13 May How resourcefulness can be your express ticket to success
My last two blogs have dealt with, what are for me, two fundamentally important topics – reflection and resilience.
I’ve talked about how I’ve drawn heavily from both those wells in my personal and professional life, not just to survive but to grow and thrive into the person and coach I am today.
I’ve talked about how people develop those personality traits, the mechanisms for deploying them in trying circumstances and where they come from in the first place.
The guiding hand on my shoulder
To explore these topics, I’ve drawn on my upbringing, an unusual upbringing by ‘normal’ standards, but one from which I’ve been able to draw some direct straight lines to where I find myself today.
There’s a third element in this triumvirate, easily as important as the other two – and that’s resourcefulness.
Being resourceful equips young people with the skills to navigate challenges, adapt to changing circumstances and find creative solutions to problems, all extremely useful traits in adulthood.
To recap on my story, I was born in South London and was 10 years old when my mum and dad decided to go back to Nigeria. I spent six weeks in Nigeria before deciding I quite liked Brixton and so I went back there – on my own – to live in the family home.
My resourcefulness was like a guiding hand on my shoulder as I leveraged family support networks in the absence of immediate family members. I built relationships with older relatives for guidance, support and safety during those crucial, formative years.
Every day’s a school day
What’s incredible to me now thinking back about those times is that I leant on my resourcefulness on a daily basis without ever consciously thinking about it.
You never do something and think, ‘That was me being resourceful’. But I was able to develop a healthy appreciation of accomplishments with the self-awareness and humility to acknowledge my skills while staying grounded.
I’ve written before about the importance of my school days and a resourceful person drags every single piece of learning out of their education. You have to recognise its importance and leverage it as a tool for success, whatever is going on outside a formal education setting.
That continues in adulthood of course. The phrase ‘every day’s a school day’ is thrown around but it’s actually spot on and resourceful people take learnings from every situation.
That might mean anything from an improvement in your business’s bottom line, through helping your kids with their homework to you getting a marginally better ranking on Fortnite – whatever it is, if you improve or enhance your life then it’s a good thing.
Resourcefulness gives you the ability to overcome setbacks and failures and treat them as learning opportunities, developing resilience and a positive mindset to navigate varying environments and circumstances.
Being open-minded gives you the power to conquer obstacles
As a child, there were times when I was lonely. There were times when I was sad. There were times when external factors interfered with what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be.
Determination and perseverance is what got me through those times, always looking to maintain a passion to succeed despite obstacles. That’s a specific mindset and when resourceful people see those traits in you, it inspires them to behave in the same way.
Resourceful people also understand there’s more than one way to solve a problem. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to navigate complex situations and for that to happen, you must be open-minded.
The people around me when I was growing up taught me the value of remaining receptive to new ideas, perspectives and opportunities, fostering a mindset of continuous learning and growth.
I learnt right from the start the answer to a basic question – are you more likely to get what you want by shouting and screaming or by effective, calm, good communication? Managing emotions is a branch of resourcefulness that allows you to navigate relationships and conflicts positively.
Draw on the support of others to achieve your goals
Whatever you do in life, to succeed you need help. Collaborative skills give you the ability to engage fruitfully with stakeholders, friends (and even foes), role models, board members, local authorities, schools or community organisations.
Those skills come from resourcefulness, finding the right way to ask for help, from the right people at the right time.
My ability to navigate those diverse environments started when I was young, when that resourceful child realised that to get the most out of any situation, he needed to collaborate, to focus, to make the most out of what he had.
And what applied then is no less true today. I’m a business owner and any business owner will tell you that being resourceful is absolutely key.
How are you going to win the client you need to balance your books this month? How are you going to find the extra three days you need to get that piece of work done when your diary is full to bursting? How can I get that job completed when I lack the expertise required?
The answer to all of those questions is resourcefulness. It enables you to navigate uncertainties, capitalise on opportunities and overcome obstacles with limited resources.
It can foster innovation, creativity, resilience and adaptability, allowing you to find cost-effective solutions, leverage all your strengths and compete effectively in the market.
Whether you’re looking to take your business to the next level, start again with a fresh approach or if you just need someone to keep you accountable, I can help. Book a free discovery call with me by clicking here and let’s explore how coaching could accelerate your growth.