Leadership Lounge: Built to Last or Built to Learn: How Leaders Can Develop Resilience

Redefiners

In an era where adaptability trumps consistency, the leaders who survive and thrive are those who've mastered the art of bouncing back stronger. Yet our Global Leadership Monitor reveals that leaders' preparedness to face threats such as uncertain economic growth and geopolitical uncertainty is at its lowest point since we began tracking in 2021.

The question isn't whether setbacks will come—it's whether leaders have built the genuine resilience to weather them. And more critically, how can executives create resilient organizations where entire leadership pipelines can adapt and flourish under pressure?

In this episode of Leadership Lounge, we talk to two of our trusted advisors—Joey Berk and Maja Hadziomerovic—who share their perspectives on:

• How to recognize the warning signs when leadership resilience is waning
• Practical strategies for recovery and building sustainable energy management practices
• The role of vulnerability in creating high-performance, psychologically safe teams
• Why the biggest misconceptions about resilience actually undermine leadership effectiveness

"When we think about exercising physically or learning a new skill, being in that growth mentality and constantly stretching is what builds resilience and pushes us to do what's less comfortable."

— Joey Berk, Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates

Four things you'll learn from this episode:

1.True resilience integrates three sources of intelligence—cognitive clarity, somatic awareness, and emotional authenticity work together to create leaders who can navigate uncertainty with confidence.

2.Energy management beats time management—resilient leaders audit and proactively manage their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy.

3.Organizational resilience requires systematic investment—build resilience at scale through stretch assignments, mentorship programs, and cultures that reward vulnerability over impression management.

4.Authentic vulnerability drives performance—the strongest leaders admit when they don't know, share their learning process, and create psychological safety that unleashes team innovation.

In this episode, we will cover:

• (00:00:18) Why modern resilience demands adaptability over consistency in rapidly changing markets
• (00:03:27) The three sources of intelligence framework and how to develop each dimension
• (00:06:12) Energy management strategies across physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual domains
• (00:09:21) How to create stretch assignments and mentorship programs that build organizational resilience
• (00:11:47) Warning signs of resilience fatigue and recovery strategies for overwhelmed leaders
• (00:13:45) Why vulnerability and psychological safety are competitive advantages, not weaknesses
• (00:15:55) The biggest misconceptions about building resilience and how to overcome them

A closer look at the research from this episode:

Global Leadership Monitor | Russell Reynolds Associates

Global CEO Turnover Index | Russell Reynolds Associates