How to Maintain Resilience
Does this sound familiar?
The goals are ambitious, the teams are working hard, and yet something is simmering beneath the surface: fatigue, uncertainty, withdrawal. And then a strategic shift is added to the mix. Or an acquisition. Or a reorganization. I’m seeing this scenario play out with several clients. Often, the pressure from shareholders and/or the CEO is focused on faster, bigger results – while trust, and with it, resilience, are lacking.
Welcome to the tension between growth and change.
In scale-ups and growing organizations, change is not a project – it’s a constant. And that’s exactly why resilience – that quiet strength below the surface – should guide your leadership approach.
Why Resilience Is the New Competitive Advantage
In today’s changing world, structure, KPIs, and clear processes alone won’t get you there. In fact, they can even freeze your team if the foundation is shaky. What you do need is a culture where people feel heard, can recover, and keep contributing — even when there’s friction.
In my blog “Balancing Growth and Burnout Prevention in Fast-Paced Scaling-Up”, I wrote that healthy growth requires more than targets: it calls for leaders who recognize when their team is underwater. Resilience begins with seeing.
The Role of Leaders: Be the Example, Create Space
Resilience isn’t built in a Friday afternoon training. It grows in how you deal with uncertainty, setbacks, and friction. You are the example. Just as important: give others the space to show their resilience too.
A few questions to reflect on:
- What do you do when there’s tension in your management team?
- How much room is there to make mistakes without immediate correction?
- Who becomes stronger from the way you give feedback?
- Do you allow your team members to take real ownership?
In the article “Control and Trust: How to Get It Right!” I go deeper into this. Giving trust is not a trick; it is the foundation of resilience.
Practical Tips: How to Build Resilience in Your Team
- Normalize discomfort
Change is unsettling. Name it. Talk about it without trying to polish it away. - Create recovery rituals
Think of short check-ins, reflection moments, or walk-and-talks. Small habits that help ventilate emotions and reset. - Give direction and space
Clarify the vision, but let go of the path toward it. Resilience grows when people feel autonomy within clear boundaries. - Stay close, especially when things get tough
Teams that feel abandoned in difficult times will disengage. Your presence is crucial — not to fix it, but to face it together.
In “The Secret of High Performance Teams”, I describe how psychological safety and involved leadership are the building blocks for sustainable performance. This holds true in both calm and turbulent times.
Finally: It’s Not About Bouncing Back, But Falling Forward
Resilience doesn’t mean returning to how things were. It’s the skill to create something new through the chaos – as a team, as a leader, as a human being.
And let’s be honest: that takes courage. It takes time. And it requires you to not only think strategically, but also look systemically.
Who or what is blocking change?
Where’s the real pain?
And how can you lead with both compassion and direction?
Want to know more?
Want to explore how your leadership can help strengthen resilience in your organization?
Feel free to reach out.
Or start by reading one of my books.
