What is resilient leadership, and why is it important for top leaders today?

By Thomas Bering, October 2024

In an era marked by continuous market dynamics and increasing unpredictability, it is no longer sufficient for top leaders to be merely visionary strategists. Today’s leaders must also demonstrate resilience – the ability to manage stress, adapt to change, and withstand unexpected challenges. But what does resilient leadership entail, and why is it so critical in the current context?

What does resilience mean?

Resilience refers to the ability to withstand and grow through adversity, stress, and change. It is about the capacity of individuals and organizations to adapt to shifting conditions without compromising core values or strategic goals.

What is resilient leadership?

Resilient leadership is about toughness – not just surviving crises, but emerging stronger from them. Resilient top leaders can anticipate and manage unexpected changes, remain calm under pressure, and quickly adjust strategies while maintaining focus on long-term objectives.

While resilient leadership is often seen as an individual trait, it is equally an organizational capability. Resilient leaders develop structures, teams, and processes that enhance the organization’s ability to withstand and adapt to sudden disruptions – whether those are market shocks, restructuring, or global crises such as pandemics.

 

Why is resilient leadership crucial today?

The modern market is characterized by unpredictability. Top leaders constantly face external factors over which they have limited control, yet these factors can potentially change the entire future of the company. There are three key reasons why resilient leadership is indispensable:

  1. Resilience in a rapidly changing world

Changes now occur at an unprecedented speed. Leaders who do not actively work on resilience risk falling behind when markets shift or new demands emerge. "It is not the strongest who survive, but those who best adapt to change."

  1. Stress management and mental robustness

A Harvard Business Review study highlights the increasing challenges faced by top leaders. According to the study, 78% of top leaders report that their stress levels have risen significantly compared to five years ago – a clear sign of the complex pressures modern leaders must navigate.

The study, conducted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects not only the consequences of a global health crisis but also the broader, volatile global conditions that top leaders must constantly contend with. Resilient leaders maintain their composure during stressful periods and prevent stress from spreading within the organization.

  1. Psychological safety as a catalyst for innovation

Resilient leaders foster a culture of innovation even under challenging circumstances. Psychological safety promotes organizational learning and innovation by creating an environment where employees dare to experiment, take calculated risks, and openly acknowledge mistakes. This is essential for developing new solutions and improving processes in a structured manner.

In the article Resilient Organizations Make Psychological Safety a Strategic Priority, authored by Maren Gube and Bebra Sabatini Hennely in Harvard Business Review, three cultural dimensions are identified as critical for organizational resilience: integrity, innovation, and inclusion. These factors form the core of a culture characterized by psychological safety, which enables organizational development and adaptation.

 

Six key factors for a successful transformation

Resilient leadership is essential for creating organizational toughness and ensuring that the entire organization can adapt to change. In a Harvard Business Review article written by, among others, Michael Smets – a professor at the University of Oxford and instructor on CfL’s top leader program "Resilient Leadership" – the authors describe six key factors for a successful transformation:

  1. The leader’s willingness to change: Effective transformations begin when leaders reflect on their own relationship with change and invest in personal development. Leaders must be willing to change themselves before they can lead the organization through change.
  2. A shared vision for success: A clear and common vision creates motivation and helps employees understand why change is necessary. When everyone is engaged with the vision, the likelihood of success is significantly higher.
  3. A culture of trust and psychological safety: Employees must feel safe expressing their opinions and concerns without fear of negative consequences. Trust and psychological safety form the foundation for employee engagement and participation in change processes.
  4. A balance between execution and experimentation: Transformation requires disciplined project management, but successful leaders also give employees the freedom to experiment and find creative solutions without fear of minor mistakes.
  5. Understanding the emotional impact of technology: Technology can create uncertainty and fear among employees. Leaders who succeed in technological change ensure that technology is integrated with an understanding of the emotions it may evoke and that employees have the necessary skills to use it effectively. 
  6. Shared ownership of the results:In successful transformations, leaders and employees work together to create a sense of joint ownership over the process and its outcomes. This increases engagement and promotes the transformation’s success.

How can you strengthen your own resilience as a top leader?

You can develop resilience through conscious effort. Start with concrete steps to strengthen your own resilience as a top leader:

  • Self-awareness: Be aware of your own reactions to stress and change. How do you handle pressure? How do you respond to uncertainty? By analyzing your own patterns, you can identify areas for improvement.
  • Flexibility in leadership: Resilient leaders adjust their course when circumstances change, without losing sight of overarching goals. Strategic flexibility is crucial in times of rapid change.
  • Development of resilient teams: A leader is only as strong as their team. Create an environment where employees feel safe handling change and challenges. A culture marked by openness and psychological safety contributes to resilient behavior throughout the organization.
  • Continuous learning and development: Invest in your own growth. Regardless of your experience, there is always room to learn more about leadership, psychology, and current trends in change management – whether through courses, mentoring programs, or reflecting on past experiences.

The long-term benefits of resilient leadership

Resilient leadership is about ensuring long-term organizational success even under uncertain conditions. It requires a combination of mental toughness, emotional intelligence, strategic flexibility, and the ability to quickly learn and adapt. For top leaders who aspire to lasting success, developing resilient leadership is essential.

Being a resilient leader does not mean that you will never encounter setbacks or failures – on the contrary, it means having the ability to learn from experiences and use them as a springboard for future growth.

Are you ready to strengthen your organization’s resilience? It starts with awareness and action – and you have already taken the first step by reading this article.

On our top leader development program, Resilient Leadership – Leading in unsettled times, you will spend three intensive days with some of Europe’s leading thinkers in leadership, in historic settings at the University of Oxford. Read more about the program

 

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