Recently, Dr Natalie Cunningham ran a microcredential series – short, online courses exploring the personal, organisational and societal implications of resilience.
As part of the final assessment, course participants were asked to reflect on an aspect of resilience they wanted to share with others. With their permission, we have collated an edited selection of people’s insights, which provide thoughtful and practical advice for others working in the development sector at the moment.
The quiet foundation of resilience
If I could share something helpful about resilience to others, it would be the importance of creating and sustaining spaces of psychological safety — especially in high-pressure environments.
Psychological safety is foundational to collective resilience. In contexts of crisis, conflict, or persistent uncertainty, people need not just strategies and resources, but also space: to speak, to fail, to question, and to recover without fear of judgment or punishment.
Psychological safety does not eliminate risk or remove accountability, instead, it creates conditions where people can engage with complexity more honestly and productively. It allows teams to surface blind spots, acknowledge vulnerabilities, and innovate in the face of uncertainty. This is particularly critical in humanitarian, development, and NGO work, where the pressure to deliver often coexists with moral fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout.
Resilience is not only about bouncing back, but it is about who we are allowed to be in moments of strain. Psychological safety makes that space possible. And that is where transformation, both personal and systemic, begins.
Claude Samaha, Research Technical Manager, Basmeh & Zeitooneh Relief and Development, Lebanon.
Valuing vulnerability
In my journey, both personally and professionally, I have come to realize that resilience is not just about enduring hardships but about allowing ourselves to feel, reflect, and grow from those experiences. Far too often, resilience is perceived as a rigid toughness, an unyielding ability to withstand challenges without showing weakness. However, in my experience, real resilience lies in acknowledging vulnerability, processing it, and using it as a foundation to build something stronger.
In organisational settings, vulnerability can seem counterintuitive, especially when leadership is often associated with strength, decisiveness, and unwavering confidence. However, I have found that vulnerability is an essential part of organisational resilience.
When leaders and team members openly discuss challenges and uncertainties, it fosters a culture of transparency and collective problem-solving. Instead of masking difficulties, admitting that a project may not go as planned or that an approach needs re-evaluation creates space for innovative thinking and collaborative adaptation. This openness builds trust within teams, allowing individuals to support one another rather than working in silos or fearing repercussions for perceived failures.
Pheona Elyanu Akullo, Sustainable Livelihoods Technical Support, Village Enterprise, Uganda
Invest in your own resilience and other people benefit
If I could share something helpful about resilience with leaders and teams everywhere, it would be to invest deeply in your own resilience first so you can create safe, thriving environments for others.
Resilience is neither a luxury nor a tick-box exercise. It serves as the anchor of sustainable and authentic leadership. By first investing in one’s own inner strength and resilience and then fostering an environment and working culture where team members feel safe, trusted, and valued, we create the conditions for individuals and organisations to bounce forward, adapt, and thrive. When you are well, you guide others; when you feel safe, you make courageous choices; and when you model resilience, you lead the way for everyone around you.
Sophie Perreard, Director of Elevate Coaching and Leadership, Australia
Personal resilience builds societal resilience
Resilience is a capability that must be built into the fabric of society.
Every resilient person adds to the stability of the whole. Individual resilience assists in problem-solving, emotional regulation, and adaptability, qualities essential for impacting and navigating crisis.
When crises arise, you need people who can assume leadership roles in different tiers of society, and it is resilient individuals who can best play such roles. In times of hardship or disaster, we expect people and communities to bounce back speedily. If there is less individual bounce ability, it may take longer for a locale to rise, and hopelessness is more likely to set in.
But where individuals have the belief, capacity, and personal resilience, it is more likely that those communities would take a shorter time to rise again and become fully operational after a major disaster and are more likely to be better prepared to face risks in the future.
Jerry Gule, Coach and former CEO of the Institute of People Management (IPM), South Africa
Resilience and critical thinking
If I could share something helpful about resilience with others working in NGOs, it would be that critical thinking is the root system of resilience. From personal reflection to organizational strategy, it’s the quiet force behind every resilient act. And yet, it’s often overlooked in discussions about resilience, especially in high-stakes environments like the humanitarian and development sectors.
Critical thinking has helped me not only in managing program risks, but in how I approach difficult conversations, how I understand community dynamics, and how I reflect on failure. It’s helped me move from simply reacting to responding with intention. It’s helped me bounce forward, not just back.
Yanka Fontaine, Project Coordinator, World Horse Welfare, Haiti
Trust and resilience
Trust is one of the foundational constructs of social cohesion, serving as a bond that connects individuals and communities, and contributes to overall well-being within society. However, during times of uncertainty and polarization—irrespective of country or region, as we live in an increasingly interconnected world—trust can be damaged or lost due to fear, anxiety, and suspicion. Building or rebuilding trust is one of the most pressing themes for enhancing resilience.
Yuko Fujii, Coach and Human and Organization Development Practitioner, Japan
Small organisations should invest in the resilience of staff
If I could share something helpful about resilience to others, particularly those working in the not-for-profit and community sectors, it would be to that individual resilience should be held in as much regard as wider organisational and community-based resilience.
In my experience, working for small charities and community groups, efforts are rightly focused on organisation resilience, in terms of organisational delivery and capacity, as well as community resilience in the actual work that they do. Individual resilience is often overlooked.
There are so many areas that some organisations could implement to improve staff resilience and, consequently, their wellbeing, morale and work performance. Many of these could be implemented through investing in strong, resilient management who are knowledgeable about how these areas interconnect and how to implement strategies into their teams.
Amy Errington, UK
Valuing emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is an ability of identifying, observing and, with experience, to manage, to control or regulate our emotions. Emotional intelligence benefits us individually and our interactions: organizational, in community or in different social contexts.
Having the skill and awareness on how emotions impact on us and others, is significant to navigate crises and stressful events. It provides quality and clarity to think critically for solutions and seek opportunities but also can reduce conflicts or contribute to its management and reflection.
By developing sensibility and knowledge about emotions, may guide us to understand better others, and consequently be more empathetic, supportive and compassionate. This aligns also to identify or anticipate when the creation of psychological safe space is needed. Making vulnerability feels welcome, natural, comfortable and encouraging to seek support and express needs.
Ana Paula Pereira, Portugal / Timor Leste
Embrace adaptability as the core of true resilience
If I could share something helpful about resilience to others, it would be the importance of embracing adaptability as the core of true resilience. In today’s fast-changing world- marked by unpredictable social, environmental, and economic challenges – being resilient is no longer just about “bouncing back” to a previous state. Instead, resilience is about the ability to adjust, learn, and evolve in the face of adversity. This mindset shift from resistance to adaptation is crucial, especially for individuals and organizations working in high-pressure or uncertain environments.
In my experience, whether in community work, humanitarian contexts, or personal life, those who survive and thrive after crises are not necessarily the strongest or most prepared, but those who are flexible enough to change their approach and mindset. This could mean revisiting old habits, unlearning assumptions, or exploring new ways of collaborating and problem-solving. Resilience, in this light, is dynamic rather than static.
Roman Viola Brenda, Head of Operations, Coalition for Humanity, South Sudan
Join our free webinar: Developing Personal Resilience in Turbulent Times
Given the challenges and adverse times in the development sector, a need for personal resilience is at an all-time high. Dr Natalie Cunningham will be leading a free, 1 hour webinar on Developing Personal Resilience in Turbulent Times on 15 July at 9.00am (BST/UCT+1, find your time)
Please register here.
Top image by Engin Akyurt.
Note: This article gives the views of the author/academic featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the Global Development Institute as a whole.
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