The Resilience Framework You’ll Need for 2025

If you are ‘reading the room’ right now it is clear that many folks appear to be stressed or struggling. A tense political climate between Canada and the U.S. has many businesses existing in a state of uncertainty. Even if your organization is not directly impacted by potential tariffs, keeping up with technological changes such as AI and attracting top talent while maintaining team performance can feel like an uphill battle.?

Many of the leaders I coach confess they are feeling worn down from trying to keep up with the demands of leading a team today. That is why I am dedicating my first official LinkedIn newsletter to the topic of RESILIENCE. In this article I will clarify what it really means to BE (or become) resilient. I will share a framework for leaders to build their resilience and, over the next 5-weeks, I will take a deep dive into each area of this framework.?

What is Resilience?

According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands. How you view and engage with the world, the availability of social resources, and healthy (or not) coping strategies will influence how well you negotiate adversity.?

Resilience is often considered to mean how well you ‘bounce back’ from difficult situations or your ability to withstand adversity. I don’t like this definition because to me, it sounds REACTIVE. Your ability to bounce back will often be determined by whether or not you are PROACTIVE and have cultivated social, emotional, physical and mental resources BEFORE you need them. With that goal in mind, I offer 4 audits every leader must do NOW to evaluate your own state of resilience.?

A Leader’s Framework for Resilience?

The key to becoming and staying resilient even in challenging times, is to have a framework to guide you in building your healthy social, emotional, physical and mental resources. Here are four key areas where today’s leader should focus to build and maintain resilience in your work and home life.?

PHYSICAL:

Outside of work activity audit? - My clients are always quick to ask me how to deal with their stress levels at work. My first question is always - what are you doing for yourself OUTSIDE of work? If you are experiencing work stress day after day, it is essential you have healthy habits to replenish your energy when you leave work. Let’s face it - most of us feel so tired when we log off at the end of the day we spend our evenings on the couch binge watching Severance (ironic) or Real Housewives. For me, 2024 was the year I finally found a low-maintenance creative hobby. My new fiber art hobby was just what I needed to help me activate my creative flow again and get me off my phone.

• Resilience building action: What activities do you engage in outside of work that help you feel replenished? On episode 11 of my podcast, The People and Culture Success Show, ND Ashley Margeson explains the difference between ACTIVE rest and PASSIVE rest. I encourage you to listen in to understand why relaxing on the couch to scroll on your phone while watching TV is not the restful recovery you think it is.?Exercise (I hear pickleball is all the rage) and getting outside are two ways you can leverage restorative activities so you can return to work the next day feeling refreshed.?

EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL:

Leadership development audit - Yes, investing in leadership development is a resilience - building endeavor. On average, managers are in their role for 10 years before they receive leadership development. No wonder everyone is stressed! Trying to lead a team and guessing if you are ‘doing this right’ is stressful. Attempting to do your job without the necessary tools will create undue struggle.?

• Resilience building action: Consider whether you have had the right leadership development for your role. Perhaps you had an ‘intro to supervisor’ seminar when you started out but you recognize you have a skills gap based on your level of leadership. This is an opportunity to self-advocate and ask your employer for sponsorship to attend leadership coaching or training. In the meantime, I recommend picking up a copy of my latest book, Modern Manager: Conquering the Five Frustrations of Leadership to get you started! And please reach out if you require assistance understanding what type of leadership development you need at your level or role.?

MENTAL:

Boundary setting audit: The great thing about the world we live in today is that the stigma around mental health has been largely removed. People feel comfortable disclosing their challenges and mental health journeys. The downside of this is that employees are often disclosing deeply personal situations to their managers who are not equipped to handle these disclosures. As a manager or executive, I am here to remind you that you can and should have boundaries with your employees. You are not required to listen to intimate details of someone's struggles which could lead to vicarious trauma.?

• Resilience building activity: Practice communicating with an employee who tends to disclose too much that ‘You do not need to hear all the details of their personal struggles to be able to support them at work, ’. Consider what resources you can share with this employee to support them effectively.

Remember: EMPATHY + BOUNDARIES = RESILIENCE?

SOCIAL:

Peer support audit: A key factor to support your SOCIAL resources is whether you have a group of peers you meet with regularly who understand what you are going through as a leader. Only a fellow, manager, entrepreneur, or executive can really understand the impact of the pressures and demands of the role.?

• Resilience building activity: If you are not currently a member of a professional peer group, consider finding one or starting one. If a formal industry-related peer group is not your thing, invite 2 or 3 colleagues out for lunch each month to discuss your challenges. A social network is a resilience must–have in our always-connected-but-not-together digital world.?

MENTAL:

Mindset audit: As I mentioned in the intro above, how you engage with the world will influence your resilience. Do you expect the worst? When you delegate work, do you expect to be disappointed? Are you hopeful and positive most of the time? Or are persistent problems at work bringing down your mood?

It is not realistic to have a sunny positive mindset all the time free from negative thoughts. What is important is that you are able to manage negative thoughts to maintain a positive outlook most of the time. Because we get what we expect!

• Resilience building activity: It is important to remember that work will always carry a certain amount of stress. Our mind-set about stress will often determine whether feelings of stress affect our health. A gratitude practice and having a clear purpose are tools I recommend to clients that are necessary for maintaining a positive mind-set. Spend some time auditing your thoughts and expectations this month. Do you generally have a positive mind-set or are you bogged down in your own negative thought loops??

These 4 audits will help you evaluate your resources in the areas of social, emotional, physical and mental resilience. You deserve to THRIVE in 2025, not just survive.

As you engage in the PRACTICE of LEADERSHIP this month, consider which area of resilience you should work on first. For the next 5 weeks, I will offer a deep dive into the four suggested areas leaders must strengthen to lead effectively this year.?I would love to hear from you - what do you consider to be a fundamental tool in your personal resilience framework?