter one of this toolkit.

Look back at your affirmations and your summary

of successes from chapter one, too. These will help

you to tackle any dips in confidence and protect

you against the painful self-sabotage of

impostor syndrome.

Reap the benefits of working through chapter two

by taking your contingency and communications

plans off the shelf and following them. And

remember that you’ve rehearsed the worst

scenarios, so you’ve proved that you can cope!

Lastly, don’t be afraid to draw on your support

network at home and at work. This is not the

moment for lone heroics if help is readily available.

After all, as the poet John Donne said, “no man is

an island, entire of itself.”

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/overcoming-impostor-syndrome.php


3.4 Take Control With TDODAR

Sometimes, physical relaxation techniques, self

awareness, a contingency plan, and a supportive

network aren’t enough to help you to deal with

a crisis. You also need a tool that you can use to

understand the situation quickly, to keep a clear

head under pressure, and to take control.

TDODAR is one such tool. Despite the clumsy

name, it’s a simple, intuitive tool that enables you to

make informed and swift decisions. And although

it comes from the aviation industry, where it helps

pilots to solve problems in mid-air, it’s as useful in

tricky everyday situations as it is in life-threatening

emergencies. As such, it’s an essential item in your

resilience toolkit.

It comprises a cycle of six steps, shown in figure 3:

Figure 3 – TDODAR


These are:

• Time: Be clear about how much time you have

available to make a decision, and record it in a

prominent place, so that you can’t miss it.

• Diagnosis: Evaluate the problem. Pinpoint what

the problem is and explore possible causes.

Involve colleagues, collect data, and consult

checklists and other best-practice documents.

The 5 Whys and Cause and Effect Analysis can

be useful tools here if you have at least an

hour available.

• Options: Now that you understand the problem

and know its probable cause, explore what

options you have to resolve it.

• Decide: Select the most sensible option from

your list and decide whether to proceed.

• Act/Assign: Break down your chosen solution

into action tasks and implement them, or assign

them to people who are best placed to do so.

• Review: Check that the actions you’ve taken

are solving the problem. If they’re not, or if

the situation is getting worse, start another

TDODAR cycle. As you go through the steps

again, challenge your assumptions, reassess

the information you have, and reconsider

your options.

TDODAR was designed to be rapidly deployed and

calmly implemented without warning. And, like the

pilots it was created for, you need to be able to call

on it at a moment’s notice.

ACTION

Spend time committing the model’s six stages

to memory.

ACTION

Think about a hypothetical but realistic crisis that

could cause problems in your position or team.

Practice using TDODAR by applying it to your

crisis, answering the questions on the next page.

My hypothetical crisis is:

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTMC_5W.php

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTMC_03.php


Time: In what timeframe would you need to resolve the situation to prevent it escalating?

Diagnosis: Describe the situation and list the most probable causes:

Options: Identify your options for tackling the potential causes you’ve identified:

Decide: Which option will you choose?

Act/Assign: What actions must be taken to implement your decision? Who is best placed to take them?

Review: This is a difficult step to practice in a hypothetical situation, so use this opportunity to learn about After Action Reviews, which you can read about on page 55.

T

D

O

D

A

R


3.5 Support the People Around You

Your network might have contributed to your

contingency plan and TDODAR cycle, and will

likely provide moral support too. Now it’s the time

to check in with the people around you to find out

how they’re doing. Their resilience matters, too.

Support should be a two-way thing. Teams that

are mutually supportive bind their people together

and get one another through difficult patches. They

foster trust, loyalty, commitment and good morale,

and – crucially – collective resilience.

Your colleagues and team members may not be

as well prepared or as calm as you are, and some

people adopt less-than-ideal behaviors when

times are troubled. They can blame others for

mistakes or problems, abandon the team to “cover

themselves,” or forget processes and procedures

in panic. They can make bad situations even worse

by doing so.

Showing that you’re organized, prepared and

decisive will go a long way toward helping worried

or emotional people to remain positive and

confident as events unfold. And going beyond the

support you normally offer will help them to see

that you “have their backs.”

TIP

Always put the “oxygen mask” on yourself first

to ensure that you’re strong and confident to

support your team.

But resist the temptation to project a superhero

persona. Stay human, and be as empathetic and

aware of people’s concerns and fears as you can.

People need to know that they don’t have to deal

with things on their own.

ACTION

Take time to assess how mutually supportive

your team currently is, and to decide on positive

actions that you can take, by answering the

questions on the next page.

“”

If we don’t stand up for others, who will be left to stand up for us?

Karen Traviss, author


What kind of example do you set to your people when you’re under pressure? What could you do differently?

How do your people support one another when they’re stressed? Do they get the help they need to perform well?

How positive are working relationships within your team? How could you improve them further, or turn things around?

What coping competencies do people bring to the team? How could these be leveraged to benefit everyone?

What are you going to do to provide more support to your people for when times are hard? List three ways below.


1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


Using what you’ve learned in this chapter, write a list of the actions

that you will take to help you to cope in a crisis.


4. After the Crisis: Recovering, Reviewing and Learning

With the crisis under control, you will likely feel

enormous relief and elation. But other people can

feel down after the adrenaline high comes to an

end. So, don’t be too hasty in moving on.

In this section you’ll learn how to manage your

recovery, so that you can regain perspective and

equilibrium. You’ve already learned about tools

such as deep breathing and centering, and this

section of the toolkit gives you some

further pointers.

Next, by learning how to look back at your recent

setback using After Action Reviews, you’ll be able

to enhance your personal resilience – and that of

your team – even more. Time and effort invested

at this stage will ensure that you’re in a good place,

ready for when the next challenge rears its head.

When you view each challenge as a learning

experience, you are truly practicing resilience –

and the benefits can be enormous.

Forging your way through a crisis is tough. And the aftermath can be difficult, too.

3 4

Preparing Yourself

Preparing Your Plan



and Learning

Your Resilience

Action Plan

1 52


4.1 Managing Your Recovery

When you’ve just dealt with a crisis, the idea of

taking time out to recover can seem a low priority,

and even an indulgence. You might be tempted to

think that you can just carry on and maintain your

energy and drive indefinitely.

But coming down off that high and recovering after

a crisis really matters. This is because the relief

and elation you feel at having successfully “made

it through” can mislead you into thinking that

everything’s OK when, in fact, it’s anything but. You

may feel more pumped up or enthused than ever,

but the reality is likely quite different.

Difficult times take a toll on even the strongest

performers. Exhaustion creeps up, relationships

take a battering, and your ability to work fades.

Continually working under high pressure creates

stress, which can damage your health and lead

to burnout.

These issues don’t go away by themselves.

Instead, you need to give yourself time and

space to recharge your batteries, to review what

happened, and to learn what you can from the

situation so that you become even more resilient.

Here are some things to bear in mind:

• Be gentle with yourself. Promoting recovery

may mean taking time off work – especially

if you’ve put in extra hours to cope with the

crisis. If you’re owed time off, take it. If that’s not

feasible, could you take a day’s vacation to give

yourself a long weekend break? Or could you

delegate tasks or schedule some “light” work

days to give yourself a breather?

• Calm down. Give your mind and body time and

space to return to their “normal”state. Practice

the deep breathing and centering techniques

that you learned in chapter three, and get

enough sleep and exercise. You could also

spend time on your hobbies, take a vacation, or

practice yoga or meditation. Do whatever helps

you to clear the adrenaline and cortisol from

your system, and to return to a stable footing.

• Re-establish relationships. As crises unfold,

chances are you’ll have to neglect some people

and rely heavily on others. Now is the time to

re-establish and repair connections, and to think

about what others – whether work colleagues,

valued clients or loved ones – might need to

help them to return to normal, too. This is really

important for your own and others’ wellbeing

and resilience.

• Celebrate your success. Yes, times get tough,

but you’ll survive and, what’s more, you’ll

succeed! So, celebrate your success with your

team. This could be as simple as a “thank you”

or as high-profile as a reward ceremony for

everyone who helped to manage the crisis.

And you could reward yourself with anything

from flowers or a meal with a loved one to

treating yourself to something truly special.


1. Describe steps that you’ve taken in the past to “ground” yourself after emotional or challenging events. What actions have been most effective, and which would you be most likely to repeat the next time a crisis strikes?

2. Now think about the rewards you’d most enjoy after a challenging period. What sort of bonus, perk or accolade would you find most satisfying? Think of rewards big and small.

3. Outline some things that you could do to celebrate success with your team members and with your friends and family. What would be appropriate? What would best reflect the role that these people played during the difficult times?

ACTION

Start to plan for your recovery from a future

crisis by answering these questions.

ACTION

Now write down three things you’ll do to

recover from a crisis.

1.

2.

3.


4.2 Learning From After Action Reviews

Surviving and successfully dealing with a

setback can be a fantastic learning opportunity.

It’s therefore really important to review what

happened, to identify the root causes of the crisis in

question, and to evaluate how you dealt with every

aspect of it.

So, as soon as you’ve given yourself time and

space to recover, it’s time to reflect on the crisis

with an After Action Review.

The point of conducting an After Action Review

is to learn from events and to implement changes

that will help you to be even stronger and better

prepared in the future. Some things will likely have

gone better than you expected – so don’t overlook

the positive! – but it’s possible that some aspects

of the way that you dealt with the situation need

refining. For example, you may have skills gaps that

you’d be wise to fill.

An authentic and effective After Action Review is

probably going to include reflecting on self, team

and company behavior and actions. Using the After

Action Review Tool on the next page will help you

to identify strengths, weaknesses and root causes

of problems.

ACTION

Think about a challenging situation or crisis that

you’ve dealt with.

On the next page, identify what went well and

what didn’t, the reasons why (use the 5 Whys

technique to help you here), and the lessons you

will take forward to the future. This could be done

individually, collectively, or both.




After Action Review Tool

Briefly summarize the challenging situation or crisis:

What went well? Why did it go well?What can we learn from this

and apply in the future?

What didn’t go well? Why didn’t it go well?What can we learn from this

and apply in the future?



If you can allow yourself some “down-time” and

reflect on your experiences, you’ll go a long way to

restoring and increasing your resilience. You’ll have

put yourself in a great position to handle crises

more effectively than ever before!

Resilience is about developing a “pot” of skills,

tools and awareness that you continually replenish.

And now that you’ve worked through this chapter

of the toolkit, you understand the cycle of action

and continuous learning that allows you to do this.

You prepare yourself and plan for unexpected crisis

events, learn to cope when they strike, and then

recover, review and learn from them afterward.

You can then go back to the beginning to adjust,

expand and improve your plans ready for next time.

ACTION

With that in mind, take the insights and lessons

that you’ve learned in this chapter, record them

on page 64, and incorporate them into your

contingency plans.

And remember that After Action Reviews need to

be a routine part of the way that you operate.


5. Your Resilience Action Plan

You’ve looked at a lot of theory, thought about

new skills and habits, and become familiar with

fresh ideas and approaches to building resilience.

Perhaps you’ve just emerged from a real-life crisis

or challenge, too, and have the scars to prove it.

Or are you just about to face tough times?

Use the questions on the next page to think

back through the discoveries you’ve made, the

decisions you’ve taken, and the actions you

intend to implement. By the end, you’ll have

created a blueprint for your personal “Operation

Resilience.” You’ll feel more confident, better

equipped, less isolated, and personally stronger.

Congratulations – you’ve reached the end of this toolkit! So, now’s the time to sum up everything you’ve covered, so that you can carry on learning and, most importantly, make real changes in your life.

3 4

Preparing Yourself

Preparing Your Plan



and Learning

Your Resilience

Action Plan

1 52

“”

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Thomas Edison, inventor


ACTION

Fill in the most appropriate words or phrases

from the pages of the toolkit shown.

The most resilient people have a clear mission and are committed to achieving their goals.

The top five goals I will focus on in my role are, from pages 11–12:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Lacking resilience can create a vicious circle of feeling stressed, performing poorly,

feeling more stressed, and so on. It can also threaten our health.

I’m going to manage my top five stressors more effectively as follows, from page 14:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


There are only 24 hours in a day, so resilient people are realistic, take control, and choose how to spend

their time wisely.

The five activities that I will move, minimize or stop, to save my time and energy, are as follows, from page 16:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Our beliefs about ourselves and our abilities can make all the difference between sinking into

hopelessness and failure, and sailing through a challenge with confidence.

I’m going to bring these three strengths and achievements into my work more, from page 18:

1.

2.

3.

and I’ll celebrate what I’m most proud of, from page 18:

1.

2.

My strategies for lessening the influence of my two most damaging negative thoughts are, from page 21:

1.

2.


Resilient people aren’t superhuman paragons of perfection – they know that they’ll more likely get by with

a little help from their friends, family and co-workers.

I’ll strengthen my support networks at home and at work in six ways, from page 23:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The ups and downs of life are far more manageable when you’re not struggling with tiredness and ill-

health at the same time.

I’ll give my mind, body and spirit a better chance by changing five things, from page 26:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


No one likes a nasty surprise, especially when it threatens work or family, so resilient people make sure

that they’re ready for anything.

I will Avoid, Share, or Accept and Control the three most likely and significant risks that I face, from page 33:

1.

2.

3.

and I’ll create a contingency plan for these risks that I have to accept, from page 33:

which might include the following scenario rehearsals, so that I can act automatically and accurately when there’s no time to think, from page 34:

Resilient people remember to keep their stakeholders informed so that trust is preserved and help will still

be on hand.

I’m going to apply the 5Cs of Communicating in a Crisis in the following ways, from page 35:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


Fear, anger, and other emotions can take over when you’re under pressure. Resilient people acknowledge

their feelings and take positive actions to manage them.

My strategies for managing my three most common negative emotions and their triggers are, from page 44:

1.

2.

3.

I’ll practice applying the six steps of TDODAR to help me make decisions quickly and calmly, from page 48:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Resilient managers ensure that their team members are also resilient.

I’ll help my team to be more mutually supportive in these three ways, from page 50:

1.

2.

3.


The “rush” of a crisis can be exhilarating, but working under such pressure for long periods risks burnout.

I will apply these three techniques to recover physically and mentally, from page 54:

1.

2.

3.

Resilient people view challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. They carry out After Action Reviews,

involving the right questions and the right people with the right attitude.

I will apply the following learnings from past crises to future events, from page 56:

So – you’ve come a long way. Take another look at

our online interactive quiz to find out just how far!

Your approach to facing adversity strongly affects

how successful you are. By bolstering your

resilience, you’ve already increased your likelihood

of achieving ever bigger and better things.

You’ve learned a lot about dealing with the

unexpected. You’ve given your personal readiness

a substantial boost, devised contingency plans,

and learned the essentials of coping in a crisis.

You also appreciate how important it is to unwind

after a crisis and to grasp the opportunity to review

and learn from what happened.

Remember that resilience isn’t about gritting

your teeth, suppressing your feelings, or being

superhuman. It’s about your ability to adapt, to

overcome obstacles, to keep your focus, and to

rebound from setbacks.

It’s an important part of building career success

because, after all, knocks are simply a part of life.

When you’re resilient, you’re better equipped to

achieve your goals sustainably and safely.

You’ll not simply survive, but thrive.

With practice, you really will be ready for anything!

ACTION

Finally, go through this plan and add all the

actions you want to take to your To-Do List or

Action Program so that you really make these

things happen!

https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/resilience-quiz.php




James Manktelow

CEO, MindTools.com

Mind Tools – Essential skills for an excellent career!

You now have a plan in place for building your resilience in a way that

you can sustain and be proud of. Enjoy the journey, and have a great

time progressing your career!

Remember that you can get help and support from Mind Tools coaches,

and other members of the Mind Tools Club, in our Goal Coaching forum.

If you have any suggestions about how we can improve the Resilience

Toolkit or any of our other resources, please let us know at

[email protected].

6. What’s Next?

I hope you’ve enjoyed using this toolkit!

https://www.mindtools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=11

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