Hello and welcome to week 4 of adaptability and resilience. This week we're going to be talking about strategies for implementing your adaptability and resilience action plan. We're going to be taking a look at how do you implement your plan by building strong connections and practicing a positive, optimistic attitude? Why are connections essential to adaptability and resilience? How do you build new social connections at work? How important is adaptability really? Can people become more adaptable? What's possible? Well, let's review what you've already accomplished. In week 1, you learned that you can change, you can adapt your attitudes and behaviors to suit different conditions and environments. You also know you can become more resilient, recover quickly from the setbacks and go forward more capable than before. From week 2, you know that you can become more self-aware, able to recognize your thoughts, feelings and behaviors and then decide how to react to those thoughts, feelings and actions. You are aware now of five kinds of threat responses that can be obstacles to adaptability resilience. You know five ways to maintain your self-awareness. In week 3, you identified aspects of your life that affect how you work and focused on the aspects that are within your control. You chose several adaptive and resilient behaviors to cultivate. You have planned a flexible course of action, now it's time to implement your plan. As you go forward, you can increase your likelihood of success by using two strategies; building strong interpersonal connections and maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude. How do you build strong interpersonal connections? Why are strong connections essential to adaptability and resilience? Jeanette Purcell wrote about the five reason why networking matters. The evidence is that even in today's depersonalized virtual business environment, most transactions are about relationships. We do business with people we like and we trust so it's important to invest time in making connections, building relationships and maintaining those connections over time. Being good at your job is not enough. Like it or not, life is not a meritocracy. The truth is that your skills, quality and experience are likely to go unnoticed unless you seek opportunities to communicate what you have to offer and your career aspirations. Well-connected people are in the know. The surest way to pick up a new opportunity whether it's a new client, new job or changes in your market is to be well-connected. By developing your networks, you not only stand a better chance of knowing what's going on, but you're also more likely to be remembered when one of those connections wants something that you offer. Networks are a valuable source of support. Networking is not just about finding opportunities and advancing your own interests. A good network is one that is based on give-and-take, trust and respect. There are people in your network you can ask for help when you're thinking through a new idea or dealing with a particularly difficult problem and then you will do the same for them in return. If you build your network in the right way, you'll be able to find that it's a valuable source of support and advice. More networking benefits. You can discover opportunities to raise your profile. You can learn new skills and develop them. You can find others who share your interests. You can meet people with influence. How do you build connections at work? Habits of effective networkers advocate for themselves. They raise their visibility, they take initiative, they follow up after the initial meeting, they maintain the connection, they offer support before asking for it, they show authenticity, they're interested versus interesting, they're vulnerable, they're generous and they show appreciation. Here are five ways to create stronger connections. Nobody succeeds alone. The more you take time to develop genuine authentic relationships, the more you're going to be able to realize your dreams. You're going to be able to take big risks and know there's a network of people to cheer you on and support your efforts. Number 1, write a note. Thank you. Write a thank you letter. Be specific about how they helped you. You notice they said write a letter, write a note. Don't just send an e-mail. Make a phone call. Welcome a new hire. Get feedback about their first day. Ask interesting and meaningful questions when you get outside the office. Things like what happened this week that was important to you. Answer questions with honesty. Instead of defaulting to the neutral, non-committal good, share a bit more information about what's going on with you, what's happening. Turn on the video. Opt for a video conference over a phone call and be more present. Listening, the best way to improve relationships. Here's a good listeners checklist. I don't allow the speaker's topic to cause me to shut down, I continue to listen for their key points. Two, I don't fake paying attention or drift into daydreaming. I make eye contact to show that I'm interested. Three, if I disagree with something the speaker has said, I remain calm and wait for an appropriate time to ask about the point of disagreement. Four, I minimize my judgments of the speaker's looks, I avoid finding fault with them. Five, I look more at the bigger picture and listen to everything rather than nitpicking particular points. Six, I approach listening with an open mind and attitude. Seven, I minimize distractions when I should be listening to someone. Eight, I make sure my body language is open, relaxed, and inviting. Nine, I don't interrupt. I wait for an appropriate time to bring up my own point or ask questions about what has been said. Ten, I look at the speaker, even if it means stopping my work. I have found that giving my full attention is more efficient. Eleven, I keep my emotions in check in order to listen. When it's time to ask questions, get clarification or counter effect, I do so in a respectful manner.
