Resilience is Trending

This week, I found myself in two very different conversations about the same problem.

One was with a corporate team reviewing their employee survey data—trying to make sense of what was real, what was fixable, and what might just be a symptom of a workforce that’s stretched thin. The other was a conversation with a small business owner who’s looking for a right-hand person. Not just someone who can “do the job,” but someone who can think alongside her. Someone who doesn’t need hand-holding or emotional rescue every Monday morning. Someone resilient.

Totally different settings. Same question, really: how do we build teams that don’t fall apart every time something doesn’t go their way?

Turns out, resilience is trending. And not in the “hang in there” kitten poster kind of way.

We’re talking about emotional endurance. Communication maturity. A belief that even if today is hard, we’re still headed somewhere good.

Studying Resiliency

I read a story about psychology professor, Barbara Fredrickson, who back in 2001 was preparing to study resilience—how people respond to adversity, and what makes some individuals bounce back better than others. She had her methods, her participant pool, her research design.

Then 9/11 happened.

At first, she considered pausing the study. It felt too heavy, too soon, too much. But a few days later, sitting on a train in New York City, she saw something that changed her mind. A couple, visibly grieving, sat in quiet tears. Moments later, they were laughing together through the pain. That flicker of joy, not instead of their grief, but alongside it. The experience stayed with her and it is what sent her back to the study.

When she followed up with participants who had been personally impacted by the attacks, she noticed a pattern. Those who coped best weren’t necessarily the toughest or most stoic. They were the ones who still found reasons to smile. They sought out joy. They looked for beauty. They didn’t ignore the tragedy—but they didn’t surrender to it either.

Practice Makes Possible

Resilient employees start the day by commenting on their good cup of coffee. Less resilient ones start it with a complaint about traffic. That tone sets the pace. One starts at zero. The other starts in the negative, already playing catch-up.

Resilient employees look for a way through. They don’t ignore the problems—they just don’t let them become the only thing worth talking about. They redirect. They regulate. They make the people around them feel like something can be done.

And resilient leaders? They don’t catastrophize.

When a leader spirals, every hiccup becomes a tragedy, every change becomes a disaster and the team follows suit. You train your people to ride your emotional rollercoaster. Which means you’re also training them not to trust the ground beneath their feet.

A workplace that lacks resilience feels like a live wire. Everything’s unstable. Nobody knows what version of you is walking through the door or what mood will determine the team’s direction. You can’t build momentum in that kind of chaos.

So what does resilient leadership look like?

It looks like felt safety. Predictability. A stable emotional barometer even when the market isn’t. It’s a culture where people know they’re allowed to have bad days—but not to let those bad days define their work, their tone, or their impact on others.

Toxic positivity or pretending things are fine when they’re not is not the answer. The answer lies in believing that even when things aren’t fine, you’re capable of navigating it. Together.

So if you’re a leader wondering why your team can’t seem to bounce back after conflict or push through after a tough week—look in the mirror first. They might be learning their responses from you.

And if you’re an employee wondering how to stand out in this economy? Practice resilience like a skill. Look for the positive moment. Regulate your emotional reactivity. Be the one who bends—but doesn’t break.

Because if Barbara Fredrickson is right (and I think she is) the people who thrive aren’t the ones who avoid hardship. They’re the ones who feel it, face it, and still find a reason to laugh.