I’ve noticed over the last six months that several people have commented on having feedback from their senior manager about being a more resilient leader.
Don’t get me wrong – this is all well and good, except when you’re left without direction on what specifically you can do to build and demonstrate your resilience as a leader.
What this post covers is why resilience is necessary as a leader and five strategies on how you can develop your resilience.
Understanding Resilience in Leadership
Firstly, let’s think about the word resilience.
For many of us, it may conjure up an image of someone who has just completed ten marathons in 10 days, a ‘tough mudder’ challenge, or someone who has experienced a series of life-changing setbacks and yet continues to live life to the full.
Either way, few of us think about a leader and the gruelling year they’ve had overcoming one hurdle after another, pushing through barriers and breaking down walls (metaphorically speaking of course), who came out a better leader and person.
There’s no doubt personal resilience is essential, and it’s a critical requirement for effective leadership.
Why Resilience Is Necessary as a Leader
A leader’s true mettle is not how they perform when everything is going well but how they display courage, emotional strength, and professionalism when their company and team members are experiencing huge change in difficult and trying times.
It’s simply not possible to demonstrate resilience unless leaders have earned their ‘stripes’ by facing those difficulties head on and coming through the other side intact.
Typical examples in the life sciences industry would be when a leader guides their team through a merger, acquisition, restructuring, a product licensing issue, or the disappointment of yet another development product that is dropped from the next stage of clinical trials.
Similarly, IT leaders face rapid technological evolution, cybersecurity threats, digital transformation pressures, and the constant need to balance innovation with operational stability.
Fact: We’re living in times where change is a constant, and hence the need for leaders to build their resilience has probably never been greater1. So let’s look at how you can build and develop yours.
Strategies for Building Resilience as a Leader
1. Maintain Your Wellbeing
It’s easy when times are difficult to adopt the “work harder and longer hours” mentality and sacrifice self. Stop – it doesn’t work.
If you read any book written by a successful entrepreneur, they’ll all describe how they put their health and wellbeing first. They exercise, eat healthily, and get plenty of sleep. They make sure they have quality recovery time.
Research consistently demonstrates that leaders who prioritise their physical and mental health make better strategic decisions, maintain emotional stability under pressure, and model sustainable work practices for their teams2.
Why this matters: When leaders neglect their wellbeing, they create organisational cultures that normalise burnout and reduce overall team resilience. Your energy, clarity, and emotional regulation directly impact your team’s performance and resilience.
Practical steps:
- Establish non-negotiable exercise routines that provide stress relief and mental clarity
- Prioritise quality sleep as a strategic leadership tool, not a luxury
- Maintain nutritious eating habits that sustain energy throughout demanding periods
- Schedule regular recovery time for mental and emotional restoration
Treat wellbeing as a leadership competency, not a personal indulgence.
2. Communicate Powerfully and Consistently
Some leaders will often act individually and not keep their team up to date on what’s happening and what they’re doing.
In the training world, there’s a term called ‘signposting’. This is about communicating to participants what the trainer’s intentions are and what’s coming next in the workshop or training programme.
The most resilient leaders are effective at communicating their intentions or signposts to others. They’re keen to help their team understand a new strategy or direction. Effective and consistent communication helps others understand changes, expectations, and new directions.
Communication becomes critical during challenging periods when teams seek clarity, direction, and reassurance. Signposting involves clearly communicating intentions, next steps, and expectations to help others understand and prepare for what’s coming.
Key strategies:
- Provide regular updates even when information is limited or evolving
- Explain the ‘why’ behind decisions to help teams understand strategic context
- Acknowledge uncertainty honestly whilst maintaining confidence in the team’s ability to adapt
- Create multiple communication channels to ensure information reaches all team members
- Encourage questions and feedback to identify concerns before they become problems
Resilient leaders communicate with predictable frequency and transparency, creating stability through their communication approach even when organisational circumstances remain fluid.
3. Build Strong and Trusting Relationships
Resilient leadership occurs when people can bring others along. By building trust and being open to differences, these leaders can create strong teams by building strong positive relationships.
An individual may be willing to make a dramatic change, but it requires positive relationships to get others to support change. Strong, trusting relationships provide the foundation for teams to navigate uncertainty together. When team members trust their leader’s judgment, intentions, and competence, they’re more willing to adapt to changing circumstances and support difficult decisions.
Relationship-building strategies:
- Demonstrate vulnerability appropriately by acknowledging challenges and seeking input
- Show genuine interest in team members’ perspectives and professional development
- Be consistent in actions and decisions to build predictability and reliability
- Address conflicts directly and fairly to maintain team cohesion
- Celebrate team achievements and acknowledge individual contributions regularly
Leaders who embrace different perspectives, experiences, and approaches create more resilient teams because diverse groups generate more creative solutions and adapt more effectively to changing circumstances.
4. Take More Risks
What’s the saying? “If you keep doing the same things you will get the same results.”
Resilient individuals are willing to try new ideas and ways of working. They’ll take bold risks when they believe this is needed, no matter what others might think.
Ask yourself:
- How often do I play safe?
- What makes me decide to do this?
- Where could I be bolder?
- What is stopping me?
It’s easy to stay with what’s comfortable, yet this approach only works whilst things around you stay the same. As we’ve mentioned, we live in a world that is full of change, meaning organisations need to change or risk obsolescence. Resilient leaders are not afraid to take risks and make bold changes.
Risk-taking vs. recklessness: Resilient leadership involves taking informed risks based on analysis, consultation, and strategic thinking – not impulsive decisions driven by pressure or desperation. The goal is expanding possibilities whilst maintaining organisational stability.
Create environments where experimentation is encouraged, failures are treated as learning opportunities, and teams feel safe proposing creative solutions to persistent challenges.
5. Encourage and Support Others to Develop
Resilient and successful leaders are not only interested in their development, but they’re concerned about the development of others too.
We’ll all experience failure at some point in our lives, and this is when we need to tap into our resilience. Developing others helps everyone to learn from their mistakes. Leaders who want and ask for feedback for themselves are more likely to give productive feedback and coaching to others.
Why this matters: Resilient leaders understand that their individual capabilities, whilst important, are insufficient for sustained organisational success2. They actively invest in developing others’ skills, confidence, and resilience because collective capability determines long-term organisational health.
Development-focused leadership benefits:
- Distributes organisational knowledge and reduces single points of failure
- Creates succession pipelines that ensure continuity during transitions
- Builds team confidence in handling challenges independently
- Establishes learning cultures that adapt more effectively to change
- Increases employee engagement through meaningful growth opportunities
Practical development strategies:
- Provide stretch assignments that challenge team members appropriately
- Offer regular coaching and feedback focused on growth rather than criticism
- Create mentoring relationships both within and outside the immediate team
- Support external learning opportunities including training, conferences, and certifications
- Model continuous learning by pursuing your own development visibly
Leaders who actively seek feedback for themselves create organisational cultures where giving and receiving feedback becomes normal, productive, and growth-oriented rather than threatening or punitive.
Measuring Your Resilient Leadership
Resilient leaders are perceived more positively in organisations, but it’s sometimes difficult to understand precisely what a leader can do to be viewed as more resilient. Choosing to improve on even a few of these five strategies will help you to be seen as more resilient.
Development indicators to watch for:
- Team members seek your guidance during challenging situations
- Colleagues describe you as calm and effective under pressure
- Your teams maintain performance levels during organisational changes
- You’re frequently involved in crisis response or change management initiatives
- Team members develop stronger capabilities and confidence over time
Resilient leadership develops through experience, reflection, and intentional skill-building. Each challenging situation provides opportunities to strengthen these capabilities and refine your approach to supporting others through uncertainty.
Frequently Asked Questions About Resilient Leadership
Building Your Resilient Leadership Capacity
Developing resilient leadership capabilities is not just about surviving difficult periods – it’s about creating sustainable advantages that benefit your career, your team, and your organisation long-term. Leaders who master these five strategies consistently demonstrate greater effectiveness, receive more challenging opportunities, and build stronger, more adaptable teams.
The journey toward resilient leadership begins with intentional action. Choose one or two of these strategies to focus on immediately, apply them consistently in your current role, and gradually expand your resilient leadership toolkit as you gain experience and confidence.
Remember that resilient leadership is not a destination but a continuous development process. Each challenge you face provides opportunities to strengthen these capabilities and refine your approach. The leaders who commit to this ongoing development consistently emerge as the most valued and effective in their organisations.
In unpredictable environments, resilience becomes your leadership edge. Your team, your organisation, and your career will benefit from the investment you make in developing resilient leadership capabilities today.