Taryn Stejskal, Ph.D.
FORMER HEAD, NIKE’S GLOBAL EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
- Author of the highly anticipated book Flourish or Fold: The Five Practices of Particularly Resilient People
- Lead, Nike’s Global Executive Leadership Development Strategy
- Former Head, Cigna’s Leadership Development & Executive Programs
- Doctorate degree, University of Maryland, College Park
- Neuropsychology Fellow with the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
Dr. Taryn Stejskal is one of the leading authorities on Resilience Leadership. Nike named her the head of their global leadership training and her work is resonating throughout the Fortune 500. As she describes it, “We are a world in which our human experience is defined by facing challenge, change, and complexity on an order of magnitude to which prior generations have not been exposed. The concept of resilience is built on the very ideology that we have the capacity to face hard things: trauma, loss, misfortune, and the like, and come out on the other side; not diminished, but instead, enhanced.”
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BIOGRAPHY, In her own words:
Becoming a Truly Resilient Leader
Hello, I am Dr. Taryn Stejskal (pronounced Stay – Skull)!
I’ve always been fascinated by people – in particular, what allows people to be at their very best. In this quest to understand our potential, I have become an expert on resilience and leadership. My research and leadership development work has proven something remarkable: We know significantly less about resilient doing, than we do about resilient thinking.
It is my pleasure to share what I have learned with you!
Currently, resilience is the media’s darling. We are a nation, a planet even, in which our human experience is defined by facing challenge, change, and complexity on an order of magnitude to which prior generations have not been exposed. We live in a day and age when, as humans, we are “on” 24/7, inundated with an unprecedented flow of information and the pressure to respond in real time. Add to that the unrelenting quest for perfection and achievement in a culture of frequent shaming and ridicule.
The concept of resilience is built on the human ethos, on the very ideology that we have the capacity to face hard things: trauma, loss, misfortune, and the like, and come out on the other side; not diminished, but instead, enhanced.
Resilience is not about bouncing back, returning to a prior state. No, resilience is about learning, through practice, to bounce forward. Resilient doing allows us to capitalize on the inescapable challenge, change, and complexity to grow and bloom, to be better than we were before.
Resilience Leadership is about supporting people in recognizing their worth and value, believing in themselves, appreciating their inherent strengths, recognizing their skills and talents, and being more resilient in order to reach their full potential. When we are operating from a place of full potential, we have the greatest capacity to positively impact our world.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, and the challenges I’ve faced that help my crystalize my purpose:
I grew up with undiagnosed dyslexia and a series of traumatic experiences in high school that left me with two decades of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In short, growing up, I didn’t think I was very smart, and I felt very afraid of the world a lot of the time.
So, how did I, with a learning disability and trauma symptoms, manage to complete a doctorate degree, and go on to become a corporate executive at a global Fortune 50 company heading up leadership development, a writer, a Mom, an athlete, an international traveler, and a philanthropist…earning accomplishments beyond my wildest dreams?
First, it started slowly. Little by little, I began to see my potential. I wouldn’t volunteer to lead a project, but then think, as I watched the person in charge, “You know what, I think I could actually do that.” So for the next time, I stepped forward. Each time I stepped forward, I learned that by stepping outside of my comfort zone, I would eventually get comfortable, which was key for my growth and development. Each time I challenged myself, I built another molecule of confidence, and my confidence began to accumulate over time.
The second element that supported me on my journey is deeply knowing myself. I took my first leadership assessment that gave me valuable feedback on my strengths that make me unique as a person and as a leader. My eyes were opened wide to my capabilities, and for the first time, I understood that I had a special ability to formulate strategy, communicate effectively with people, share a positive vision for the future, and stay focused to generate results.
The third and final element is the notion of resilience. I wanted to know why, when presented a challenge, some people flourished, and others folded. When challenge, change, and complexity inevitable arise, how can we as humans bounce forward and keep going?
My post-dissertation research focused on resilience in the realm of neurological injury. This led me to start exploring the factors that help or hinder all individuals as they face challenge, whether it is a new job, a cross country move, a new baby, or an unexpected health diagnosis. So, I began asking people a simple question “When you’ve faced a challenge in the past, what have you done to effectively face that challenge?”
Based on asking hundreds of people that question and collecting qualitative data, I developed the Five Practices of Particularly Resilient People, the behaviors that all of us can engage in to effectively address a myriad of challenges in our daily life, both large and small.
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