When faced with adversity, organizations can be robust and withstand the turmoil. Or they can be affected. Resilient organizations will bounce back to the previous state, or even bounce further. That means that they are better off, after having experienced the adversity.
The main question is what it takes to be or become resilient. Organizations will only show resilience when they are faced with adversity. And the more they are faced with adversity, the more they become resilient. Organizations that are in stable environments (do they exist) are likely to be less resilient. Some governmental organizations, organizations with a large market share, or organizations that enjoy some kind of legal protection will have fewer occasions to be resilient.
Building resilience is about building three capacities:
(1) The capacity to make sense and create purpose, even in the midst of turbulence.
Focusing on mission and vision before the calamity occurs creates a beacon people can use to orientate their actions. This requires qualitative leadership, people who take responsibility and shape the future to cope with the many challenges organizations are facing today.
(2) The capacity to learn, change proactively and adapt to adversity.
Changing organizations for the sake of change is a good thing. It helps to develop resilience. This requires a comprehensive approach to learning, including the psychological safety that people need to experiment, innovate and take risks.
(3) The capacity to work together within the organization but also with other parties.
Reaching out to help each other by sharing the knowledge, insights, and creativity to get better results faster is key in any recovery. This requires people to be willing and able to collaborate, supported by an organizational climate that fosters teamwork and eliminates boundaries and silo thinking.
The red thread here is trust. To build resilience organizations need to develop trust. It’s a condition. Without trust, meaningfulness is weak, learning is unsafe, and collaboration becomes difficult.
Resilient organizations benefit from the efforts they have done to develop these capabilities before they are hit by adversity. However, the adversity itself helps organizations to become more resilient. That is why it is crucial to keep track of the organization’s responses to adversity and learn and improve afterward.
Organizations that don’t do this, have more chances to collapse.
