The Secrets of Resilient Leadership

When Failure Is Not an Option
George S. Everly Jr., Ph.D., Douglas A. Strouse, Ph.D., and George S. Everly III

Six Essential Skills Every Leader Needs in Times of Adversity

Includes Resources, Index
Business / Personal Growth / Psychology

With an almost continuous barrage of books about leadership, it is unusual to find one that distinguishes itself. The Secrets of Resilient Leadership does so because the authors examine leadership from a different perspective: How to lead when everyone else retreats. — Barry Silverstein in ForeWord Reviews (full review is posted below)

Adversity is the true test of leadership, and resilient leaders are defined by what they do during the worst of times, not the best of times. What are the secrets of “resilient leadership” in adversity? How can we develop the skills that will help us gain a competitive advantage in the workplace and in life?

The Secrets of Resilient Leadership: When Failure is Not an Option explains the essential practical skills that every leader needs in difficult times. Here you will learn the secrets to re-energize, motivate, and inspire new optimism in others. Organized into six key principles that can be easily integrated into the work environment, the authors emphasize the principles of:

• Acting with integrity
• Communicating effectively
• Harnessing the power of decisive, optimistic leadership and self-fulfilling prophecy
• Persevering and taking responsibility for your actions
• Building a resilient culture, and
• Developing behavioral body armor, or using stress management as a competitive advantage

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

George S. Everly, Jr., PhD is one of the “founding fathers” of the modern era of stress management. He has been a pioneer in developing programs designed to foster human resilience in the wake of crises, disasters, and psychological trauma. A leading international authority on resilience, he has worked with the American military services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and has been a nongovernmental delegate to the UN for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. Dr. Everly is the author or editor of 20 books and numerous articles. He is on the faculties of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Loyola University Maryland, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Douglas A Strouse, PhD is President & CEO of Global Data Source LLC, and Managing Partner of Wexley Consulting HRD LLC, a management and leadership consulting firm. He has consulted for many Fortune 500 type corporations in the areas of leadership and management development, performance management and appraisal systems, and strategic planning and executive coaching. He is President of the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Club of Baltimore. He has served on the board of directors for numerous corporations and non-profit organizations, and has extensive experience in the legal services field. He has written over 60 articles on the topic of leadership in management.

George S. Everly, III, has published in the areas of business ethics and international law. He is a senior editor for the Maryland Journal of International Law.

Praise for The Secrets of Resilient Leadership…

With an almost continuous barrage of books about leadership, it is unusual to find one that distinguishes itself. The Secrets of Resilient Leadership does so because the authors examine leadership from a different perspective: How to lead when everyone else retreats.

The premise of the book is that great leaders—those who are resilient—actually excel during the most daunting times. The authors demonstrate leadership resilience, or the lack of it, through examples as diverse as the Civil War, Hurricane Katrina, and the economic collapse of 2008. They point to individuals in history, including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, all of whom succeeded because of their resilience. Interestingly, the authors reference US President Barrack Obama’s inaugural speech which, they say, “echoes the themes of this book—honesty, loyalty, hard work, and responsibility.”

Everly, Strouse, and Everly explore “six essential skills for leading in adversity,” skills which the authors assure the reader can be learned. These are: acting with integrity, communicating effectively, harnessing the power of optimism and self-fulfilling prophecy, taking responsibility for your actions, building a resilient culture, and using stress management as a competitive advantage.

The authors devote a chapter to each skill, discussing both its meaning and its application. At the end of the skill-specific chapters, the authors include key point summaries, as well as “leadership assessments,” which should prove to be of value to novice and experienced readers alike. Some of the assessments post “cases”—brief scenarios with compelling questions that test an individual’s ability to apply a particular skill. Other assessments present “exercises”—opportunities to answer insightful questions about the skill. The optimism assessment, for example, includes this exercise: “List two times in your life when you ‘psyched yourself up’ by creating a positive self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The authors conclude the book with these intriguing chapters: “Building a Culture of Resilience” and “Developing Behavioral Body Armor.” The first offers helpful advice regarding “group cohesion” and “nurturing friendship;” the second unapologetically addresses such realities as leader burnout, traumatic stress, overload, and fatigue.

The Secrets of Resilient Leadership is remarkably compact: the authors use words economically and get right to the point without diversions. Despite its brevity, however, this excellent work offers a wealth of insightful thinking and sound advice. It is a thought-provoking and timely book that will benefit anyone who wants to learn how to lead in adversity.”— Barry Silverstein in ForeWord Reviews

…a must read for those individuals who are looking to make a difference in today’s ever-challenging world…provides critical insights to anyone who is seeking to separate himself from the competition while having a positive, everlasting effect on those they touch.” — Kent Pierce, Senior VP, Merrill Lynch

One of the most insightful books on business leadership I’ve read…a “must read” for all aspiring leaders ” — Rob Weinhold, VP, Ripken Amateur Baseball

…one of the best leadership books I have ever read…The theme of focusing on leadership in difficult times is very instructional…the discussion on self-fulfilling prophecy put into words what I have felt but never been able to articulate until now. I want to give my entire staff a copy of this book as soon as it is published and make it required reading!” — Greg Moores, VP, Black & Decker