Why Change Still Feels Hard (and What Resilient Leaders Do About It)
Last week, I kicked off my new 4-part series on the most requested training topics for leaders in 2025. Each part of this series tackles a real challenge that leaders have been wrestling with all year.
Workshop #1 was all about How to Delegate to Develop Your Team and wow, the response was huge. Apparently, a lot of leaders are tired of doing everything themselves (shocking, right?).
Today, I want to shift gears and talk about something every leader is dealing with, whether they want to or not!
Change and resilience.
The Hard Truth About Organizational Change
Let’s start with a few truths about change. You’ve probably lived all of these:
- Change is hard
- Change is expensive
- Change takes time
- We are programmed not to change.
Our brains prefer familiarity and predictability.
So, when your company rolls out a new platform, restructures your team, or shifts its strategy for the third time this year, your brain isn’t saying, “Oh, wonderful!” It’s probably saying, “Oh no, not another change!”
This is where resilience comes in.
What Is Leadership Resilience?
So, what is resilience?
Resilience isn’t pretending everything is fine. It’s not plastering on positivity or forcing yourself to “stay upbeat.”
Resilience is the strength to keep moving in the direction you know is right, even when obstacles, frustration, or uncertainty show up.
It’s the ability to continue forward in the middle of adversity, not after it’s all neatly resolved.
A Real Client Story: Leading Through Digital Transformation
A few months ago, I was working with a VP, let’s call her Maya. She was leading a team through a major digital transformation which included new systems, new processes and of course new expectations. This led to a lot of frustration on her team.
During one coaching session, she said, “Vanessa, I know the change is good. I know the end state will make us better. But right now, my team is exhausted. I’m exhausted, and everyone keeps asking me for certainty that I can’t give.”
What she was describing wasn’t a “skill gap.”
It was a resilience gap.
Building Resilience: A Practical Framework
So, we worked on helping her define:
- What she knew to be true (her guiding principles)
- What was within her control
- How to communicate honestly without feeding fear
- How to create small wins so her team feels progress, not just pressure
Three months later, she told me something I’ll never forget:
“Nothing about the change got easier. But I got stronger. And when I got stronger, my team did too.”
That is resilience in action.
Why Leaders Need Resilience in 2026
Why do leaders need resilience more than ever these days?
Change isn’t slowing down in 2026. If anything, it’s accelerating.
And while you can’t eliminate the hard parts, you can build the internal strength to lead through all your changes with clarity and confidence.
Next week, I’ll share the third most-requested training topic for leaders in 2025. (And yes, it’s another one that I know you’ll relate to.)
Until then, I’d love to know: What’s the biggest change you’re navigating right now, and how are you staying resilient?
