Resiliency and Adaptability: Do We Really Want to Put in the Work?

Resiliency and adaptability are everywhere these days—on resumes, mission statements, and leadership offsites.

They’re the traits organizations say they prize most in today’s volatile world.

But beneath the buzz, a more difficult question lingers: do we really want what we say we want?

Wanting to be adaptive is easy. The hard part is becoming the kind of system.

Can an individual, a team, or an organization can learn under pressure, stay open to discomfort, and evolve in real time? That work is rarely glamorous. It means surfacing competing priorities, challenging legacy mindsets, and making room for new ways of operating that may feel uncertain or even threatening.

Resilience isn’t just about enduring hardship. It’s about how systems respond to strain: whether they double down on control, retreat into habit, or stretch into growth.

And adaptability isn’t just about pivoting fast; it’s about discerning wisely:

What should we preserve?

What must we let go?

And how do we know the difference?

This is where many efforts stall. Organizations often say they want innovation but subtly penalize risk. They claim to value candor while maintaining unspoken rules about what can’t be questioned. They aspire to be nimble yet cling tightly to hierarchies that slow decision-making. This leaves a gap between the values we espouse and the behaviors we reinforce in practice.

Building true adaptive capacity means turning toward that gap, not away from it. It requires a willingness to examine ourselves, not just the marketplace. It calls for environments where people can speak honestly about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s getting in the way. And it depends on leadership that’s less about control and more about curiosity, learning, and holding space for difficult, necessary conversations.

Resilience and adaptability aren’t traits to be acquired once and for all. They are practices; disciplines we commit to, especially when it’s hard. The question isn’t whether we say we value them.

The real test is whether we’re willing to do the slow, often uncomfortable work of making them real.