In the first installment of our series on The Resilient Founder, we explored resilience as a core concept of our investment thesis. With resilience, you can face any challenge with confidence and determination, knowing that you have the strength to overcome it – what investor wouldn’t want that for their portfolio founder?
But as we continue to dissect this topic of resilience, it is important to understand what it is, who has it, and how can we get more of it? We’ll be using the work of renowned psychologist Henry Cloud to help us unpack the regiments of resilience.
So let’s dive in…
What is Resilience?
Is a person born with it?
Do parents instill it?
Do schools teach it?
Or, is it a maturation process?
Is it a personality trait?
A state of “being?”
A mindset?
Is it learned?
Who has it?
Who needs it?
When and where must it show up?
Do you have it?
Ask ten founders the question, “Are you resilient?”, and it is highly likely that nine will answer yes. After all, a founder is—a founder. And, founders just have resilience. Because founders are risk takers. And risk takers have resilience baked into them. Right?
Not necessarily.
At 11 Tribes Ventures, we have witnessed too many founders who isolate themselves. Who feel they need to have all the answers. Who fail to delegate and find themselves doing every job. Who do the opposite of bouncing back when the going gets tough. Who crash and burn.
We have seen that resilience is not a state of have or have not. It’s a bit more complex.
Resilience is a Regimen
Yes. Resilience is a regimen—that begins with the founder.
It is a practice you practice. It is a garden you nurture. It’s a muscle you build. It’s an ongoing, dynamic commitment to yourself—that empowers a bounce back reflex. That why we partner with incredible organizations like Kadence Group to help our Founders build this reflex.
Founders require resilience to succeed, which means founders need a resilience regimen to succeed.
The 4 “rights” of a resilience regimen
The “rights” of a resilience regimen include:
The right people
The right mindset
The right habits and actions
The right plan
We will unpack each of these over the next few weeks, but for now we’ll start with the right people.
Who are Your Who?
Who are the people a Founder needs in their life to build and bolster their own resilience?
Renowned leadership expert, psychologist, executive coach, and prolific best-selling author Henry Cloud is one to follow if you are wondering about your “Who.”
In Cloud’s book, The Power of the Other, he addresses the types of people a Founder—or any leader for that matter – need in their life. Who surrounds you directly influences and impacts your resilience –and how you emotionally metabolize the stressful situations that require it.
Cloud contends your “who” must include:
People who speak truth to you.
People who understand what you are trying to accomplish.
People who can see your strengths and your weaknesses.
People who challenge you to grow.
Who not to include? Detractors. Negative people. People who reinforce your struggles. These people are drainers. Edit them from your life.
Resilience and success go hand in hand, which is why you need to be especially mindful of the hands you shake. Investing time in developing these relationships, and listening to the truth they speak, is actually an investment in your bottom line.
Do This Now
No matter where you are on the Founder’s Journey, the time is now to either establish, review, or edit the people you surround yourself with. Be choosy. Your resilience — and your bottom line — depends on it.
11 Tribes Ventures puts founders first. Every time. Relationships, not transactions. Healthy founders — who are healthy in every sense of the word — create healthy companies. The result? A return where everyone wins.