Resilience: Strength for the Future or Resistance to Change?
Why resilience can help your organisation adapt — or quietly hold it back.
Resilience is one of those words everyone nods along to. We want resilient people, resilient teams, resilient organisations. It sounds unquestionably positive — who wouldn’t want the ability to bounce back from setbacks?
But in the real world of organisational change, resilience can play two very different roles. Sometimes it helps people stay engaged long enough to learn, adapt, and grow. Other times, it becomes a shield that protects old habits and outdated explanations.
At The Change Gym®, we see both forms every week. Understanding the difference is essential if you want your organisation to move forward rather than stay stuck.
Two Types of Resilience
1. Resilience that supports learning
This is the version most leaders hope for. It shows up when people:
stay curious under pressure
remain open to new ideas
keep experimenting even when things feel uncertain
recover from setbacks without losing momentum
This kind of resilience fuels progress. It helps teams stay in the game long enough to build new capabilities and adopt better ways of working.
Example: A regional health service introduces a new digital triage system. Some staff struggle at first, but they keep asking questions, trying new workflows, and supporting each other. They don’t pretend the change is easy — but they stay engaged. Within weeks, the system is running smoothly and patient flow improves.
This is resilience working for the future.
2. Resilience that protects the status quo
There’s another form of resilience that looks strong on the surface but quietly blocks improvement. It shows up when people:
“tough it out” instead of learning
rely on coping strategies rather than new skills
defend old practices because “we’ve survived worse”
use resilience as a reason not to change
This kind of resilience keeps organisations stable — but not adaptive. It protects old explanations and old habits, even when better ones are available.
Example: A leadership team proudly describes their workforce as “incredibly resilient.” They’ve weathered staff shortages, funding cuts, and rising demand. But when new models of care are introduced, the same resilience becomes a barrier. Staff say, “We’ve always managed before — we’ll manage again.” They cope, but they don’t improve.
This is resilience working against the future.
Why the Difference Matters
In a fast‑changing environment, the question isn’t whether your people are resilient. It’s what their resilience is protecting.
If it protects learning, growth accelerates.
If it protects old explanations, change stalls.
At The Change Gym®, we help organisations build the first kind of resilience — the kind that supports readiness, not resistance.
How to Spot the Difference in Your Organisation
Here are some simple indicators.
Resilience that supports change:
“I don’t know this yet, but I’m willing to try.”
“Let’s test it and see what we learn.”
“We can improve this together.”
“What support do we need to make this work?”
Resilience that blocks change:
“We’ve always managed — we’ll manage again.”
“This is just another thing to get through.”
“We don’t have time to learn something new.”
“We’ll cope. We always do.”
The first group is ready to build new capability. The second group is ready to endure — but not to evolve.
Building the Right Kind of Resilience
Our Readiness Pathways are designed to help teams shift from defensive resilience to adaptive resilience. We focus on five key conditions:
Wanting to change
Owning the problem
Seeing a future worth moving toward
Valuing support
Persisting with transformation
When these conditions are present, resilience becomes a strength that supports growth rather than a shield that blocks it.
A Final Thought
Resilience is not automatically good. It depends entirely on what it is defending.
The most successful organisations aren’t the ones that simply “bounce back.” They’re the ones that stay open, curious, and willing to update their explanations. They use resilience to keep learning — not to keep things the same.
If you’d like to explore how your organisation can build readiness for change, we’d be glad to help.