What Is Your Level Of Vigilant Resilience?

In 2016, reality and smart planning seemed to vanish during the UK referendum campaigns to leave or remain in the European Union (EU).

Both sides were deeply divided. Some were overly optimistic about the UK succeeding on its own, while others were deeply worried about the economic risks of leaving the EU, the UK’s biggest trading partner, and having to renegotiate hundreds of trade and security agreements.

The Leave vote shocked the nation, even surprising many Leave supporters. The result caused political chaos, as millions felt strongly that leaving the EU would make the UK better.

The government fell apart within hours of the vote. Key leaders resigned, and a tense but short battle followed to choose a new Prime Minister. It was a dramatic and unforgettable moment in British history.

Balancing Traits

The new Prime Minister initially showed realistic optimism about the situation. She chose a diverse team of people with different views to lead the country and manage its relationships with the world. She kept out those with the most extreme and rigid opinions.

For example, people who had shown blind optimism during the campaigns had to face reality. They needed to balance their optimism with careful analysis of the risks to avoid mistakes that could harm millions of people in the UK and the EU. On the other hand, those who were deeply sceptical had to move past their doubts and take a positive, constructive approach to make the best of the new situation.

However, her time as leader was short. The party chose a new Prime Minister who was overly optimistic. He did not last long either and was replaced by another leader whose blind optimism nearly crashed the economy. She was quickly removed after just 49 days in office.

Capacity To Change

As many of my regular readers know, humans have an incredible ability to change, but it requires self-awareness and effort. When we hold a strong opinion, it can be hard to understand or even acknowledge the opposite view.

For example, an overly optimistic person stays so positive and enthusiastic that they see analysing problems as negative or discouraging. They often view people who raise concerns or ask for deeper analysis as difficult or destructive. They may quickly label these people as negative and refuse to listen, taking any criticism as a personal attack.

On the other hand, a sceptic who is too negative sees optimists as unrealistic and out of touch. They often feel frustrated by the lack of willingness to analyse ideas and may dismiss optimists as egotistical and lacking good judgement.

Don’t Miss The Hidden Truths

The UK EU Referendum campaign highlighted these opposing views clearly. It was shocking to hear senior Leave supporters claim that “experts cannot be trusted” or Remain supporters warn that “the economy will collapse.” The truth is rarely so simple. Making sweeping statements about opponents or situations is risky because it blinds you to hidden truths or uncomfortable realities you may not want to face.

These truths can create self-doubt, which feels uncomfortable and even painful. To protect itself, the ego often makes broad, dismissive statements, labelling others as ignorant or not worth listening to.

A wiser approach balances optimism with careful analysis of potential problems. Effective leaders set aside their ego, truly listen to others, and consider diverse viewpoints. They face obstacles head-on without losing focus on the bigger picture. Including a range of opinions makes us stronger than trying to solve everything alone.

Vigilant Resilience

There is a paradox in staying optimistic while also analysing potential problems and emerging issues. This idea is well explained by the Paradox of Vigilant Resilience, created by Dr. Dan Harrison.

This paradox combines two key traits: being optimistic and analysing pitfalls. It uses a graph to show four sub-traits and offers this advice: “Keep a positive attitude about the future, but be mindful of difficulties when they are small.”

This means you can stay optimistic and believe in a bright future, even when facing big challenges. At the same time, you are not afraid to identify and address problems early, before they grow. Instead of ignoring issues or pretending they don’t exist, you are willing to face them and adjust your plans to stay on track.

The paradox is illustrated below:

The trait of Optimistic means believing the future will be positive, while Analyses Pitfalls means carefully examining possible problems with a plan or strategy.

Behavioural paradoxes highlight the imbalance that occurs when one trait is strong, and the other is weak. For example, the trait of Sceptical focuses too much on problems without considering the benefits (low Optimistic, high Analyses Pitfalls).

Blind Optimism is the opposite, where someone focuses only on benefits and ignores the risks (high Optimistic, low Analyses Pitfalls).

When both traits are weak, it results in Careless Pessimism, where risks are taken without considering the problems, and the future is viewed as bleak (low Optimistic, low Analyses Pitfalls).

Realistic Optimism is the balanced approach. It means you analyse potential problems while staying positive about the future and benefits (high Optimistic, high Analyses Pitfalls). This mindset allows you to face uncomfortable truths, make adjustments, and maintain confidence in achieving a good outcome.

You Need To Provide The Antidote

As a leader, your level of Vigilant Resilience is closely watched by directors, managers, and team members. They form opinions based on their own traits, so you must consistently communicate and vividly describe a positive vision of the future. At the same time, you need to show you are grounded in reality by carefully analysing plans for potential challenges.

This can be difficult, especially with growing Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) in the commercial, economic, and social environments. In today’s interconnected and interdependent world, these challenges are greater than ever.

To succeed, you must keep developing your leadership skills. You need to counter VUCA by passionately sharing your Vision, striving to Understand others, offering Clarity to your team, and staying Agile to adapt to constant changes around you.

Increasing Self-Awareness

The initial shock of the UK EU referendum result was just the start of a turbulent period, followed by many other shocks and disruptions, like the pandemic.

Leaders must be very aware of their levels of optimism and their ability to spot potential problems in any plan or strategy. There will be many more shocks and disruptions in the future, many of which are beyond a single leader’s control.

We need to focus on making the best of our current situation, using our wisdom to build on our strengths, protect those who are vulnerable, and work together with others for mutual benefit. Developing and maintaining the balanced approach of Realistic Optimism will be crucial for success in the coming months and years.

What are your current traits in this paradox? What about your senior team? Are there any imbalances that could lead to poor decisions or missed opportunities?

Dealing with the current economic uncertainties will require a learning mindset and high self-awareness. It’s difficult to lead others if you can’t lead yourself, especially if you are driven by your own biases and tendencies.

If you are interested in exploring where you and your managers stand on this Paradox and the eleven other Paradoxes in the assessment please contact us at info@talent4performance.co.uk

If you would like to see an example Paradox Report illustrating all 12 paradoxes please Click Here.

Check out the 150-second Food for Thought video episode on the Paradox of Vigilant Resilience on LinkedIn: Paradox of Vigilant Resilience

Remember, especially as you consider vigilant resilience . . . Stay Curious!

David Klaasen

©David Klaasen – October 2016 – 2024