The Gifts of Hardships

As leaders we're all going to run into hardships. Unexpected things happen in our organization, with our employees, with the people we serve and in our lives. While it's hard to see the positive in the midst of these hardships, there can be silver linings.

The Center for Creative Leadership's research highlights three gifts we can take away from hardships. They include:

• Greater insight into what makes you tick. Increasing your self awareness makes you more equipped to make better decisions next time.
• Increased compassion for others. Greater humility and sympathy make you more effective in dealing with others.
• Resilience. Getting through tough times means you'll be stronger and more capable next time hard times come along.

How do learn from hardships? Try these strategies:

• Don't let the hardship be everything. Don't let them overwhelm you. Take time away. Focus some time of what's going right.
• Don't be ashamed of failures or mistakes. If we're not making mistakes we're not pushing ourselves and our organizations. 
• Avoid defensiveness. Own the problem and then focus on next steps and solutions.
• Keep asking questions. What happened? Why? What part did I play? 
• Reflect and look back to discover the lessons from your experience. What did I miss? What could I have done differently?