The Resilience Q&A: Practical Strategies for Navigating Uncertain Times

In our recent webinar, “The Resilience Toolkit: 6 Practical Strategies for Uncertain Times,” we received some great questions from leaders and professionals seeking ways to build resilience, trust, and clarity amidst rapid change. These questions reflect what many of us are experiencing: a deep need for authentic connection, strategic support, and emotionally intelligent solutions to complex challenges.

We asked our Emotional Intelligence experts at TalentSmartEQ to weigh in on your questions. Here’s their advice to help you navigate your own journey toward resilience and emotional clarity.

Question #1: In the past, there may have been one or two people struggling and it was easier to support them and help them grow.  Now that the impacts are so large, it is impacting everyone at a rate that is exponential.  How can we support everyone? Is it better to provide everyone with a little support, or support a few who in turn can help support more?

Prioritize equipping your leaders and influential employees first. Emotionally intelligent leadership cascades down. By training and supporting key individuals who naturally influence the emotional tone of the group, you create powerful ripple effects. Instead of spreading thin resources equally, strengthen your emotional “hubs”—those people who can extend their support across broader teams. – Maggie Sass

As a former C-suite executive, I agree that focusing on training your leaders on how to support employees through uncertainty is the key.  This can provide leaders with the tools to help build resilience.  I like helping employees focus on the things they can control, such as 1) emotional, 2) mental, 3) social, and 4) physical habits. – Greg Campbell

The cool thing about resilience is that it also follows the law of exponential growth. In the book, Resilience that Works, there are tangible examples of daily practices that build over time. Small daily practices compound over time to create real change. Leaning on Emotional Intelligence 2.0, one important mindset shift or group norm that could be a mantra during this time is remembering that emotions are not good or bad. The uncomfortable ones are simply messengers. We can equip everyone with simple reflection tools to build resilience, like asking: When I have the thought “I cannot handle this,” what is it that I am feeling? When I feel fear, frustration, or ambiguity, what is my usual action plan, and is it effective?

In the State of EQ report, only 13% of respondents reported using peer learning as a method for leadership and interpersonal skill development. Be an outlier. Starting small, by pairing people into low-pressure peer partnerships with these kinds of reflection questions, can help resilience grow organically. – Amy Miller

Question #2: How can I best leverage my emotional intelligence during a career transition to identify opportunities that align with my strengths and values?

Lean heavily on self-awareness and social awareness. Reflect daily: What activities energize you? What roles align deeply with your values? Seek feedback from trusted friends and mentors—ask them what strengths they consistently see in you. EQ helps you find alignment by tuning into both your own emotional cues and the reactions you inspire in others. – Sheri Duchock

You can think of a career transition in similar ways as a relationship. Both require proactive approaches to how you conduct yourself (self-management) and how you meet your needs and the needs of others (relationship management). As you consider a career transition, assess job descriptions for titles that interest you and seek out what the company’s needs are for the role. Are you yet able to meet and exceed these needs? Are your needs aligned? This ‘needs’ analysis for relationships can effectively be applied to an analysis of opportunities as you transition careers. When you identify the right opportunities, your EQ will also help you present authentically and effectively in your application materials and interview. – Josh Rosenthal

Strategy #11 for Self-awareness in our 66 Strategies (read more about our strategies in Emotional Intelligence 2.0) encourages individuals to “visit your values.”  What does this mean?  Take some time and actually think about and describe each value that is important in your life and how those values may align or not with a new employer. – Greg Campbell

Question #3: What practical daily habits have you seen make the biggest difference in maintaining resilience during extended periods of uncertainty?

Susan David, psychologist at Harvard Medical school said, “Resilience is not about toughness; it’s about emotional agility and flexibility. Small daily practices can literally change your brain’s response to stress.” Think of everything as a micro-experiment. Do daily emotional check-ins—ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?” and “What do I need?” Take exercise “snack breaks,” take 2-minutes for mindful breathing, or try 5 minutes of gratitude journaling. The key is finding things you will actually do long term. – Maggie Sass

Break your day into small chucks of time and energy. What might feel overwhelming to accomplish in a day or a week, can feel like a breeze if broken into a much smaller, 20-minute task. Create micro-goals for yourself that will amount to the bigger ones that feel overwhelming. This week, see if you can take a project, shatter it into many pieces, and treat each piece with its own micro-goal. Make sure to also include a micro-reward before you move on to the next. It is always helpful to plan and strategize – even visualize yourself succeeding at something that matters to you. Keep in mind that the farther you go in wonder and planning, the more uncertainty you’ll find. Make it a daily habit to also think and execute the small things well. It will not only keep your to-do list manageable, but it will also build confidence and resilience. – Josh Rosenthal

Question #4: What one thing can everyone do today to set themselves up to better live with uncertainty?

Clarify what you can control versus what you cannot. Emotionally intelligent individuals intentionally redirect energy toward actionable tasks, meaningful connections, and achievable daily goals, things within their control. Practice this daily to steadily build comfort and confidence amidst uncertainty. – Dimyas Perdue

Make it a daily habit to check in with your senses. It doesn’t take long to pay close attention to what you see around you, what you hear, note how it smells, what parts of your body ache or feel strong, how a snack or meal tastes with every bite. Live in the exact moment and take a tour of your senses – for better or worse, they will ground you in welcomed certainty. – Josh Rosenthal

Question #5: How can organizations still stand by a high-trust/people focused culture while they restructure and exit people from the company as no longer needed/necessary?

Transparency and empathy are key. Clearly communicate the reasons behind changes, acknowledge the emotional impacts, and respect the dignity of affected employees. People trust organizations that demonstrate integrity even during tough times. Supporting employees throughout transitions with genuine empathy upholds your culture long-term. – David Brzozowksi

Emotions come first. Let people express their frustrations and their fears. You do not have to make them feel better, you do not have to promise a solution. Focus on making space for them to share how they are feeling and validate their experience first.

Statement to acknowledge reality and offer steady support: “We cannot take away the difficulty, but we can walk through it together with respect and clarity. How are the changes feeling for you and your team? Is there anything you need support with?”

After listening, you can invite reflection and resilience-building with back pocket questions like: “What is one thing you want to hold onto during this change?” “Have you experienced something like this before?” Or “What has helped you get through challenges in the past?” – Amy Miller

Question #6: When people are stuck and don’t WANT to be open to the new ways, what are prompts that can help them at least see how they are holding themselves in pain?

Abandon the idea that you are going to get someone unstuck and focus on meeting them where they are. Ask open-ended questions like, “What’s the biggest fear or loss you associate with this change?” or “What would staying in this current state cost you long-term?” This might shift their perspective toward self-awareness and the potential benefits of openness. – Sheri Duchock

Lead with curiosity. They are “stuck” for good reasons, and it will help to first learn what these are. Use your social awareness to uncover why they prefer the way things are or used to be. Take notice of how they share as much as what they share, and you can uncover deeper insights about them. Try to check your own assumptions that they are “in pain” necessarily because they are unwilling (yet) to try new things. Is it pain for them? What do they get out of the current or old ways of doing things? How and when and from whom did they learn those ways? Whatever the process was, it is evident they have it in them to learn new things. – Josh Rosenthal

Question #7: What are some effective strategies or advice in soliciting support from family and friends?

Be clear and vulnerable. Express your needs explicitly: “I’m going through something challenging, and it would mean a lot if we could talk,” or “I’m struggling and could use your advice.” Direct communication paired with authentic vulnerability strengthens bonds and makes it easier for others to respond meaningfully. – Dimyas Perdue

Question #8: Is it ok to admit to yourself that you don’t have all the answers right now – but keep working towards an understanding?

Absolutely. Emotionally intelligent people embrace uncertainty as a learning space rather than a threat. Admitting you don’t have immediate answers frees mental space for growth, curiosity, and adaptation—exactly what’s needed in times of complexity and change. – David Brzozowksi

Question #9: Why is it that the less you focus on your problems and care about helping others – the better you feel?

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and professor at Wharton, says, “One of the best ways to overcome stress and anxiety is to shift your attention outward—to help someone else. It turns self-concern into shared purpose.” Helping others activates empathy and shifts your perspective from internal stress to external connection. Research in emotional intelligence and positive psychology shows altruistic behaviors release endorphins and serotonin, literally helping you feel better emotionally and physically. – Dimyas Perdue

Question #10: To build trust do you need to have built a strong level of respect first?

Respect often comes first, but trust grows best through consistent behavior over time. Respect opens doors; trust sustains relationships. Building trust requires demonstrating reliability, emotional safety, and consistent integrity—all of which deepen respect further in turn. – Sheri Duchock

Question #11: How can I show up with authentic vulnerability, rather than something that seems more manufactured?

Authentic vulnerability emerges naturally when you’re transparent about genuine feelings without expectation of outcome. Share truths aligned with your lived experience rather than vulnerability performed for effect. People feel the difference and connect more deeply with authentic honesty. – Sheri Duchock

Question #12: Middle managers are between a rock and a hard place.  How should managers balance being emotionally available to their team(s) while dealing with their issues and the issues coming at them from above?

Maggie – Managers must first prioritize their own emotional well-being, like putting on your oxygen mask first in an emergency. Set healthy boundaries, establish clear communication routines, and regularly recharge. When you’re emotionally centered, you have the bandwidth to support your team and appropriately manage your peer and supervisory relationships.

Question #13: Practicing gratitude (with a journal or app) can be a good way to focus on the good options, rather than the bad. What are some other practices or tools to practice positivity?

Besides gratitude journaling, try a “positivity pause” (one minute reflecting on positive interactions), regular micro-breaks outdoors, or actively identifying daily “wins,” no matter how small. Such practices consistently train your brain toward optimism and emotional agility. – David Brzozowksi

In a study by Jane Dutton and Adam Grant it was found that having a “Contribution Journal” where you focus on small things you’ve done for others positively impacts motivation and prosocial behavior. Where gratitude is about things you get, a focus on contributions is about things you give, which this research found was more impactful. – Amy Miller

Question #14: When things are going well, I still get a nagging feeling that something bad or difficult is going to happen. What is the best way to manage that?

This phenomenon is common—it’s called “foreboding joy”, coined by researcher Dr. Brene Brown to describe the sense of “waiting for the other shoe to drop” during moments of happiness. Similar to catastrophizing, a cognitive bias where individuals anticipate the worst possible outcomes, can rob us of joyful moments and actually lead to increased anxiety. Combat it by consciously acknowledging your worry, contingency planning appropriately, and then actively choosing gratitude or presence. Tell yourself, “This moment is good, and I’m allowed to experience it fully.” Over time, this shifts neural pathways toward more sustained positivity. Also, try “joy spotting”. You can take your gratitude practice and gamify it by texting a spouse or friend every day to share the most joyful moment. It could be someone paying it forward in the coffee line or seeing a child chase bubbles at the park or having a win at work. The thing or event itself matters less than the fact that you are now actively looking for it and inviting joy into your life more. – Maggie Sass

References:

David, S. (2016). Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life. Avery Publishing Group.

Grant, A. (2013). Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. Viking Press.

Brown, Brené. (2021). Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. Random House.

Ruderman, M. N., Clerkin, C., & Fernandez, K. C. (2022). Resilience that works: Eight practices for leadership and life. Center for Creative Leadership.

Grant, A., & Dutton, J. (2012). Beneficiary or Benefactor: Are People More Prosocial When They Reflect on Receiving or Giving? Psychological Science, 23(9), 1033-1039. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612439424