We are a country known for navigating trauma, so we are built for resilience, said the speakers at the 2024 HR Indaba’s session on building resilience.
Tswelo Kodisang, CPO at FirstRand, began the ‘Building the Resilience Muscle: Preparing Your Teams for Greatness’ session at today’s HR Indaba by demystifying the concept of resilience for the packed audience.
“Resilience can be simply put as the ability to bounce back. This could be psychologically, emotionally or physically. It is about coming out on the other side with a successful story to tell,” he shared.
Tswelo began sharing historical events that demonstrated our nation’s resilience, such as the dim Covid era and our Rugby World Cup success, citing that we have the ability to navigate challenges and are able to come out on the other side successfully.
Fellow speakers Mandisa Seleone from iKamva HCM Consulting and Cebile Xulu, senior director HR SSA at Mondelēz International, contributed to this discussion by outlining practical strategies for building resilience.
In her opening remarks, Mandisa shared a quote by Michael Hopf: “They say hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
Mandisa emphasised the importance of implementing practices to build a muscle of resilience. “Like any muscle, you need to go to the gym and work on it,” she enthused.
Mandisa then began to share a list of ways that people can use to build this resilience in their environments. These include surrounding yourself with resilient people, cultivating a strong mindset, being mindful of your ego, and maintaining high standards.
From cyber-attacks to cash shortages, Cebile has overcome numerous challenges in her line of work. She explained how working in the African market has given her confidence in how she responds to disastrous situations.
“It is important to get your team ready by building the muscle of scenario planning,” she said, citing that how you respond in these situations builds the muscle of resilience.
She concluded by saying, “Things will go wrong, and you will fail, but it is crucial to be open with your team about the situation and prepare for the unexpected.”
