8 Traits of Resilient Female Leaders

Resiliency is an incredibly useful trait to have, especially in today’s culture and society. Resilient women don’t get angry or give in to despair when challenged by a setback. They don’t let negative situations stand in their way of moving forward. Instead, they have the ability to bounce back from adversity or tragedy, which is crucial to succeeding in both life and in business.

Below are 8 common behaviors of resilient female leaders:

1. Self-awareness: Having a strong sense of self improves judgment, facilitates better decision making, and helps to identify opportunities for both personal and professional growth and development. These improvements create better leaders.
2. Perseverance: Perseverance is the commitment to completing a task, even if a difficult circumstance may try to prevent you from finishing it. Resilient leaders show perseverance in spite of obstacles, hardship, or discouragement. Ultimately, it’s the decision not to give up, despite how challenging or difficult things get.
3. Strong Social Support: Resilient women rely on others during times of crises. They have strong social relationships with family and friends. According to a recent article published by the University of Minnesota, a strong social support network can enhance the overall quality of our lives.
4. Healthy Living: Women who sleep well at night, eat a healthy and balanced diet, and exercise regularly are more able to readily push through adversity compared to those who don’t sleep, eat well, or exercise. Sleep is a fundamental function that helps restore the body. Eating a balanced diet fuels the body and mind, and exercise keeps us fit. Endorphins are also released during exercise, which minimize depression and enhance mood.

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5. Kindness and Humility: It’s easy to be caught up in office gossip/politics or act terse when things are stressful. However, resilient women stay away from drama, or at least try to minimize it. They are nice to others. They smile when they see someone in the hallway or break room at work. They take a genuine interest in others’ lives. They are truly concerned about others’ wellbeing. They are also humble and admit their flaws.
6. Silver Lining: Everyone encounters negative events at one point or another. However, resilient women don’t let those negative events define who they are or get in the way of achieving their ultimate goal. They maintain a positive outlook and see problems or challenges as opportunities to grow and learn. They see what’s possible and they can control.
7. Accept Failure: Resilient women don’t blame others for their failures or shortcomings. They own up to their mistakes and see failure as an opportunity to fix them. They can transform their fear into success.
8. Mental Flexibility: Mentally flexible and adaptable women acclimate their behavior to achieve the best outcome. Mental flexibility and adaptability allows women to be better listeners, observers, and skilled thinkers, so they are able to make better decisions overall.

Author: Kristin Marquet has a decade of public relations, branding, and integrated marketing experience in both the non-profit and for-print sectors. Kristin now serves as the Creative Director of Creative Development Agency, a full-service lifestyle public relations in New York City. She developed, managed, and implemented various internal and external communication and social media initiatives. With a master’s degree in public relations/marketing from New York University, Kristin has also written for several magazines, including Entrepreneur, Business Insider, American Express Small Business, and Enterprising Women. She currently writes for Entrepreneur.com. She will be launching indie fashion magazine, Creative Lab Magazine later this year. For more information, visit CreativeDevelopmentAgency.com.