Resilience with Suzanne Coonan

Life + Leadership

In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, organizations are hiring for resilience. And I doubt there’s anyone out there wishing they were less equipped to deal with adversity or less resilient in the face of change. So, how do we bounce back when life deals us challenging circumstances? Is there a way to build resilience without going through some kind of serious trauma? And what daily habits do busy professionals practice to develop the qualities of resilience?

Today, we’re joined by Suzanne Coonan, Principal and Executive Coach with Aerial Leadership, a consulting firm dedicated to helping successful professionals reach new heights and achieve their greatest potential, finding more meaning and balance in work and life. Suzanne is also a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator with expertise in leadership and career development, presenting to hundreds of global business leaders at a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Suzanne begins by sharing her definition of resilience and explaining why it’s a crucial trait in our complex, uncertain world. She describes the characteristics of a resilient person, offering insight around how organizations are vetting leaders for the quality of resilience. Suzanne speaks to the intersection of resilience and change management, the important role of self-care in navigating uncertainty, and the top habits busy executives exercise in order to build resilience. Listen in for Suzanne’s advice around embracing change and learn how to foster resilience by tapping into what makes you feel ALIVE!

Themes explored in this week’s episode:

• How Suzanne defines resilience and why it’s important in our complex, uncertain world
• The top three characteristics of a resilient person
• How organizations are vetting leaders for the quality of resilience
• Suzanne’s insight on the intersection between resilience and change management
• Suzanne’s approach to teaching resilience through control of the individual response
• Suzanne’s top three strategies for building resilience
• What a lack of resilience looks like in an organization
• Suzanne’s personal experience with burnout manifesting as a rare autoimmune disease
• The important role of self-care in navigating change and how to make it a habit
• Why busy executives practice meditation and make time for movement and reflection
• How to build resilience by tapping into what makes you feel ALIVE

Resources from this episode:

• Connect with Suzanne at http://aerialleadership.com/
• Message @SuzanneCoonan on Twitter or Instagram
• Add Suzanne to your network on LinkedIn
• Read “How Resilience Works” in Harvard Business Review
• Visit the Korn Ferry FYI Resource Center
• Explore the stages of the SARAH Model of Change
• Learn about burnout in When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté
• Make self-care automatic with The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits
• Incorporate meditation into your day with the Headspace app
• Study resilience in adversity with Sandberg & Grant’s Option B

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