We have come to think of resilience as something that we either have or we don’t, an ingrained character trait. And it’s certainly true that when we are put in a stressful situation, some of us bounce back more quickly than others. But, whilst some of us ARE more inherently resilient through a combination of nature and nurture, we have all experienced our resilience increasing when we navigate – and survive – life’s obstacles. Perhaps it is more instructive to think of resilience as a muscle that we can strengthen through a form of exercise, applying targeted stress when our body has the capacity to take it. ‘Capacity’ here depends on a range of factors: physical and mental health, how well we have slept, whether we are hungry and the variety of coping strategies we are able to deploy.

The time it takes for a challenging situation to translate into a resilience-building growth experience varies greatly. But what does not appear to vary is the stages that we cycle through to get there, as we deal what has happened to us.

The first is that we react: in the moment of extreme stress, our survival instinct kicks in and we do whatever we need to so as to remove ourselves from the source of danger. We adopt coping mechanisms to get us through the short term, some of which are adaptive (healthy), such as reassuring ourselves with mantras or affirmations, confronting the problem head-on, or distracting ourselves to allow time for our minds to self-regulate. Some are maladaptive, such as avoidance and compartmentalisation. Once the immediate crisis point has passed, we can process what has happened, and finally we can assimilate our learnings, from identifying and addressing unhelpful behaviour patterns right through to precipitating a major life reappraisal. The interesting point is that whilst we are working through this stress cycle, our resilience can actually decrease from its starting level; it is only once we have completed the process (and sometimes we never get there) that our resilience increases.

This two-dimensional resilience-building framework – capacity and a completed stress cycle – is particularly apposite for the driven, high-achieving founder. For who has time to rest, exercise, or meditate when there’s a business to get off the ground? Whilst a laser-sharp focus is fine in the short term, working long days for sustained periods not only increases the risk of burnout, it also means you are less likely to bounce back quickly when you hit a bump in the road. And bumps in the road are pretty much guaranteed for us all.

Whilst the stresses of personal and professional life events cannot be eliminated, they can be ameliorated. The good news is that, as a founder, you can improve the background resilience of yourself and your employees by building intentional support structures. The number one lifeline during times of stress is a support network, with 73% of the interviewees in my research explicitly stating its importance. In a workplace contest this translates to mentorship, peer support, compassionate leave, and flexible working. Investing in managers who have the skills, interest, training and time to provide support to their team members, underscored by a culture of psychological safety.

It makes resoundingly good business sense to get it right. For a whopping 38% of my interviewees, work was the cause of their resilience trial. What an own goal: dysfunctional workplaces wearing them down, eroding their ability to deliver their ‘A’ game, some so toxic that it is impossible to function at all. The cause? The usual suspects of bullying, micromanagement, sexual harassment and (typically gender) bias, generally stemming from the tone at the top.  In brief, it boils down to workplace culture.

A lack of personal resilience impacts every aspect of work and business life, from staff retention, to performance, to risk management, right the way up to decision-making quality at executive and board level. Your, and your employees’, personal resilience is a strategic asset. Ignore it and you risk silent quitting and burnout; get it right and it will pay dividends. Resilience is not just a ‘nice-to-have’: it is the true strategic enabler that will reduce your business’s likelihood of being part of that dreaded 60%.

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