BCG Henderson Institute

Building a Mutually Reinforcing System of Organizational and Personal Resilience

Organizational resilience and personal resilience are rarely considered together, yet building a system that facilitates mutually-reinforcing resilience between organizations and employees opens new possibilities on both levels. We explore the relationship between the two forms of resilience.

The science of multi-level resilience

The interplay between personal and organizational resilience is fundamental to understanding how organizations can deal with stressors.[1]Reeves, Martin, and Simon Levin. “Think Biologically: Messy Management for a Complex World.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 8 Jan. … Continue reading In complex, multi-level systems, exposure to adversity (or opportunity) at lower levels of a system can lead to resilience at higher levels, though this is not guaranteed.[2]Levin, Simon, and Lubchenco, Jane. Resilience, Robustness, and Marine Ecosystem-based Management. BioScience, Vol. 58 №1. Jan. 2008. Extreme events can be a major driver of evolutionary change within species.[3]Grant, Peter, et al. “Evolution Caused by Extreme Events.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, The Royal Society, 8 May 2017, https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/41012278. When extreme events occur, they can drive rapid evolution by favoring both the most resilient members and opportunistic new ones.

Multiple timescales of resilience

Another important aspect of resilience, necessary to understand the relationship between personal and organizational resilience, is that it plays out over several timescales.

  • Cushioning advantage: the ability to withstand the initial shock
  • Adaptation advantage: the ability to quickly identify the actions needed to restore operations and implement them swiftly
  • Shaping advantage: the ability to shape and exploit the dynamics of the industry in the post-shock environment[9]Reeves, Martin, et al. “Becoming an All-Weather Company.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 19 July 2021, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/how-to-become-an-all-weather-resilient-company.

A mutually reinforcing relationship

When these principles are applied to organizations, the result is a multi-level, multi-timescale model encompassing organizational and personal resilience. The two levels of resilience are mutually reinforcing: each depends on and reinforces the other, and each is less effective absent the other.

The optimal level and approach to stress

In order to develop personal resilience, employees must experience and overcome adversity or change. Yet the adversity or change can’t be so overpowering that it leads to breakdown, rather than learning and growth. Therefore, personal resilience is best developed in an environment with the optimal level of stress.

How leaders can build resilience at multiple levels in organizations

Multi-level resilience is built upon the relationship between organizational and personal resilience, an optimal level of stress, and the right approach to change. Leaders can take a number of actions to build such a resilient organizational system:

Author(s)
  • Yuval Shmul

    Alum Ambassador (2021-2022), Strategy Lab

  • Martin Reeves

    Chairman, BCG Henderson Institute

  • Simon Levin

    James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Director, Center for BioComplexity at Princeton University

Sources & Notes

References

References
1 Reeves, Martin, and Simon Levin. “Think Biologically: Messy Management for a Complex World.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 8 Jan. 2021, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/think-biologically-messy-management-for-complex-world.
2 Levin, Simon, and Lubchenco, Jane. Resilience, Robustness, and Marine Ecosystem-based Management. BioScience, Vol. 58 №1. Jan. 2008.
3 Grant, Peter, et al. “Evolution Caused by Extreme Events.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, The Royal Society, 8 May 2017, https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/41012278.
4 How Microtears Help You to Build Muscle Mass | https://www.uhhospitals.org/Healthy-at-UH/articles/2018/02/microtears-and-mass.
5 “Immune System Explained.” Immune System Explained — Better Health Channelhttps://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/immune-system.
6 Coughlin, Eugene. “Fostering Resilience: Leader Strategies and Practices for Overcoming Adversity in Military Organizations.” Pepperdine University, Pepperdine Digital Commons, 2018, https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1912&context=etd.
7 “General Martin Dempsey on Building a Successful Disciplined & Adaptable Organization.” YouTube, 6 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqHlqDq2IbE.
8 Reeves, Martin, and Simon Levin. “Building a Resilient Business Inspired by Biology.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 1 Apr. 2021, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/globalization-strategy-reeves-levin-building-resilient-business-inspired-biology.
9 Reeves, Martin, et al. “Becoming an All-Weather Company.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 19 July 2021, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/how-to-become-an-all-weather-resilient-company.
10 Folkman, Susan, and Judith Tedlie Moskowitz. Stress, Positive Emotion, and Coping. Current Directions in Psychological Science, http://www.gruberpeplab.com/teaching/psych3131_summer2015/documents/14.2_FolkmanMoskowitz_2000_Stresspositiveemotioncoping.pdf.
11 Folkman, Susan. “The Case for Positive Emotions in the Stress Process.” Taylor & Francishttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10615800701740457.
12 Park, Crystal L., et al. “Assessment and Prediction of Stress‐Related Growth.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 28 Apr. 2006, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00815.x.
13 Reeves, Martin, et al. “The Self-Tuning Enterprise.” BCG Global, BCG Global, 8 Jan. 2021, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2015/business-unit-strategy-growth-self-tuning-enterprise.
14 Reeves, Martin, et al. “How to Regain the Lost Art of Reflection.” Harvard Business Review, 20 Feb. 2018, https://hbr.org/2017/09/how-to-regain-the-lost-art-of-reflection.
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