The Skill of Resilience: How to Improve It

What is currently having the greatest impact on your life and career? Each individual will have their own considerations – it could be geopolitical challenges or the weak business strategy of the company you work for. Or even a bad relationship with a new colleague. This article focuses on resilience. What factors influence this, and what can enhance resilience?

The power of bouncing back

Professor Debra Jackson and her coauthors define resilience as “the ability of an individual to adjust to adversity,” and it can be applied to fostering “personal strengths through strategies such as: building positive and nurturing professional relationships; maintaining positivity; developing emotional insight; achieving life balance and spirituality; and becoming more reflective.” 

According to Gallup, “the idea of resilience refers to people’s ability to handle shocks they face in their lives and to bounce back to ‘normal’ or near normal afterwards.” The most recent data from the World Risk Poll reveals that “while overall resilience remained stable globally from 2021 to 2023, resilience at the individual level decreased, with significant drops observed in almost a third (42) of the countries included in the index during both years. This decline was driven by a global increase, from 36% to 43%, in the number of people who say they can do nothing to protect themselves and their families in a disaster, suggesting a global loss of agency.”

As reported by the World Risk Poll, “The Resilience Index is an average score of four smaller sub-indexes: individual, household, community, and societal resilience. The vast majority of countries – 111 of them – have significantly higher scores for societal resilience than individual resilience. In other words, societies generally score higher for resilience than individuals within them. Very few countries – just nine – show the opposite effect, where individual resilience is significantly higher than societal resilience.” 

Build resilience in a stressful world

Let’s jump from the country level to the personal one. According to the Center on the Developing Child (Harvard University), “the capabilities that underlie resilience can be strengthened at any age.” What is critical for the development of resilience? Researchers from the Center on the Developing Child explain, “learning to cope with manageable threats.” They mention stress in these threats but note that "not all stress is harmful." There are plenty of chances to encounter stress that is manageable and could be growth-promoting.

The World Health Organization's experts explain that “stress occurs in a wide range of work circumstances but is often made worse when employees feel they have little support from supervisors and colleagues, as well as little control over work processes. There is often confusion between pressure or challenge and stress, and sometimes this is used to excuse bad management practice.”

Stress related hazards at work  are divided by the World Health Organization (WHO) into work content and work context. Work contents, as said the WHO explainer, includes “job content (monotony, under-stimulation, meaningless of tasks, lack of variety, etc) and working hours (strict or inflexible, long and unsocial, unpredictable, badly designed shift systems), etc.” According to the WHO, work context includes “career development, status and pay, etc.” 

Gallup reported that “global employee stress declined from 44% to 41% in 2023.” The report shows that daily stress has decreased for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, but it is still higher than the average before the pandemic. Gallyp notes that lthough the survey does not specifically ask if the stress employees felt was related to work, work experiences usually play a significant role in daily emotions.

Employee engagement, as opposed to stress, reflects the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. Gallup has found that “engaged business teams drive positive outcomes within organizations.” Gallup also estimates that “low engagement costs the global economy US$8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP.” According to the Burnout Report 2024, 91% of UK workers experienced extreme stress levels over the past year, with 1 in 5 needing to take time off due to poor mental health. This led to a staggering 18 million working days lost, costing the economy £102 billion per year. The statistics were reported by personal injury firm claims.co.uk and insurance corporation AXA.

5 pillars of resilience  

A Google search returns dozens of lists  for managing stress and building resilience. For instance, the Wellbeing Project recommends 5 pillars of resilience, including physical energy, future focus, inner drive, flexible thinking, and strong relationships.

We decided to ask ChatGPT for advice as we know virtual assistants are using summarized data. The chatbot divided the methods into two groups: tips for life and work resilience. Strategies to enhance work resilience include:

• Seek continuous learning: Regularly update skills and knowledge to stay relevant and feel more confident in handling new challenges.

• Maintain a work-life balance: Ensure there is time for rest and personal activities outside of work to avoid burnout.

• Develop a support network: Build strong relationships with colleagues who can provide support, advice, and encouragement.

• Stay proactive: Anticipate changes and challenges in the workplace and prepare for them in advance.

Resilience is not an innate trait, but rather a skill that can be developed over time through intentional practice and by adopting strategies to better manage stress and adversity. Here are some common practices for building resilience in both life and work:

• Mindset shift: Adopting a growth mindset, where challenges are seen as opportunities to learn and grow, is crucial for resilience.

• Self-reflection: Regularly assess your experiences, emotions, and behaviors to understand what contributes to or detracts from your resilience.

• Goal setting: Setting realistic and achievable goals helps in maintaining focus and motivation, providing a sense of direction during tough times.

• Flexibility: Being open to change and willing to adapt to new circumstances enhances resilience in both personal and professional settings.

In today's ever-changing world, the ability to handle stress and build resilience is not just a personal asset — as we saw with the figures of GDP and profit loss it's a critical skill for business and economic growth. According to McKinsey & Company Insights, the current era is increasingly defined by the “interplay of complex disruptions, with their disparate origins and long-term consequences. Institutions are not fully prepared for the new reality, often reacting separately to each disruption. This position is untenable and organizations are finding that their current risk management practices must expand to suit this new environment. Leaders are now discussing resilience as the essential condition.” 

As strategy thinkers, you should prioritize the development of resilience, not only for your own well-being but for the sustainability and growth of your organizations and institutions. Remember, resilience is not about avoiding stress; it's about learning to navigate through it, emerging stronger and more capable than before.