Times of adversity call out the best in leaders. It’s easy to lead when things go well, but it is when times are tough that our organizations most need leadership. As HR practitioners, our role becomes pivotal in guiding organizations through turbulent times, and the current global landscape presents an intricate web of economic uncertainties.

We are in tough economic times now, aggravated by outbreaks of armed conflict on our borders, the desperate conflict in Palestine, and the biggest war in Europe since World War 2. At the same time, we face the longer-term opportunity/threat of artificial intelligence, the huge threat of climate change, and medical science giving us marvellous new ways of changing human genes – another example of opportunity/threat. Where will all this end? 

Many people are scared, depressed, and fearful, wondering whether they will still have a job next year. Yet some people thrive on this level of change and uncertainty. When trauma strikes, people fall on a continuum between despairing helplessness and resilient energy. As HR practitioners, we can play a crucial role in steering individuals and teams towards resilience.

Resilience begins in the mind. We can grow resilience in ourselves and our teams by encouraging thought habits that open opportunities where others may be seeing only threats. The psychologist Martin Seligman found that we develop “learned helplessness” when our beliefs about our problems are characterized by three P’s: Problems are permanent (we think our problems will last forever), pervasive (they affect everything in our lives), and personal (they are our own fault rather than a consequence of the situation we find ourselves in). Learned helplessness is associated with less success, worse health, and general discouragement. 

Seligman suggests that the antidote to learned helplessness is learned optimism – seeing our problems as temporary, specific, and situational (“It’s going away quickly; it’s just this one situation, and I can do something about it”). 

If resilience begins in the mind, it continues in our conversations with others. We cope better and help our staff cope better if we steer the conversation away from circles of despair. This should not be irritatingly naive optimism, just a realistic acceptance that things are indeed tough, but we will get through them. Then move the conversation on to practical steps we can take together. Resilience grows from taking constructive actions. There is always something we can do, even if it is just to manage our response and remain optimistic in the face of disaster. “There is nothing we can do,” is a losing refrain.

At African Management Institute (AMI) we saw this during the Covid-19 restrictions. We focus on giving practical tools to the companies we work with, and one tool that helped during the lockdown was on scenario-planning and generating viable alternatives to the sources of revenue they were losing. Imagine our delight when follow-up surveys revealed that while many of our participating businesses had shrunk, hardly any had closed! Practical tools and new ways of thinking enabled more than 90% to survive and even thrive.

Another good reason for doing something constructive is that it contributes to our own psychological survival. We become stressed when we feel helpless, and unable to control what happens in our lives. Taking the first step to address a problem increases our sense of personal agency and adds to our resilience. And if we can act alongside others, that contributes another key element of coping – like-minded company. So help your colleagues engage in projects that provide hope.

Resilience comes most of all from having a purpose in life and belonging to something bigger than ourselves. As Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Don’t let disillusion rob you of your life mission, the source of your faith in the future, or your ability to enlist people in the mission of your organization. When things get tough, that is precisely when this faith proves its value. The future will be created by those who have the faith and the courage to take action.

To end on a practical note, the American Psychological Association suggests that, just like going to the gym helps build muscle and physical health, we can build resilience through four training components — connection, wellness, healthy thinking, and meaning (https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience). 

Build your connections by:

• Prioritizing relationships
• Participating in groups or networks that provide support.

Foster wellness by:

• Taking care of your body through proper nutrition, ample sleep, hydration, and regular exercise.
• Practicing mindfulness through journaling, yoga, and other spiritual practices like prayer or meditation.
• Avoiding negative outlets. Avoid masking your pain with alcohol, drugs, or other substances.

Find purpose by

• Helping others. 
• Being proactive. Take the first step to address the problem and its effects.
• Developing realistic goals and regularly moving toward them
• Looking for opportunities for self-discovery.

Embrace healthy thoughts by

• Keeping things in perspective. How you think can play a significant part in how you feel. 
• Accepting change. 
• Maintaining a hopeful outlook. 
• Learning from what was helpful in the past.

Jonathan Cook is co-founder and chairman of the African Management Institute, an innovative pan-African training provider headquartered in Nairobi. He is a counselling psychologist, entrepreneur, and past faculty member of Wits Business School and the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg, where he was director. He is a past chairman of the Association of African Business Schools.