Despite the widespread belief that people either have the ability to stay emotionally strong during difficult situations or you don’t, resilience isn’t an innate quality or ability. And for those who are resilient, it rarely comes easily. There are specific, trainable things that resilient people do to build their resilience levels.

For first responders, in order to be resilient in the face of adversity, they need to be aware of the challenges they face, identify the gaps in their current skill set, and add strategies that help them cope. Using this methodical approach can help reduce the stigma and allow people who might not otherwise be comfortable addressing gaps in their resilience toolbox. 

Not only is the job difficult, but the public scrutiny on those that serve the public adds a new layer of pressure that’s causing teams, staffers, and squads to experience stress and burnout at higher levels than ever. 

​Characteristics of Resilient First Responders

Resilient first responders have several characteristics in common: 

• They know their good and bad habits and know how to mitigate their bad habits.  
• They are optimistic that the future will be better and they can take positive actions to make it happen.  
• They are realistic about what they’re facing.  
• They have good support systems.  
• They prioritize self-care and deliberate recovery.  
• They know that getting knocked down isn’t the end.
• They know when to ask for help

What is the impact of having resilient people on my team?

With greater levels of individual and team resilience, you can expect to see greater workplace engagement and productivity, better problem solving, less burnout,, fewer injuries and illnesses, fewer conflicts within the workplace, greater recovery during time off (your people are more refreshed and ready to return to work after time off), decreased anger and frustration, decreased reckless behavior, decreased anxiety, depression and substance abuse.  

In short, your people show up, work smarter, get hurt less, cause fewer problems, and reduce administrative stress.  

How can you tell if your people are resilient?

• They are committed to the work and the positive impact they’re making in the community
• They have high quality relationships on and off the team
• They believe in their ability to face and overcome challenges
• They recognize their stress levels and implement strategies to recover energy and lower stress
• They look out for each other and encourage reaching out for support
• They adapt well to changes and problem solve
• They lean into difficult conversations to resolve conflict
• They seek out learning, development and growth opportunities
• They learn from mistakes

Resilience Resources

Here are a few curated resources that can help you get a baseline understanding of resilience for your first responders. 

7 Habits of Resilient Teams

Provides a concise list of things resilient teams do differently than non-resilient teams,

The Importance of Definitional and Temporal Issues in the Study of Resilience ​

This article defines resilience as “a skill set that activates the ability to navigate stress and change and to grow and thrive from challenges.”  This means resilience isn’t who you are, it’s what you do. ​

Resilience Is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure​

 This article highlights how important it is to prioritize self care and deliberate recovery in order to enable resilience. 

Resilience among first responders ​

This article specifically looks at resilience within the first responder community.  It also highlights critical factors to resilience in this community, including self-efficacy (belief that you are competent and can face challenges), collective efficacy (belief that your team is competent and can face challenges) and a sense of community (having trust, psychological safety, and a sense of belonging within a given community. ​

Tools for First Responder Resilience

​Use this free downloadable sample of my First Responder Resilience eBook and workbooks to help focus on what skills it takes to build resilience, to help you build an effective, focused, and resilient team.  

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