{"id":12973,"date":"2026-10-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.signium.com\/?post_type=news&p=12973"},"modified":"2026-10-02T17:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:10:12","slug":"developing-resilience-how-to-equip-leaders-and-teams-for-sustained-pressure","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.signium.com\/de\/news\/developing-resilience-how-to-equip-leaders-and-teams-for-sustained-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing Resilience: How to Equip Leaders and Teams for Sustained Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Resilience is often judged by how leaders respond to a crisis. But what helps them and their teams keep making sound decisions when pressure lasts for months \u2013 even years \u2013 rather than days or weeks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A leadership team has made it through a demanding quarter. They met targets, kept a major project on track, and stepped in wherever they were needed. Then the next quarter begins with another shift in priorities and no real chance to regain capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, the team is performing. In practice, decisions are taking longer. Small problems are being raised later. Leaders have less time to think, and teams have less room to adjust when plans change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u200b\u200bFran\u00e7ois Barbier<\/strong><\/a>, Managing Partner at Signium in Paris<\/a data-aos=\"fade-up\"> points out that this is a different test from responding well to a single disruption. He says, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cResilience under sustained pressure means being able to keep quiet, think clearly, work together, adapt, and still have the capacity to do it again. You can\u2019t measure it only by how long people keep going. A team may push through one demanding period, but if each occasion leaves them with less to draw on, that isn\u2019t sustainable.\u201d  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A 2025 World Economic Forum and McKinsey survey<\/a data-aos=\"fade-up\"> found that 84% of the companies surveyed felt underprepared for future disruptions. Preparing for those disruptions asks for more than a response plan. It also requires leaders and teams who can remain effective through the demands that precede and follow a crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What changes when pressure becomes constant? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some pressure sharpens attention. Leaders make difficult calls, teams pull together, and people find ways around obstacles. Yet, an exceptional effort can\u2019t become the standard way of working without a cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first signs may be easy to miss because work is still getting done. A leader who once invited challenge starts making decisions with fewer people in the room. A team puts off discussing a risk because everyone is busy delivering the current plan. Another urgent request is accepted without deciding what will move aside to accommodate it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of these actions necessarily signals a lack of commitment or ability. They may be warning signs that the capacity behind current performance is narrowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers are part of this picture too. In its 2026 State of the Global Workplace report<\/a data-aos=\"fade-up\">, Gallup found that global manager engagement fell from 27% in 2024 to 22% in 2025. \u200b\u200bThis decline reminds us to pay attention to managers\u2019 own experience at work. Organizations that ask managers to guide teams through change should also ask what support those managers need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbier emphasizes that a team can meet every target today and still be running down the capacity it needs for tomorrow: \u201cWe must look beyond whether the work is getting done and ask whether people can keep doing it well.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can leaders tell when pressure is affecting their judgment?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A resilient leader isn\u2019t someone who never feels pressure. What matters is whether they can recognize its effect before it determines how they lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Everything starts to feel urgent <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A leader may notice they\u2019re reacting to each new request with the same intensity. When everything feels immediate, it becomes harder to distinguish what truly needs attention from what can wait. That\u2019s a cue to pause and reset priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Familiar answers become too appealing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under pressure, leaders may reach quickly for an approach that worked before, even when the situation has changed. Asking a colleague to challenge their thinking can expose an assumption they\u2019ve stopped questioning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Difficult trade-offs are postponed <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A leader may know that a commitment is no longer realistic but hesitate to say so. Instead, the team keeps trying to absorb the extra work. Naming the constraint early creates a chance to change the deadline, the scope, or the resources before the problem grows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are skills that can be developed,\u201d encourages Barbier. \u201cCoaching can help leaders understand how they respond when demands compete or they feel less in control. Looking back after a difficult period can show which decisions held up and which were rushed. Even a brief pause can help them consider their options before urgency makes the choice for them.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this requires a leader to be calm and collected at every moment. It calls on them to recognize when pressure is changing<\/a data-aos=\"fade-up\"> their behavior and to have people around them who can help them regain perspective.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That becomes harder if admitting strain is treated as a sign that they\u2019re not up to the role. As much as personal habits matter, so does a leader\u2019s willingness to talk openly about capacity and what the team can realistically sustain.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teams need steadiness without rigidity <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Under pressure, a team needs to know where the priorities lie and who is responsible for what. That clarity gives people a stable point from which to act. Yet, if the plan can\u2019t be questioned or changed, steadiness becomes rigidity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider two teams facing the same unexpected delay. In the first, people quietly work around the problem. They know the deadline is at risk, but nobody wants to be the one to say so. The issue reaches the leader when few options remain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second, a team member raises the delay early. The group checks what depends on the work, agrees which parts of the plan can change, and tells affected colleagues what to expect. The delay still has a cost, but the team has more room to manage it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That difference depends partly on whether people believe they can speak candidly. \u201cPsychological safety does not remove accountability, but it allows the whole team to openly share their concerns and access the critical information it needs to act,\u201d adds Barbier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders can make this practical by asking direct questions during demanding periods: <\/p>\n\n\n\n