Resilient Leadership: Lessons From Physics and Practice
Resilience is one of those concepts that gets tossed around a lot in leadership circles. Too often, it’s boiled down to toughness, grit, or the ability to “power through.” True resilience, however, is NOT about grinding ourselves into the ground. Instead, it’s about adaptability, responsiveness, and sustainability.
As both a coach and a former engineer, I can’t help but see the parallels between how we talk about resilience in leadership and how it’s defined in material science.
The Physics of Resilience
In physics, resilience is a measurable property: it’s the amount of energy a material can absorb and still return to its original state. Think of a spring. Compress it and it bounces back. That’s elasticity. Push it past its limits, though, and it bends or breaks into plastic deformation. (Apologies to my fellow engineers who just had stress-strain curve flashbacks!)
This definition matters because it highlights a truth leaders often overlook: resilience isn’t infinite and it isn’t a static state. We can only know if an outcome is a resilient one after the force or pressure has been released. Every system, whether a material, a team, or an individual, has thresholds. Push past them, and recovery is no longer possible without permanent change.
Leadership resilience, then, isn’t about enduring endless pressure. It’s about managing the forces at play, knowing when to flex, and recognizing when recovery is needed to prevent lasting damage.
Resilience vs. Toughness
It’s easy to confuse resilience with toughness, but in material science they’re not the same thing.
Resilience measures how much energy a material can absorb before returning to its original form. It’s about elasticity and recovery.
Toughness measures how much energy a material can absorb before it fractures. It’s about endurance and how much punishment it can take before breaking. (There will be dents!)
A glass pane is hard but not tough. One sharp impact and it shatters completely. A metal camping mug is tough. It’s dented and dinged but still intact. A rubber band may not carry massive loads, but it’s highly resilient, stretching and snapping back into shape again and again. And then there’s the ball (or your dog’s favorite chew toy): both tough and resilient, it withstands repeated impacts while bouncing back time after time.
Leadership works the same way. If we only strive for hardness or toughness, we risk becoming brittle or sustaining long-term damage. Resilient leaders, by contrast, are elastic. They adapt, recover, and continue to function sustainably even under stress.
The Myths We Need to Leave Behind
Much like the misconception that strong materials are unbreakable, leaders often fall into myths about resilience:
Resilience is about “tough skin.” A hard outer shell may look strong, but it often masks hidden cracks.
Resilience is innate. It’s not fixed. It can be cultivated with practice and intention.
Resilience is only individual. Systems, environments, and communities shape how resilient we can be.
These myths are dangerous because they shift responsibility onto individuals to “just be stronger,” instead of encouraging systems and cultures that actively foster resilience.
Leadership in Practice: Adaptiveness and Asking for Help
Our recent podcast guests highlighted this more nuanced view of resilienct leadership:
Dr. Anthony Luévanos emphasized that resilience is rooted in adaptability and emotional intelligence. It’s about responding to change in ways that promote growth, rather than simply holding the line.
Erika Pherson, founder of The Collective Concierge, reminded us that resilience also comes from asking for help and delegating effectively. Sustainability in leadership often means sharing the load, not carrying it alone.
Together, these perspectives echo what physics teaches us: resilience is not about resisting stress indefinitely. It’s about designing for recovery and sustainability.
Building Resilient Leadership Systems
So, what does this mean for us as leaders? It means we should focus on creating conditions that maximize the likelihood of resilient outcomes:
Recovery: Building in time and space for renewal, just as materials need rest before being stressed again.
Flexibility: Cultivating growth mindsets and curiosity to adapt when conditions shift.
Support systems: Recognizing that resilience thrives in connection and community, not isolation.
Self-compassion: Replacing perfectionism with practices that allow for learning and recalibration.
Resilience as Sustainability
When we redefine resilience through both science and leadership practice, a different picture emerges. Rather than striving to be unshakable, we’re striving for responsiveness. Rather than attempting infinite endurance, we’re focused on sustainable impact.
Just as resilient materials bend and recover, resilient leaders create conditions where people and systems can stretch without breaking.
👉 Explore more of our work on this theme: