Anchoring Resilience

Resilience is the ability to recover, adapt, and grow in the face of stress. For teams, it means bouncing back after a difficult interaction, staying connected during tough times, and maintaining a sense of purpose even when the work is hard. But to be resilient is tough, and our capacity for this can vary depending on so many factors.

I like to think of it like a set of weighing scales, Resilience on one side, Stress on the other. The more strategies we have for being resilient, the more tools, tricks and go to’s that we have, the less stress we will experience, one helps the other one ‘tip’ and dominate less. It’s like a protective factor. We can’t ever make stress disappear; in fact we need healthy amounts of stress to help motivate us. Plus, we are all human so it would be a bit weird to go round claiming that we don’t experience stress, even the bad stuff. It’s our capacity to deal with it in an emotionally intelligent way that can help.

Understanding our triggers for stress is a good starting point. Through being self-aware we can work out better what it is that causes it?  Is it a certain person, a particular situation or something else?

It’s also about understanding our physiological response to stress, understanding the process of how our Amygdala hijacks the brain, the role of the chemical response and how Cortisol, our stress hormone impacts our bodies and not in the nicest of ways.

Once we understand better how stress for us works, we can then plan some simple strategies that can help. It’s working out, what's best for you and then holding yourself accountable to doing something about it. Planning ideas for what you can do to respond and manage your emotions before a stressful situation, before, during and then after.

It would be nice if life was always so easy to plan for, so totally accept that this could seem a bit idealistic. However, if you give it a go and really work hard on this, you will notice a change. Your ability to be resilient will improve, you will find you can bounce back more quickly if you have got a decent collection of strategies.

So what about team resilience? There can be so much positive energy and empowerment in teams that really and authentically invest in this. Those that do can get on with the business of supporting their clients and giving them the service they deserve.

Here are five ways to Build Team Resilience

1. Normalise Stress and Emotional Responses

Make space for real talk. Regular check-ins where team members can share challenges (without judgment) help build trust and release pressure.

2. Celebrate Small Wins

Working with difficult clients means progress can be slow or subtle. Recognising even minor breakthroughs keeps motivation alive.

3. Set Healthy Boundaries Together

Encourage the team to support one another in saying “no” when needed. Boundaries are easier to maintain when the whole team values them.

4. Train in De-escalation and Self-Regulation

Practical tools like grounding techniques and breathing exercises can empower team members to stay calm and centred.

5. Build a Culture of Debriefing, Not Just Doing

After tough cases or client interactions, take time to pause and process. Quick debriefs help teams reflect, learn, and move forward together.