What makes leaders resilient? An exploratory interview study

Abstract

Can the boss take the heat? Is he or she tough enough for the job? Can they take it, endure the pressure, tolerate or stand up to it? Although we know that resilient leaders are essential for a healthy and efficient workforce, the resilience of leaders itself is still largely unexplored. Our study aims to identify distinctive resilience factors in leadership and help close this research gap. We interviewed 27 leaders from various industrial sectors, German regions and leadership positions. In a qualitative content analysis, we identified 77 individual, situational and behavioural factors that seem to impact on the resilience of leaders. We divided these factors into meaningful categories and integrated them into a framework appropriate for leadership. This framework shows that in addition to individual traits and abilities, situational factors (private and work environment) and behavioural factors (personal and interpersonal behaviour) are highly important and that leaders' resilience results from an interaction of these factors. As most of the identified factors can be directly influenced by the leader or the organization, our study provides important insights into the effective development and nurturing of leaders' resilience. Furthermore, the findings can be a helpful starting point for future empirical studies.

Resilience in the Workplace: A Multilevel Review and Synthesis

“…Empirical research suggests that certain personality traits are positively linked to resilience (Förster & Duchek, ). For instance, Wei and Taormina () argued that people who worry a lot tend to think more thoroughly about how to overcome obstacles, which might have a positive effect on resilience.…”

“…A strong link has been found between employees’ social competencies, such as emotional intelligence or empathy, and their resilience (Förster & Duchek, ; Kinman & Grant, ). Referring to the theory of high‐quality connections (Dutton & Heaphy, ), which states that connections at work are vital for employees’ health and well‐being, Stephens, Heaphy, Carmeli, Spreitzer, and Dutton () found that an individual’s emotional carrying capacity, defined as the capacity to constructively express positive and negative emotions within a relationship, was positively related to individual resilience and mediated the effects of relationship closeness on resilience.…”

“…Surprisingly, only a few studies referred to this theory when explaining research ideas and findings. With regard to work resources, researchers found social support and feedback from others in the workplace to positively relate to resilience (e.g., Förster & Duchek, ; Kuntz, Connell, & Näswall, ; McDonald, Jackson, Vickers, & Wilkes, ). Employees benefitted from sharing responsibilities and work tasks with colleagues, as this relieved the burden in challenging situations (Burns, Poikkeus, & Aro, ).…”

Preparing Workplaces for Digital Transformation: An Integrative Review and Framework of Multi-Level Factors

“…Third, an individual’s attitude and mindset toward their job and professional development help them become resilient during adversity ( Cameron and Brownie, 2010 ; Stevenson et al, 2011 ). Lastly, the work context (e.g., the presence of social support, feedback, sharing of responsibilities and work tasks ( Cameron and Brownie, 2010 ; Burns et al, 2013 ; Lamb and Cogan, 2016 ; McDonald et al, 2016 ; Förster and Duchek, 2017 ) are related to resilience among employees.…”

Understanding the Expectations of Young Employees Towards Leadership in Organizations

“…Bendell and Little (2015) define Leadership as a behavior to help people to achieve something significant, and the act of leadership involves an assumption about values and change theories. Individual traits, situational factors, and behavioral factors are equally important for a leader (Förster & Duchek, 2017).…”