Leadership Lounge: How Emerging Leaders Can Develop Resilience

You likely built your leadership career by putting in the hours—being available, moving quickly, and pushing through. A few years ago, that intensity was likely sustainable. The problems you solved were contained and there was always someone above you to provide direction when the pressure became too much. Now the complexity is never-ending, and there is no one else to carry the weight.

As a senior leader, resilience cannot be about working harder and faster when the pressure mounts. That approach might work in the short term, but over time, it can erode your judgment, damage relationships, and leave you less equipped to handle the next challenge—not more.

Why is it so essential for you to build resilience as a senior leader today?

Joey Berk, Leadership Advisor, RRA: Resilience is an age-old concept. What has changed over time is organizational dynamics. Organizations in the past were differentiated based on consistency. Resilience looked like showing up with that consistency to enable the organization to perform. Today's environment is completely different. The external environment is moving so quickly. Consistency doesn't work anymore. Adaptability, change, and speed differentiate the organizations of the present.

How can you determine whether you have genuine resilience?

Maja Hadziomerovic, Leadership Advisor, RRA: We have three sources of intelligence available to us as human beings. To be a truly resilient leader, you need to be able to draw on all three sources relatively equally. On the first source of intelligence, the mind, you can demonstrate clarity of thought and perspective. You’re comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty and are oriented towards growth and learning. When you inevitably misstep, it's just an opportunity to learn. Then, there’s somatic intelligence: you're calm under pressure, and you can tune into the states of people around you and proactively manage your energy for the long term. You understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And thirdly, relational or emotional intelligence: you can feel all of your emotions, not just the good ones, which means you can connect authentically with care, build relationships, and make choices that are aligned with your integrity.

How can you build greater resilience as a senior leader?

Maja Hadziomerovic, Leadership Advisor, RRA: Stop thinking about time management and start thinking about energy management. Time is finite, whereas energy can be renewed. It's helpful to think of energy in four dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. So, the first thing is to audit yourself across these four dimensions of energy and proactively manage that for yourself day to day. For example, looking at physical energy, do you sleep enough? Are you eating well? Do you move your body regularly? On the emotional front, it's all about the quality of your relationships. Resilient leaders build sophisticated support networks across their personal life, and they lean on those networks. On the mental front, that's about focus. Are you able to prioritize? And then when you think about spiritual energy, what kind of leader do you want to be? What impact do you want to have on the world?

About the authors

Joey Berk is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Development Practice. He is based in Chicago.
Maja Hadziomerovic is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Advisory practice. She is based in London.