Friday, December 2, 2016

Your Super Power Resilience - A Practical Guide for High Performance Leadership

Cynthia Howard RN, CNC, PhD

“Resilience is an instinct that engages parts of you that get crushed in the day-to-day grind: optimism, mental flexibility, stamina” Dr. Cynthia Howard


Like so many, this year was a challenging time for me. There were a lot of significant changes and tests in my life and it can be overwhelming. My response was to try and develop some new strategies and decompress. I was thrilled when I found the book Your Super Power Resilience – A Practical Guide for High Performance Leadership by Cynthia Howard RN, CNC, PhD. This book was very instrumental in giving me some new tools and moreover, as a leadership blogger, I was thrilled to pick up some fresh leadership ideas and methods.

Leaders not only lead others, but themselves. Life moves fast and so many of us are trying to catch up and stay afloat. The result is increased daily stress, the inability to think clearly, and a kick to our confidence which in turn impacts our leadership. Cynthia skillfully shows us how to grow our resilience to fight stress so we can lead with more energy, face our inner fears and criticism, and have results. This is a book right up my alley!

After sharing the most common leadership mistakes which plague us all, Dr. Cynthia quickly introduces resilience and how it is instrumental in being successful. “Resilience is the ability to bounce back, recover from setback, embrace challenge, and adopt to change”. Leaders need to change the way that we look at issues and change our existing mindset to think more strategically and really change how we see the world. Becoming more resilient calls on learning more about yourself and using your strengths to think more strategically so that you can get back on track setting priorities to accomplish goals and support your team.

I’m thrilled to see how business has finally embraced Emotional intelligence. I started my career in the formal banking world and EQ was a long time coming! Dr. Cynthia’s quote “There is an art to being you. Learn to engage your EQ. Be present and authentic. With this attitude toward yourself, you will have the right attitude toward others” really resonates with me and reflects my own values. Emotional intelligence has become a critical skill and tool for leaders the past several years. EQ successfully guides our decisions and how we relate with our people and approach growth. Dr. Cynthia shares some critical foundations of EQ and how to strength both your own, and that of your people. She shares real life scenarios of EQ in play and one is quickly reminded of how it can impact organizations.

The meat of the book focuses on Dr. Howard’s C.A.R.E model which truly is a four step model to enhance your life, strategic thinking, and high performance. This model is one that you can incorporate into your daily routine and she offers some effective insight and suggestions to guide you.

Connect: Connection with the people, ideas, and the relationships in your life

Awareness: Self awareness is a key driver in being present in life

Resilience: You need tools and the strength to keep on going and face any challenges in your way

Empower: Not only do you need to manage your own success, but you really need to focus on growing the success of others and lift them up every day

What I enjoyed most about this gem are the practical tips, ideas, and real life situations that Dr. Howard shared. The content will urge you to continue flipping the pages because the book is engaging and Dr. Cynthia hooked me in the first few pages. Here are some of the aspects that delighted me most:

  • You will enjoy and want to put into practice the various strategies that she offers on developing a new mindset, discovering your strengths, recognizing challenges and downfalls, and asking yourself questions that will help you grow 

  • Like it or not, we all have some confidence challenges and growing your confidence, particularly after it’s taken a hit, is a process and takes time. Dr. Howard leads us through the process of building ourselves up 

  • Her stress strategies were very personal for me. Recently, I have been practicing meditation and mindfulness and seeing some results peek through. Dr. Cynthia shares these among others 

  • The numerous tips, real life scenarios and experiences, and frustrations are pertinent 

  • We are given numerous exercises, strategies, and thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter 

  • Dr. Howard fills the appendix with very effective skill inventory tests, assessments, a resilience map, and growth strategies among other links and opportunities for more exploration


I’m fortunate to have 4 wonderful intelligent boys. One thing that I have always preached to them is that intelligence is only good as long as you use it. Some of the most successful people are not geniuses – instead, they have grit and perseverance. . Most importantly, they have learned to examine themselves and build resilience so that they can focus, strategize, and have an impact without being sidelined by poor self-confidence or misdirection.

Are you ready to become more resilient? Please continue your growth and pick up Your Super Power Resilience – A Practical Guide for High Performance Leadership today!