The world feels scary right now.
Everyone I speak to is describing the same feeling in different words: shaky ground. The rules keep changing - economically, socially, politically, organisationally.
And if you’re in a leadership role, there’s another layer: people are watching you.
Not in a judgemental, “perform for us” way. In a human way. People look to leaders for steadiness. For meaning. For perspective. For a nervous system that doesn’t explode every time the world does.
Which brings us to resilience.
What Resilience Is (and Isn’t)
Resilience is often mistaken for grit: push harder, toughen up, get on with it.
But that version of resilience is expensive. It’s the kind that looks impressive until it quietly burns you out. It can turn leaders into machines: efficient, productive… and emotionally unavailable. Or brittle. Or reactive. Or both.
Real resilience is rootedness.
It’s what happens when you’re anchored in your values and purpose
When you know who you are, you’re less emotionally hijacked by what’s happening around you.
The Real Challenge for Leaders
The confronting part is that many leaders try to create stability externally when what they need is stability internally.
They grip tighter. Control more. Work longer. Speak louder. Prove harder.
But the question isn’t “How do I look more confident?”
It’s: What am I anchored to when things get messy?
Because if your identity is built on being needed, being right, being the calm one, being the high performer… your resilience is conditional. It works until it doesn’t.
And in times like these, conditional resilience is a liability.
Don’t Avoid the Storm - Lead Through It
Being resilient doesn’t mean you don’t feel the shaky ground. It doesn’t mean you won’t have hard days, sleepless nights, or moments of uncertainty.
It means you know how to come back to centre.
It means you can say:
- “This is hard, and we’re going to face it.”
- “I don’t have every answer yet, but I will tell you what I know.”
- “We will make decisions aligned to what matters most here.”
That’s what teams need.
A Resilience Reset: Values, Boundaries, Behaviour
If you want a practical place to start, try this three-part check-in:
1) Values: What matters most right now?
Not what’s loudest. Not what’s urgent. What’s true.
2) Boundaries: What won’t you do, even under pressure?
This is where many leaders crumble, because they’ve never named their non-negotiables.
3) Behaviour: What will people experience from you in the storm?
Not what you intend. What they will feel.
The strongest leaders aren’t the ones who push through at all costs. They’re the ones who are anchored enough to respond instead of react, steady enough to create stability for others, and honest enough to come back to their values when everything else is moving.
That’s resilience.
And right now, it’s leadership.
#RealLeadership #MichelleSalesLeadership #Resilience #Values #ShakyGround