Over the past several years, our nation has seen much change. Multiple spheres of our society have witnessed and experienced rapid increases in the speed of change. Most recently, the federal government and service organizations nationwide saw shutdowns, funding delays and stoppages, as well as some temporary and some permanent closures.

Endings, closures and temporary shutdowns of various people-serving federal programs have produced much confusion and many questions. Amid such instability, leaders in public service entities and agencies must stay grounded. Maintaining a balanced resilience during such fluctuations may be difficult, but it is achievable. One’s focus must be on maintaining a sense of consistency.  

As one prepares for change, keeping these resilience-builders in the forefront will aid in maintaining a focused groundedness:

• Take care of yourself. Assess where you are and expand your support system and self-care activities as you balance your overall well-being.
• Listen. In the dizzying din of confusion over change, listening to colleagues’ updates can shed light on the possibility of additional changes. Listening to what is NOT being said is wise. Silence provides information as well.
• Connect with collaborative support. Connect/reconnect with trusted advisors and colleagues. Expand the bank of trusted sources of guidance. Connecting with trusted colleagues confirms a base of support. Exploring new collaborations expands novel opportunities to explore and helps one maintain agility while increasing opportunities to pivot.
• Assess gaps. Examine what is missing or needed to move forward.
• Ready yourself to pivot. Having assessed all and strengthened connections, plan to move forward.
• Move forward. Whether shifting within the same parameters or moving in a different direction, resilience has been fostered, and one is more ready to thrive.

Several steps are ongoing. Continue building on each step and processing progress. This is resilience.

¹Rudyard Kipling. “If.” Poetry Foundation, 2019, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---