Resilience Revisited 09: Understanding the Architecture of Collective Resilience

"One finger can't pick up a stone" – Mamprusi proverb

"One hand washes the other" – IsiZulu proverb

"Individually we are a drop. Together we are an ocean" – Ryunosuke Satoro

"A bird cannot fly with one wing" – Yoruba proverb "?y? ò lè fi apá kan fò"

"Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable" – Kenyan proverb

As those of you who may read these musings (thank you!), you likely know that I am absorbed in understanding resilience, most especially its collective nature. Over many years, in one form or another, I have increasingly appreciated how much of our resilience is – and always has been – collective at source.

When I was working with the Association for Ex-Political Prisoners (AEPP) in South Africa during the 1990s transition to democracy, my exploration of what political prisoners perceived 'helped' their 'adaptation' to long term imprisonment highlighted solidarity, shared identity and purpose, and 'discipline' in active alignment as key contributors.

In our research on collective resilience at work, these factors are expressed in the concept of 'mattering' – a cluster of variables that includes a sense of belonging, of being valued, of shared purpose and actively cared for. Our first findings (n=300+) have indicated that mattering is a crucial factor in resilience development, impacting both resilience levels directly and organisational cohesion which is central to collective resilience.

Intrigued, our second phase of research (n=85 so far) is exploring more about what mediates the individual – collective dialectic. This includes reflecting on the impact of social connections between people, experiences of team cohesion, access to social support networks, and the recognition and use of individual strengths. It has also, most recently, included understanding the relationship between team roles and resilience (as measured by the Belbin? - The Team Role Company Team Roles Report).

The Architecture of Collective Resilience

Our preliminary results suggest resilience at work has a complex architecture. The research reveals six distinct but interconnected organisational strategies that work together to enable resilience development:

• Team Cohesion & Support Networks: Creates the foundational environment where collective resilience develops, explaining 46% of resilience variance
• Mattering: Acts as a crucial mediating mechanism between organisational practices and individual experience, bridging strategic intentions with personal impact
• Organisational Intentionality: Demonstrates systematic commitment to resilience-building through purposeful direction and implementation
• Trust in Values-Based Supportive Leadership: Works synergistically with team support (together explaining 52% of variance) to create enabling conditions
• Strength-based Working: Focuses on recognising and using individual strengths within collective contexts
• Learning & Development: Reflects organisational investment in long-term capability building and adaptability

The Power of Team Support

When we examined what truly drives resilience in organisations, team support emerged as the foundation. Our research reveals that team cohesion and support networks explain 46% of resilience variance - a finding that reinforces the wisdom expressed in those ancient proverbs about collective strength.

This effect becomes even more powerful when combined with levels of trust in supportive leadership, together explaining 52% of resilience variance. This suggests that while teams form the foundation of resilience, leadership plays a crucial role in amplifying this effect.

How Teams Build Collective Resilience

What makes team support so powerful? Our research identifies several key mechanisms:

• Accessible Support Networks: Teams create immediate access to help and resources when challenges arise
• Caring Environments: Strong teams foster environments where people feel valued and supported
• Collective Problem-Solving: Teams enable collaborative approaches to challenges, drawing on diverse perspectives and capabilities

The Bridge Effect

Perhaps most importantly, we found that team support acts as a crucial bridge between organisational initiatives and individual experience. Strong teams help translate organisational intentions into meaningful support, making abstract policies and procedures real and accessible in daily work life.

Building Stronger Teams for Greater Resilience

Based on these findings, organisations looking to build resilience might want to consider how to:

- Prioritise team development alongside individual capability building

- Create environments that enable collective problem-solving

- Ensure leadership practices support and enhance team cohesion

- Recognise and nurture the social fabric that enables resilience

Looking Ahead

While team support clearly forms the foundation of organisational resilience, our research reveals another fascinating layer: different team roles influence this dynamic. In our next post, we'll explore some surprising findings about how different team roles contribute to collective resilience, challenging some common assumptions about who builds organisational strength.

For now, the message echoes the wisdom of those proverbs: building resilient organisations isn't about individual strength alone - it's about creating the conditions where mattering, trust, reciprocity and shared respect for diversity in strength can flourish.

This research is ongoing, and patterns may shift as more data becomes available. We're committed to sharing insights as they emerge, helping organisations build more resilient teams through better understanding of role dynamics. Follow us for updates and findings.

If you want to participate (PLEASE we would love you to), you can find the SenseMaker Survey here.

ICYMI this study adopts a nuanced understanding of resilience as "the capacity of individuals and systems to engage in continuous collective transformation through both perseverance and purposeful withdrawal." This definition positions resilience not as a fixed trait but as an evolving process where strength manifests through:

- Adaptation and endurance

- Wisdom to recognise when to yield or redirect.

- Ability to reimagine and transform approaches.

- Creative and collaborative practice

This understanding also seeks tocknowledge (but might not yet!) that resilience, while often viewed positively, isn't inherently good in all situations.

PLEASE do disagree, refine, comment or expand with your experience and reflections.

Resilience Revisited is an occasional blog series reflecting on the need for a deeper understanding of the concept of resilience, one that inspires an exploration of its complexities and a conscious, intentional shift towards achieving strong resilience – and sustainability – individually and collectively.? It is a way of articulating my thoughts on my PhD journey. Whilst it is my primary authorship, it comes from the synthesis of many thought contributions for which I am immensely grateful.