The well-intentioned adage “You’ll bounce back” may be something you've heard after losing out on a promotion, or going through a burned-out work season or difficult personal time. So, what does “bouncing back” mean? Is it even a good thing?
Jessica Glazer of CCL wrote recently on forbes.com that bouncing back might seem the epitome of resilience, which addresses the ability to recover quickly from setbacks, however it doesn't address the ability to learn and develop from past experiences. Learning agility plus having resilience back enables us the benefit of bouncing forward. Post-traumatic growth research has found that even after significant traumatic adversity, some are able to transform their situations and experiences into positive processes. They don’t feel that they've grown despite their challenge, but rather because of it.
To move toward growth, we must look for lessons from our own experiences and note silver linings. CCL's 70-20-10 concept holds that roughly 70% of learning comes from on-the-job, action-based experiences (with 20% of learning gleaned from working with others and 10% from formal learning). To reap the greatest benefit from that 70%, we must do more than go through the motions—we must make an effort to clarify learning. For instance, save five minutes at the end of each workday to write down a challenging or notable experience from that day and what you learned from your experience or your reaction to it.
CCL research has shown that the best leaders are those who learn from their experiences—both positive and negative—and stop, start or continue behaviors accordingly. That self-reflection and learning agility, coupled with resilience skills, can catapult or bounce us forward into a new echelon of leadership, especially in the face of challenge. Read the full article here.