ALL CHANGE IS PERSONAL
Resilience
Change isn’t a straight path. There will be setbacks, resistance and moments when teams feel like giving up.
That’s why resilience, the ability to adapt, recover, and keep going, is one of the most critical skills in change management.
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Resilient organizations learn from them obstacles, adjust and come back stronger. By building resilience into the change process, employees are better equipped to handle uncertainty, frustration and the inevitable bumps along the way.
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A few ways to incorporate Resilience into Change Management:
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Normalize setbacks as part of the process. When challenges happen, frame them as learning opportunities rather than signs of defeat.
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Train employees in adaptive thinking. Help teams develop a problem-solving mindset rather than feeling stuck when plans don’t go as expected.
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Create psychological safety. Employees need to feel safe voicing concerns, experimenting and making mistakes without fear of backlash.
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Recognize and celebrate persistence. Instead of just rewarding outcomes, acknowledge effort, small wins and the ability to push through difficulties.
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Encourage flexible thinking. Teach employees and leaders to reframe problems and look for alternatives.
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Give people tools to manage stress. Offer resources like mindfulness, energy management strategies and wellness support to help employees stay engaged.
Bend, Don't Break
Lasting Change Requires Resilience
Setbacks aren’t the problem. Giving up is.
Case Study
Resilience in Change: Adapting to Unexpected Setbacks
Problem
A large healthcare provider was rolling out a major ERP system implementation, but as the project progressed, it became clear that HR was not ready to go live due to the massive complexity of data reconciliation and process alignment.
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Originally, the plan was to launch all functions at once, but after realizing the scope of the challenge, HR had to push their go-live date back twice, a difficult decision, especially since executives were under pressure to move forward.
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The team had to navigate leadership frustration, employee burnout and intense workloads while ensuring that critical payroll functions would work flawlessly when the system finally launched.
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Solution
Instead of forcing an unrealistic timeline, the HR team:
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Used data to justify the delay, showing leadership that rushing the rollout would cause paycheck errors and system failures.
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Broke the implementation into phases, prioritizing finance and supply chain first, then launching HR six months later.
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Maintained morale and commitment, despite the exhausting demands, by rallying around the shared goal of getting it right.
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Leaned on teamwork and shared accountability, recognizing that resilience is about supporting one another through tough times.
Result
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By delaying HR’s launch strategically, the company avoided payroll disasters and ensured a smoother transition.
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The team’s resilience paid off. The HR implementation was ultimately successful, without major system failures.
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Although many employees were stretched to their limits, the experience strengthened the team’s ability to adapt under pressure.
Key Takeaways
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Resilience is about knowing when to adjust. Pausing or phasing a change effort can lead to better long-term success.
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Data-driven decision-making builds credibility. Showing quantifiable risks (like payroll errors) helps justify necessary changes to leadership.
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Resilient teams rely on shared support. Burnout is real, and sustainable change requires mutual accountability and collaboration.
— OUR CORE BELIEF —