Resilience: From Recovery to Ascension
Arrows indicating bouncing back or bouncing forward
Resilience isn't about bouncing back to where you were. It's about bouncing forward.
When a crisis hits, everyone focuses on the storm itself—the all-hands-on-deck effort to stabilize. But the most common leadership failure happens quietly, after the storm passes.
The pressure to "return to normal" takes over. We survive, but we don't learn. Hard-won lessons evaporate, old habits creep back in, and the organization's resilience muscle weakens.
This failure to learn and adapt is a key driver of the "looming leadership crisis" experts are now warning about. It creates change fatigue and burnout, which drain your best people. It's why the same problems resurface years later.
Truly resilient leaders protect the crucial learning phase after a disruption. They know that capturing the learning is the victory.
#ResilientLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #Burnout #LeadershipDevelopment #ChangeManagement #GrowthMindset #Leadership #Innovation #Resilience #OrganizationalLearning #DynamicCapabilities #CompetitiveAdvantage
Own Your Edge: Building Your 'Change Muscle' for the Age of AI
It all begins with an idea.
[Video created via HeyGen AI]
When the CEO of America's largest private employer says, "It's very clear that AI is going to change literally every job," it's more than just a headline—it's a seismic tremor I feel right in the heart of my own research. That wasn't some tech futurist speaking; it was Doug McMillon, a leader responsible for the livelihoods of 2.1 million people.
That sentiment is popping up in boardrooms everywhere. But the conversation is finally shifting from a vague, abstract fear of AI into a much more practical question: How do we master it? With LinkedIn's CEO, Ryan Roslansky, noting that skill sets for jobs have already changed by 40% since 2015—and will likely hit 70% by 2030—the new mandate is clear: we all need to "own our edge." [https://www.linkedin.com/events/aiinwork-ownyouredge7365827327303315456/theater/]
So, how do we do that? The most telling clue I've heard recently didn't come from a retailer, but from a senior managing director at Blackstone. After analyzing performance across their massive portfolio, she concluded, "Resilience is the No. 1 predictor of success."
That one sentence lit me up. It elevates resilience from a nice-to-have personal trait to a core business imperative. It's something I've seen firsthand in my own research on organizational resilience—the ability to navigate the unexpected is what separates entities that falter from those that thrive. The AI disruption is our next great test.
But what does "resilience" really mean in this context? To own your edge in what one CEO called a "Darwinian moment," you need a clear playbook. It involves building what I call the modern 'change muscle'—a powerful combination of Resilience, Adaptability, and Agility.
The Three Pillars of a Modern 'Change Muscle'
Let's break these down. They're not just buzzwords; they're distinct, interconnected skills.
Resilience: The Bedrock of Recovery. Think of this as your psychological anchor. It's the fortitude that lets you manage the stress of change and constant uncertainty without burning out. It's about maintaining your performance and your sanity when your role is in flux. It's the foundation.
Adaptability: The Engine of Evolution. This is about proactively evolving. While resilience helps you bounce back, adaptability enables you to leap forward. It's the growth mindset that allows you to view AI not as a threat, but as a collaborator, pushing you to actively seek new skills and knowledge.
Agility: The Speed of Response. This is where the rubber meets the road. Agility is your ability to react to immediate challenges with speed and efficiency. If adaptability is learning to navigate a new climate, agility is dodging a sudden downpour. It's about pivoting a project on a dime based on new AI-driven data or mastering a new tool to solve a problem that just landed on your desk.
These three competencies aren't siloed; they work together. Resilience gives you the stamina for the long haul. Adaptability gives you the map to choose the right direction. And agility gives you the speed to navigate the terrain.
The Human Element: Why "Soft Skills" Are Now Hard Currency
Here's the paradox of the AI revolution: the more advanced our technology gets, the more valuable our most human skills become. As Blackstone's Courtney della Cava said, "There's nothing soft about soft skills."
Fascinating research from Harvard Business School paints a clear picture of this. It describes our skills like a tree: foundational abilities, such as communication and critical thinking, are the "trunk," while specific technical skills are the "branches." What they found was stunning: nearly 80% of the extra pay that technical skills command is actually dependent on the strength of that foundational trunk.
AI is getting incredibly good at automating the tasks on the "branches." That means real, durable value is concentrated in the human "trunk." LinkedIn's own data confirms this. While AI literacy is a fast-growing skill, the next most important ones are all profoundly human: conflict mitigation, adaptability, and innovative thinking.
These are the skills that will outlast any single technology:
Critical Thinking & Complex Problem-Solving: AI can spit out answers, but it can't ask the right questions. It can't vet its own output for bias or make a tough judgment call when the data is murky. That's on us.
Emotional Intelligence & Empathy: These are the bedrock of leadership, teamwork, and trust. AI can't do that.
Creativity & Innovation: AI excels at remixing existing patterns. It struggles with true, from-scratch originality. That spark is still uniquely human.
Learning Agility: In a world where skills have a shorter and shorter shelf life, the most critical skill is learning how to learn.
In a fascinating twist, LinkedIn Learning is now utilizing AI-powered coaching to help individuals develop these very soft skills. AI isn't just a threat to human skills; it's becoming a tool to sharpen them.
Building Your 'Change Muscle': A Shared Responsibility
So, how do we build this muscle? It's a two-way street, requiring commitment from both individuals and the organizations they work for.
For You, the Individual:
Learn to Partner with AI: Don't just use AI; direct it. I was struck by a recent example of sustainability professionals using specific prompts to have AI analyze supplier reports and even anticipate tough questions from the media. Mastering the art of asking the right questions is now a powerful skill.
Become an Architect of Your Role: Don't wait for your job description to change—change it yourself. The concept of "job crafting" involves proactively identifying routine tasks that AI can handle, thereby freeing you to focus on high-value, human-centric work that machines cannot replicate.
Commit to Constant Learning: Get curious. Dive into platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, or Google's AI Essentials. Focus not just on AI literacy, but on sharpening your communication, strategic thinking, and leadership abilities.
For Organizations and Leaders:
Lead with Radical Transparency: The "AI anxiety" employees feel is real. As a leader, you have to tackle it head-on. Be transparent about your AI strategy, its potential impact on roles, and the measures you're taking to support your people during the transition.
Invest in Your People (the Right Way): Don't just throw technical training at them. The real ROI is in funding and promoting development that cultivates critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and adaptability.
Foster a Culture of Experimentation: Give your people a seat at the table. Create psychological safety where they can experiment, learn, and even fail in small, innovative ways without fear. This is non-negotiable for innovation.
The message from leaders like Doug McMillon isn't a prophecy of doom. It's a call to action. The future of work isn't a zero-sum game between humans and machines—it's a partnership. By investing in our most human qualities, we can ensure we aren't just reacting to this new era, but actively building it.
#ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #Leadership #CareerDevelopment #BusinessStrategy #ResilientLeadership #AIandWork #HumanSkills #ProfessionalGrowth #InnovationLeadership
[Video created via HeyGen AI]