Enhancing Resilience Through Networking

A message from Wake Forest’s Professional Development Center team

It seems that so many of us have talked about our resilience lately. For some, it’s being tested. For others it’s needing more of it. Many of us feel we need to be resilient due to the environment around us, or need just enough of it to get through these last few weeks of the semester.

A great definition of resilience is what our Office of Wellbeing states on their ResilientWake website: “Resilience is our ability to face those inevitable challenges and changes with grace. You might have heard people talking about resilience as “bouncing back”, “overcoming obstacles”, or “finding a silver lining” – resilience consists of a range of skills that improve as you practice.” 

Another way to think about resilience is through the Center for Creative Leadership’s CORE framework that focuses on four areas of resilience: physical, mental, emotional, and social. The last one, social, can be key to helping us as a Wake Forest community work with each other better, not only to be valued coworkers and colleagues, but also to help us recover from the stressors and strain around us better and more effectively.

The PDC is offering a workshop on networking this month, and learning about networking can help us in our social resilience. If we can view networking positively, as a way to enhance our social resilience by enhancing our networks and growing the amount of people we can support, we can become more resilient. If you are interested in learning more about what networking really is, how you can become better at networking and see networking as a way to enhance your social resilience, sign up for the PDC In-Person course: The Whys and How Tos of Networking on April 30.

Want other ways to build your resilience? We encourage you to look to our own Office of Wellbeing for any of their courses or workshops on resilience. Reach out to Ashley Hawkins Parham to schedule a workshop or skillshare for your group. Or, sign up for other upcoming PDC courses. We constantly hear PDC courses bring value to participants because it enhances skills, and because participants are also meeting new people they would have never met before. Enrolling in PDC courses or other workshops and trainings around campus can help you meet more WFU colleagues, enhance your network, and build your social resilience. 

Continue your professional development with the PDC:

• Visit us online at pdc.wfu.edu
• Register for our classes through Workday Learning
• Follow the PDC on Instagram @wfutalent
• Or, contact our professional staff:
  • William (Bill) Gentry, Director of the PDC and Learning & Development
  • Missy Campbell, Manager, Learning & Development