Bonus Resources:
"The Increasing Importance of a Best Friend at Work" - by Alok Patel and Stephanie Plowman, Gallup
Check out the video where I talk about this story on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin.
5 Ingredients for Resilient Leadership
July 21, 2025
What Ashton Jeanty Taught Me About Leadership Grit
If you haven’t seen our recent post about Ashton Jeanty—the gritty Boise State running back who led the nation in rushing yards—you need to. What stood out wasn’t just his talent, but how most of his yardage came after contact.
For the non-sports folks: "yards after contact" measures how far an offensive player (the guy with the ball) gains after the defender (the one trying to tackle him) first touches him.
Time and again, Jeanty stayed upright, focused on the end zone, pushing forward through the hit. He didn’t avoid contact—he outlasted it.
That’s what resilient leadership looks like.
Not dodging conflict, criticism, or chaos—but advancing after adversity. Because if you lead, you will be hit. That’s part of the job—absorbing as much of the pressure as possible so your team can keep moving the ball down the field.
Resilience isn’t just a personality trait; it’s a learned skillset. And it’s more necessary now than ever. Below are five essential ingredients to resilient leadership—and a few resources to help you grow in each one.
1. Staying Calm Under Pressure
When tension rises, non-resilient leaders either shut down or lash out. Neither is helpful. But resilient leaders stay grounded, keep others focused, and bring clarity in the chaos. Their presence steadies the room—even when things feel uncertain.
Resource:
“How Resilience Works” – Harvard Business Review (Coutu, 2002)
2. Inspiring Hope While Facing Hard Truths
Resilient leaders don’t sugarcoat failure—but they don’t get stuck in it, either. They marry honesty with hope so their team doesn't lose heart. They analyze what went wrong (staying optimistic about solutions), they cast a hopeful vision, and help build a plan their team can execute.
Resources:
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
3. Seeing Failure as Feedback
Failure is inevitable. But resilient leaders don’t waste it. Instead, they examine it, learn from it, and grow. Resilient leaders are open to feedback—even when it’s uncomfortable—and constantly adapt to changing circumstances.
Resources:
"Tips for Improving Your Learning Agility" - Center for Creative Leadership
4. Knowing Your “Why”
At some point, every leader wonders, “Is this worth it?” Resilient leaders are grounded in a bigger “why”—something beyond personal gain. Purpose keeps you in the game when everything else says quit because without a strong why, leadership setbacks will feel like dead ends instead of detours.
Resources:
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
“Purpose: Shifting from Why to How” – McKinsey & Company
5. Staying Anchored in God
It’s no secret I’m a follower of Jesus. What you may not know is that my relationship with Him is my greatest source of resilience. He anchors me, steadies me, and gives me hope. Through prayer and Scripture, I find clarity, courage, and purpose.
If your life and leadership aren’t grounded in a relationship with Jesus and you want that to change, talk to a trusted believer. Or email our team—we’d love to have that conversation because you are our “why.”
Resources:
The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero
"7 Year Trends: Pastors Feel More Loneliness & Less Support" - Barna Group
Resilient Pastor by Glenn Packiam
While two of these resources focus on pastors, they contain helpful information for any kingdom-minded leader who desires for their leadership to be grounded in their faith in Jesus.
Resilient Leaders Don’t Go It Alone
Each of these traits can be developed, and we've given you some great resources to help you grow. But information alone won’t make you more resilient. A few years ago, I gave each member of our team a framed photo of a turtle on a fence post. Why? Because that turtle didn’t get there alone—and neither do resilient leaders.
If you’re feeling weary—if your grit is running low—don’t lead alone.
Find your executive coach now.
Or schedule a free session to talk to someone.
Resilient leaders don’t wait until crisis hits to ask for help. They surround themselves with truth-tellers and coaches who challenge, support, and sharpen them consistently.
Let us walk with you, fight for your growth, and help you take more ground—even after the hits.
When is the last time you revisited your mission statement?
If telling worked, why do moms say, "I'm not going to tell you again!"?
Build Stronger Relationships on Your Team with the CARE Tool
This is Lauren's Testimony
Great leaders know that words have power. The right phrases can build trust, strengthen teams, and create a culture where people thrive. In this post, we share simple yet impactful things great leaders say—and how they make a difference every day.
This blog by Lyle Wells explores key lessons from a former Executive Pastor on how to lead through chaos.
Lyle Wells shares the power of encouragement, teaching leaders how to speak life into others with intentional words. Learn how to uplift, inspire, and build stronger teams through meaningful affirmation and leadership insights. Discover the impact of encouragement today!
At Integrus Leadership, we are passionate about championing organizations whose leaders demonstrate a commitment to excellence and advancing the Kingdom of God. That's why we're highlighting these incredible teams through our Leaders We Love series. Here are four organizations we are thrilled to feature this month.
My prayer life as a leader has had its ups and downs. There are times when: I've prayed timidly, which is surprising because I am not a timid person. I've prayed feeling unworthy, even though I know in my heart that I am worthy to approach the throne of grace with boldness. Sometimes I wonder, "Who am I to ask for this?" I've prayed burdened, feeling the weight of the world's troubles and wondering if my personal requests are even valid. As we kick off a new year and launch our 30 Days of Prayer, I'm curious what your prayer life is like. Are you praying timidly, unworthily, or burdened? Or, are you praying with power, expectancy, and delight? And the harder question: Are you praying for your leadership, at work, or even in the midst of your work? Lately, I've realized that the most powerful leaders in Scripture were devoted to prayer. Hannah, from 1 Samuel 1 is a prime example. Hannah knew: The anguish of infertility. The pain of a broken heart The shame that comes with a body that does not cooperate with your deepest hopes. The mistreatment of a family member. The impact weak spiritual leadership could have in her country. The isolation of suffering in a society driven by evil. The feelings of worthless in a culture that didn’t value her. The confusion of prayers seemingly going unanswered. And yet, Hannah knew how to bring all her struggles to God in prayer.
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Harry S. Truman Researchers have analyzed dozens of metrics, and time and time again, the results say the same thing: what separates the good leaders from the great leaders is their commitment to reading. If you want to improve your leadership skills, develop a healthy team, or foster a growth-oriented culture in your organization, start reading leadership books that will help lead yourself, lead a team, or lead an organization. Why Reading Makes Leaders Great Reading expands your viewpoint. In a way, reading books sits you down in front of the author, like a student before the teacher, as they tell you their story and impart their learned knowledge and wisdom. Reading sharpens your problem-solving skills. Julius Caesar is quoted as saying, “experience is the best teacher,” but we disagree; someone else’s experience is the best teacher! When we learn from the wins and losses of those who have gone before us, exposing the problems they have already solved (or not), it helps us analyze information more effectively. Reading fuels creativity and innovation. Books connect us with people who we might otherwise never have the opportunity to learn from, injecting fresh concepts and ideas into stale and stagnant thought patterns. Reading also equips leaders to adapt to change and embrace new strategies because “learning” sits at the core of reading. Reading triggers something inside us that says, “I’m open to new ideas,” readying ourselves for change. Our Staff’s Top Picks The Integrus team has put together a list of our top picks. We’re committed to providing you with insanely practical tools and resources to assist you on your leadership journey, and this list will help you get started on your reading journey to becoming a great leader. We’ve divided the list into 3 categories. These books will help you: lead yourself, lead others, and lead your organization. These books would also make great gifts or stocking stuffers. So, if you’re not sure what to get the leaders in your life for Christmas, this list will give you some ideas. Each of the books on this list have helped our team grow into healthy leaders who make up an effective team, so I am confident they will help you, too. Click the link below to view the 2025 Reading List our website. We’ve creating a page with all of these books linked directly to an online store. Our hope is that this makes it even easier for you to dip your toe in the pool of knowledge that awaits you.
