Improving organizational resilience by a focus on personal and emotional resilience

By Robert Hall

As organizational resilience is fundamentally about people, the personal and emotional side of the concept of resilience is at the heart of any approach. It usually comes down to people’s behaviours or mindsets in the way they deal with setbacks, trauma, or disruption, as well as how they grow thereafter, both individually and collectively. In this regard, each of us has a different baseline of resilience and hence our responses to crises are different. We can be more resilient to some events (e.g. bankruptcy) but less so to others (e.g. bereavement) (1).

Some would argue that our resilience level is a mixture of nature and nurture, with money or status being no firm indicators of the baseline. Undoubtedly, resilience can be improved with experience and training, as the military would attest. It can equally be said that while strategies, frameworks, protocols, standards and procedures will help, ultimately, they will not deliver resilience on the ground where people and communities will determine outcomes.

If resilience is a mindset, a way of thinking, then we need to consider the philosophical and psychological dimensions of coping with personal challenges and change. As a broad rule, we tend to resist change and strive to maintain the status quo where we feel most comfortable. Shocks and stresses are unsettling. They are often outside our control and over which we have limited direct influence: flooding is one example. So, our personal resilience comes from the manner in which we approach such disruptions and manage our behaviours and responses. Our reactions are within our domain. This approach has been recognised for centuries: it was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who said (c 180AD) that: ‘You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.’

Like an egg

What does this resilience behaviour require of us practically? There are three key ingredients which can be represented by the acronym ARC – Armour, Resistance and Courage.

The first, Armour, is about having a protective and progressive shield, not in the military sense but more in a behavioural one. It refers to the metaphorical shell that surrounds and supports the essential ingredients of resilience. It’s like the hard shell of a bird’s egg protecting the inner yolk. This shell reflects the hard defences or skills of one’s personality – strength (moral as well as physical), resolve, flexibility, durability, well-being (mental and physical), etc. Some of this comes from experience and expertise but many young people can also show a strong shell which allows them to recovery quickly from life’s knocks.

The second attribute, Resistance, is not an excuse for stubbornness or inflexibility but more a recognition that we must oppose being blown off course and not let adversity overwhelm us but rather be robust and agile. It’s about seeing the hopeful signs that reveal solutions through perseverance. The experience may make one stronger: it’s like physical exercise to build muscles. That analogy offers a reminder that good personal well-being is also an essential element of resistance; if one is fit and healthy then tackling a disruptive event becomes easier.

Having made the analogy with an egg earlier, it is time to declare that the yolk reflects the traditional virtues of the personal mindset, namely knowledge (or the wisdom to know what we can and can’t control), moderation (the act of self-control), fairness (being compassionate and just) and, above all, courage (the fortitude to press on). These soft virtues or skills are more difficult to embed but are, nevertheless, the crucial ones to focus on in a personal sense; they provide our moral compass.

Courage is, in fact, the third attribute. The author Nassim Taleb reminds us that: ‘Courage is the only virtue you cannot fake.’ Courage is more than physical bravery but is the psychological strength to face adversity and uncertainty. It is about overcoming fear of both the situation and the prospect of change which automatically brings with it doubts about the future. Courage often comes from, or is shaped by, others around us.

Closely allied to courage is confidence, namely self-confidence in achieving goals and the self-reliance in their pursuit. Confidence generally breeds success but it often needs that boost or motivation to take the first step. Anxiety can readily diminish that motivation and needs to be recognized, and fears tackled. Hope plays an important part here which most good leaders acknowledge and try to deliver: ‘optimism is true moral courage’, said the Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. The balance between hope and fear is a fine one. As the philosopher Baruch Spinoza declared: ‘There is no fear without some hope, and no hope without some fear.’

Facing a crisis

Besides the personal, quotidian attributes of resilience, but closely aligned, are the emotional characteristics that are called upon when we have to deal with trauma: whether that be a shock like a traffic accident or a stress like the Covid-19 pandemic. The characteristics do not negate or supplant the personal features but are directed at the crisis at hand yet can continue for many years, perhaps in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Here, another acronym, PRO, can help navigate this complex arena. The letters stand for Preparation, Recovery, and Observation.

The first of these is about being proactive, perhaps something that may be strange in an emotional context. Yet, it’s not about anticipating disaster or disruption but accepting that disaster may strike and being ready to deal with it emotionally. Preparing one’s self mentally is as important as being ready with buckets, mops, and wellingtons when flooded. You need to think of the characteristics in advance not just in the moment of a crisis.

It is possible to be proactive by acquiring the knowledge (a virtue) and the skills (a value) to cope with emotional distress and trauma. In advance and with time and space to think calmly and logically, we can work with others to identify the signs of anxiety and stress in ourselves and colleagues, how to manage the pressures, how to build trust (and share) with others around us, what incidents can help build our organizational memory, and what tools and agencies there are to assist in emergencies.

The Recovery component is about how best to deal with emotional distress when it appears in oneself or others. As that well-known philosopher and pugilist Mike Tyson once remarked, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.’ So, while preparation isn’t everything, deploying ready coping mechanisms or crisis management solutions is important when the chips are down and punches fly; then is not the time to reflect and procrastinate.

Thankfully, post-traumatic stress can be managed. It may be long-term and disorientating but there are recognised pathways to deal with it sympathetically. One of the first of these may be dealing with denial or disbelief, anger and that common one of resistance to change. It does not always involve talking and sharing. People also need time and space to grieve, readjust and adapt.

The Observation component comes through the absorption and application of lessons from past experiences relating to both oneself and others far and wide. Learning lessons helps make us stronger, providing the right lessons are learnt. That means taking other people’s views into account, hence to be able to listen and learn.

In groups, learning what went right is as important as learning what went wrong. But acting upon the conclusions is even more important for resilience. Learning lessons comes with experience, awareness, agility, and insight. It has been found that organizations with cultures suited to learning tend to be better placed to deal with trauma. Also, people with better self-awareness, an ability to identify vulnerabilities, and the recognition of one’s own limits tend to be less traumatised in crises.

Mastering change

Resilience is, in essence, the capacity to recover quickly from shocks and stresses and, importantly, to adapt – even transform – and thrive in a new environment. There is the analogy here of the caterpillar and the butterfly. The former totally reorganises its body tissues inside a cocoon – a process called metamorphosis – to emerge transformed as a butterfly to take advantage of a different environment, new food sources, and an ability to mate. Interestingly, in the biological process of change, the caterpillar tries to resist becoming a butterfly while the butterfly becomes stronger because of the opposition to its advance. This analogy may sound extreme in the human context but resilience is about adapting to change – building back better – and this can be miniscule or magnificent, resisted or grasped.

In the final analysis, the determinants of personal and emotional resilience will be a combination of a proactive mindset, the physical and mental courage to press on, and the support for change that can be mustered in order to build back better for the future. That’s the essence of resilience.

The author

Robert Hall is cofounder and former executive director of Resilience First Ltd.

This article arises from a presentation on the same theme given to MA students on the Global Planning and Resilience Practice at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Kent on 30 January 2024. The subject is addressed in more detail in Chapters 3-4 in Robert’s book ‘Building Resilient Futures’.