Back in the mists of time (2008, actually) when most believed that a banking crisis was the worst thing that could happen, we became aware that the prospect of personal catastrophe affects people in very different ways. Some of the leaders of the financial institutions we worked with were galvanised, others pole-axed. The characteristic that determined what category they would fall into was a (then) little-studied aspect of personality: personal resilience - or the ability to bounce back from adversity. We created a psychometric tool to measure it - the Nicholson McBride Resilience Quotient (RQ), which many of our clients used, along with a range of techniques designed to boost their ability to respond to serious challenge. By 2011, it had become clear that the coalition government's austerity programme was going to hit local government particularly hard. With the support of the Local Government Association and the London Councils' organisation, we conducted a sector-specific National Resilience Survey, when we made the RQ available to all local government officers, as a way to help sustain their resilience and that of the teams they managed during a period of steadily diminishing resources. When the Covid pandemic struck in 2020, we made the same offer of free resilience support to all the organisations we were then supporting.

As a result of all this activity we now have a large RQ database, which we would like to expand further, as a way of preparing a new edition of our book Resilience: bounce back from what life throws at you. To help with the research, we are offering you the opportunity to assess - or reassess - your personal resilience quotient, by completing the RQ. You will then receive your personal resilience profile, plus suggestions for boosting your ability to cope with the political and economic turmoil we continue to experience. You will not be charged for the exercise, though the RQ normally costs £30. This offer ends on 30th June. Thank you for your help.

To take the questionnaire:

• Go to https://testyourrq.nicholsonmcbride.com/ and click "Start now" to create an account

• Once you are logged in, click "Take questionnaire" and enter this access code when prompted: 5611193926

The questionnaire takes around 5-10 minutes to complete and is followed by a short demographic survey, which is entirely optional. Once you’ve submitted your questionnaire, you will receive your personalised report automatically by email.

If you have any questions, please contact us at more@nicholsonmcbridechange.com

Jane Clarke & Dr John Nicholson