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Resilience through Leadership 79

homeless, substance-abusing veterans. Maddi, Kahn, and Maddi (1998)
report benefi cial effects of hardiness training as a means to promote resil-

ience to illness. Waite and Richardson (2004) employed resilience training
in an occupational context and found that workers who received resilience

training demonstrated significant improvements in self-esteem, increased
personal feelings of control, a belief in the purpose of their lives and work,
and enhanced interpersonal relations.
Lloyd and Foster (2006) cite their experience in training athletes to
improve performance and inoculate against stress, observing that such

training may be helpful in high-conflict work groups or in occupations
where stress is an integral part of the work. Taking an indirect approach,
other studies have focused on leaders’ behavior in the area of self-fulfi lling
prophecy (Dov, 1992; Davidson & Eden, 2000). In each case, leaders were

trained to foster a culture of high expectations, to fight negative stereotypes,
and to provide strong, positive support for all their employees. Subordinates

to these leaders were found to benefit by enhanced feelings of personal con-
trol, deep appreciation for the meaning of their work, and intense desire to
meet challenges. Research involving U.S. soldiers indicates that individuals
who see themselves engaged in meaningful work and recognize the benefi ts
of hardship are less likely to experience negative effects of stress (Britt, Adler

& Bartone, 2001). Thus, it is likely that resilience can be enhanced by leaders
who encourage and reinforce positive perceptions of meaningful service,
duty, and sacrifi ce.

Other research efforts indicate that resilience training may be useful as
a means to prepare individuals for new or potentially stressful experiences.
Goldstein and Smith (1999) report the benefits of cross-cultural training as

a means to enhance adaptability and emotional resilience in students pre-
paring for study abroad. Van Breda (1999) developed a resilience training
program for individuals who experience recurring separations from their

families. The program was effective in training business executives, sales
representatives, and military personnel and their family members to employ
coping mechanisms designed to help with frequent separations.

There is evidence to indicate that resilience to stress depends to some
extent upon the use of coping strategies that emphasize problem-solving,
communications, and control. It remains to be seen whether or to what extent
resilient coping strategies can be imparted, but it is certainly possible that
resilience may be enhanced by learning to frame stress realistically and with
an orientation to challenge (vs. threat). Maddi (2005) recently observed that
resilient individuals have the courage and the willingness to face stressors
rather than denying or “awfulizing” them. This orientation inspires resilient

individuals to approach stressors as challenges to be met and to interact with
others who can provide assistance and encouragement. Sharkansky et al.
(2000) have reported that the most psychologically healthy soldiers are those

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