Resilience and Tenacity: Our Inner Superpower

From the moment we’re born, we show astonishing resilience. It’s the spark that keeps us moving forward. Picture a baby learning to roll over, pushing with everything they’ve got, not knowing if they’ll end up stuck again. Then crawling: face-planting, dragging themselves across the floor just to reach a toy. Then walking, falling, getting up, falling again, until one day, it becomes second nature.

If walking is second nature, maybe our first nature is something deeper. Resilience. Tenacity. That quiet determination that helps us grow, adapt, and keep going, especially when things get hard. It’s the part of us that insists on trying again when logic says to stop. It’s what pushes us to rise after each setback, to trust that progress is possible even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

In working life, this first nature is constantly called upon. For HR leaders and CPOs, resilience isn’t just an admirable trait, it’s a survival skill. Every day brings challenges that feel unrelenting: navigating a restless workforce, embedding DEIB into the heart of culture rather than keeping it at the margins, or holding steady while legislation, technology, and employee expectations shift underfoot. Tenacity is what keeps you returning to the table, again and again, to advocate for people while proving that people strategy is business strategy.

It shows up in small, often invisible ways: the careful patience it takes to resolve conflict within a team, the determination to pilot a new initiative even after previous attempts didn’t stick, the willingness to listen deeply when employees bring forward hard truths. It’s the persistence to keep recruiting when top talent feels scarce, and the belief that your efforts — the conversations, the policies, the culture-building — will add up to something meaningful even when change feels painfully slow.

Just like a child learning to walk, the steps of HR leadership aren’t always graceful. There are missteps, stumbles, and plenty of moments where it would be easier to give up. But resilience transforms those falls into momentum. Tenacity turns setbacks into stepping stones. Together, they create forward motion.

That’s why resilience and tenacity are not only personal qualities, they’re the foundation of effective leadership. They help you recover from disruption, inspire trust in your people, and model the kind of determination you want to see echoed throughout your organisation. And in a world that refuses to stand still, they might just be the most important superpowers you already have.

When Life Gets Heavy

Resilience and tenacity come alive most clearly when we face the heaviness that tests them.

Some days feel like wading through molasses. Work feels gritty, focus is foggy, and energy is flat. Yet these are often the moments that matter most. If we pause, reflect, and then lean in, even just a little, we shift.

Not moving isn’t natural. We were born to progress. If we had given up on walking after a few tumbles, we would still be crawling. Growth doesn’t demand perfection, it just asks for movement.

This is just as true in the workplace. Around the world, stress and anxiety are climbing. The World Health Organization estimates they cost the global economy nearly one trillion dollars every year in lost productivity. Burnout is spreading too, with surveys in some countries showing nearly eight in ten employees reporting it. Gallup’s most recent global workplace report found engagement has slipped to just 21 percent, while manager engagement has also dropped, creating ripple effects across teams. These realities mean managers are carrying bigger loads with fewer resources, while employees face rising pressure and uncertainty.

These pressures create the landscape where resilience is no longer optional, it is essential. For employees it means finding the spark to keep going when energy is low. For managers it means staying steady and present for their teams. And for leaders it means turning pressure into opportunity by building cultures of trust, belonging, and progress.

Resilience and tenacity are not abstract ideals. They are the quiet, persistent forces that transform molasses days into forward motion.

Leadership and Inner Drive

Leadership isn’t just a title. It’s a choice. It’s how we show up, for ourselves, for our teammates, and for our purpose.

Whether you’re managing others or leading from within your own role, true leadership means taking responsibility for your mindset, your impact, and your resilience. It’s doing the hard things: learning a new system, giving honest feedback, or pushing through resistance, because standing still simply isn’t an option. At the same time, leadership also means knowing when to pause and regroup. Strategic pauses give us the clarity to come back stronger. That’s where real transformation happens.

Why Leadership Matters

Leadership exists to provide direction and meaning, especially when uncertainty creeps in. In times of ease, the “peace” times, leadership thrives by giving people autonomy, trust, and room to innovate. The pastures are green, and being bold feels less risky. People want space to grow, experiment, and bring their best ideas forward.

In times of disruption, ‘war time’ leadership takes a different shape. When challenges mount, people look for steadiness. Leaders inspire resilience by offering structure, focus, and a sense of safety. They rally teams, reduce uncertainty, and provide clarity when the path ahead feels blurred.

Leadership in Peace

Encourages autonomy and self-direction
Creates space for bold ideas and experimentation
Focuses on empowerment and innovation
Risk feels lighter, opportunities are plentiful

Leadership in War

Provides structure and stability
Offers clarity and reassurance in uncertainty
Focuses on safety, direction, and cohesion
Risk feels higher, confidence comes from guidance

Resilient Leadership

Resilient leadership is more than endurance, it is contagious. When leaders model tenacity, teams draw strength from it. When leaders remain calm under strain, others feel safe enough to keep moving. Research shows that when leaders demonstrate optimism in the face of stress, their teams report higher engagement and trust. In other words, resilience at the top does not stay at the top, it cascades, lifting teams and shaping culture.

Resilience and tenacity are what make leadership matter in both peace and war. They remind us that no matter the season, forward motion is always possible.

What Resilience Looks Like at Work

When resilience and tenacity show up in a team, you can feel it:

There's trust, energy, and momentum
People back each other up
Setbacks become launchpads, not roadblocks
Teams don't just perform — they grow stronger under pressure

Without resilience, performance is fragile. With it, performance becomes sustainable.

The Power of Team Resilience

Resilience isn’t confined to individuals, it spreads, strengthens, and multiplies across teams. In the most extreme environments, like space missions, crew members consistently point to cohesion and mutual support as the very foundation of their success.

Closer to home, Gallup found that resilient leadership can boost team engagement by up to 20% — a clear reminder that resilience at the top doesn't stay isolated; it cascades through the team, shaping momentum and trust.

On top of that, research shows that highly resilient teams are 31% more productive and enjoy 24% higher job satisfaction. Resilience in action delivers real, measurable impact.

A Story in Practice

Picture a project team facing a system crash just hours before a critical launch. Instead of reacting with panic, the leader remains calm, maps a quick recovery effort, and invites the team to problem-solve together.

One teammate tackles the technical fix, another reorganises tasks for clarity, and someone else crafts a creative workaround. What seemed like a setback becomes a turning point. The system is fixed, the deadline met, and the team's cohesion and capability grow stronger — together.

Resilience in teamwork is not an abstract concept. It is the quiet, contagious force that turns pressure into progress, setbacks into momentum, and individuals into empowered teams.

From Surviving to Thriving

Resilience is not only personal, it is cultural. A resilient culture turns challenges into catalysts for growth, and connects people through a shared sense of purpose. In these cultures, leaders inspire cooperation, teams back each other up, and people give their best not just for themselves but for one another.

The impact is tangible. Research shows that organisations with resilient cultures are up to three times more likely to report high employee engagement and twice as likely to lead in innovation. Retention improves as well, because people are more likely to stay in environments where trust, stability, and support are embedded into the way things are done. Deloitte found that 60% of employees, and as many as 75% of executives, are considering leaving their jobs for ones that better support their well-being — a powerful reminder that resilience is not a “nice to have,” but a necessity.

Resilience and tenacity fuel that culture. They keep momentum alive through uncertainty and transform ambition into achievement. Over time, they turn performance from fragile to sustainable.

This is what thriving looks like: setbacks sparking creativity, leadership fuelling trust, and collective strength becoming the foundation for progress.

Because when resilience becomes cultural, it is not just something people have — it is something everyone can feel.

Returning to First Nature

Resilience lifts us back up. Tenacity carries us forward. Together, they reconnect us with our first nature: the deep drive to grow, adapt, and rise beyond challenges.

When resilience becomes cultural, it feels like stepping into what we like to call the “God-Zone” — a space where performance and wellbeing reinforce each other, not compete. Research shows that organisations with resilient cultures are up to three times more likely to report high employee engagement and twice as likely to lead in innovation.

It is in this space that people rediscover their strength, teams align around trust and purpose, and growth becomes a shared experience. Just as we once stumbled as toddlers and, through sheer persistence, found our feet, resilient cultures help us find them again as adults — steadying, stretching, and learning to run together.

This is the ground where individuals thrive, teams flourish, and organisations move from surviving to truly thriving.