Suite Success

The Psychologist from The Apprentice Reveals What It Really Takes to Excel—in the Boardroom and in Life

Author: Liza Siegel, Ph.D.
Pub Date: 2007
Your Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0814473601
Format: Hardcover

• Suite Success
• Author Bio
• Sample Chapter
• Praise for this book
• Press Release
• Happiness Quiz
• Six Keys to Resilient Leadership
• Six Positive Qualities for Business Leadership
• Request an Evaluation Copy, INSTRUCTOR ONLY!

Six Keys to Resilient Leadership, Apprentice-Style

• Recognize the problem. A problem-oriented outlook isn’t pessimistic; it is what prepares you for those inevitable setbacks. Steve Jobs’s focus on the problem of pirating songs from the Internet led to the next big thing for Apple, the iPod.
  
  
• Mentally rehearse. At the beginning of any venture, envision all of the possible pitfalls. Use the valuable tool of mental rehearsal that athletes use to help improve performance and prepare for any challenges that might come up.
  
  
• Find an alternative. Use humor and a positive outlook to open the door to more creative and expansive thinking. Once you set the mood and lay the groundwork for new and inventive alternatives, you may be surprised to find that the crisis has led to significant benefits.
  
  
• Adapt quickly. Tap into a powerful law of nature. Those species of plants and animals that modify their patterns as fast as the environment changes have hit the evolutionary jackpot. The key to adaptability is having a wide repertoire of responses. Sometimes it pays to be silly, sometimes serious; sometimes strong, sometimes vulnerable. Emotional and behavioral flexibility result from having a variety of resources.
  
  
• Counterbalance your efforts. It takes practice, but the effort you put into developing your weaker sides, like working a muscle, will eventually build more flexible strength. The next time you run into a problem, make an honest list of the skills you’ve used. Take time to think how you could do it differently—it may be that what is required is the exact opposite of your natural tendency. Say you always tackle a problem with logic; give creativity a try.
  
  
• Retain or regain your self-confidence. The skills for resilience begin with a focus on problems, but in the end, optimism triumphs. Some people worry that if they aren’t hard on themselves they will make mistakes or set themselves up for disappointment. Both these beliefs are self-limiting; it is positive self-efficacy—a winning combination of perseverance and self-reliance—that leads to success.

Adapted from SUITE SUCCESS: The Psychologist from The Apprentice Reveals What It Really Takes to Excel—in the Boardroom and in Life by Liza Siegel, Ph.D. (ISBN: 0-8144-7360-1).

Search the full text of this book