Resilience

The key to personal and professional growth

You could be forgiven for thinking the word ‘resilience’ is more used than understood. So what does it really mean? Nicola Smith meets the experts to find out

Resilience has become a business buzzword, often associated with long hours, relentless workloads and simply carrying on regardless. But organisational psychologist Sir Cary Cooper says this is a misunderstanding: “Resilience is partly about coping, but it’s really about how adaptable you are, how open you are to seeking social support when you need it, and having a sense of purpose.”

It is a fallacy that Adam W Barney, an executive and transition leadership coach, has also frequently witnessed among emerging leaders. “One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that resilience means becoming tougher or simply learning to tolerate more pressure. In reality, healthy resilience isn’t about enduring more; it’s about adapting well.”

Believing that success means never making mistakes, always saying yes, being available 24/7 and pushing through exhaustion is unsustainable as an approach, Adam says: “Those behaviours often get rewarded in the short term, so they become habits. The challenge is that those habits don’t magically disappear later. They become the operating system we carry into leadership.”

“I think curiosity is really important. That’s something I developed through the ICAS qualification”

Gurveer Sunner CA, BTG Corporate Finance

Along with fellow business psychologist Professor Ivan Robertson, Cary developed a model that highlights the key aspects of personality which are important in determining resilience. They are:

Confidence: Feelings of competence, effectiveness in coping with stressful situations and strong self-esteem are inherent in feeling resilient. The frequency with which individuals experience positive and negative emotions is also key.
Adaptability: Flexibility and adapting to changing situations which are beyond our control are essential to maintaining resilience. In many situations, resilience involves coping well with change and recovering from its impact.
Purposefulness: Having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction help individuals to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks.
Social support: Being able to build good relationships with others and get support from them can help people to overcome adversity.

Indeed, these are all positive traits. And if you’re in an environment where you can develop those traits, it can set you up, not just for your career, but for life.

Take Gurveer Sunner CA for example. He recently moved house, he’s engaged to be married, and earlier this year he started a new job in mergers and acquisitions for BTG Corporate Finance. Individually, each of these life events ranks near the top of any poll of the most stressful things you can do.

When, like any good accountant, Gurveer did his ‘due diligence’ about which profession he should pursue, he consulted his uncle, who is also a CA.

“He couldn't recommend [the CA qualification] highly enough. He said it teaches you a lot about balance, as you’re combining work and study. Also, you’re able to instantly apply what you’re learning while learning about yourself.”

It was sage advice.

Resilience has become a business buzzword, often associated with long hours, relentless workloads and simply carrying on regardless. But organisational psychologist Sir Cary Cooper says this is a misunderstanding: “Resilience is partly about coping, but it’s really about how adaptable you are, how open you are to seeking social support when you need it, and having a sense of purpose.”

It is a fallacy that Adam W Barney, an executive and transition leadership coach, has also frequently witnessed among emerging leaders. “One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that resilience means becoming tougher or simply learning to tolerate more pressure. In reality, healthy resilience isn’t about enduring more; it’s about adapting well.”

Instead of believing that success means never making mistakes, always saying yes, being available 24/7 and pushing through exhaustion, this approach is unsustainable, Adam says: “Those behaviours often get rewarded in the short term, so they become habits. The challenge is that those habits don’t magically disappear later. They become the operating system we carry into leadership.”

“I think curiosity is really important. That’s something I developed through the ICAS qualification”

Gurveer Sunner CA, BTG Corporate Finance

Along with fellow business psychologist Professor Ivan Robertson, Cary developed a model that highlights the key aspects of personality which are important in determining resilience. They are:

Confidence: Feelings of competence, effectiveness in coping with stressful situations and strong self-esteem are inherent in feeling resilient. The frequency with which individuals experience positive and negative emotions is also key.
Adaptability: Flexibility and adapting to changing situations which are beyond our control are essential to maintaining resilience. In many situations, resilience involves coping well with change and recovering from its impact.
Purposefulness: Having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction help individuals to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks.
Social support: Being able to build good relationships with others and get support from them can help people to overcome adversity.

Indeed, these are all positive traits. And if you’re in an environment where you can develop those traits, it can set you up, not just for your career, but for life.

Take Gurveer Sunner CA for example. He recently bought a house, he’s engaged to be married, and earlier this year he started a new job in mergers and acquisitions for BTG Corporate Finance. Individually, each of these life events ranks near the top of any poll of the most stressful things you can do.

When, like any good accountant, Gurveer did his ‘due diligence’ about which profession he should pursue, he consulted his uncle, who is also a CA.

“He couldn't recommend [the CA qualification] highly enough. He said it teaches you a lot about balance, as you’re combining work and study. Also, you’re able to instantly apply what you’re learning while learning about yourself.”

It was sage advice.

What resilience looks like in chartered accountancy

The first Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) Global Well-being Report, published in 2025, suggests resilience is a nuanced skill demanding adaptability, self-awareness, focus and the ability to seek support when needed.

Based on a global survey of 697 chartered accountants, the report examined 50 factors linked to resilience, including strengths that support performance and risks that can compromise wellbeing. Conducted using the Resilience Institute’s scientifically validated assessment tool, the research provides a snapshot of the profession’s strengths, as well as identifying where further support is needed.

From the findings, curiosity is the highest-rated attribute (4.26 out of five), reflecting CAs’ commitment to continuous learning and the ability to adapt in a rapidly changing business environment. Altruism (4.18) is another clear strength, highlighting the service mindset and its role in supporting clients, organisations and the wider public interest. Perhaps most surprisingly, creativity scored 4.12, challenging traditional perceptions of accountants as purely technical professionals.

Overall top strengths

The key qualities contributing to the resilience of CAs, according to the CAW survey. These serve as the foundation for long-term wellbeing and professional excellence

The key qualities contributing to the resilience of CAs, according to the CAW survey. These serve as the foundation for long-term wellbeing and professional excellence

Dee France, Chair of CAW Global Wellbeing Taskforce, says this was one of the findings that most defied expectations. “Accountants get that kind of tag of being a little bit boring, a bit risk averse, a bit safe, a bit predictable,” she says. “But the fact that there was this creativity element was really nice because it demonstrates that strategic problem-solving approach; the ability to look at a business environment in a much more dynamic and creative way.”

The report recommends practical steps for CAs to bolster resilience, including mono-tasking to improve concentration, cognitive behavioural techniques to manage worry, attention control to reduce overthinking, and stronger boundaries around recovery and sleep.

But as Dee points out, organisations also have a role to play in creating healthy, productive environments: “The onus needs to be on workplace design, and the linchpin in all of this is equipping your manager to deal with building the psychological safety that’s required.”

What resilience looks like in chartered accountancy

The first Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) Global Well-being Report, published in 2025, suggests resilience is a nuanced skill demanding adaptability, self-awareness, focus and the ability to seek support when needed.

Based on a global survey of 697 chartered accountants, the report examined 50 factors linked to resilience, including strengths that support performance and risks that can compromise wellbeing. Conducted using the Resilience Institute’s scientifically validated assessment tool, the research provides a snapshot of the profession’s strengths, as well as identifying where further support is needed.

From the findings, curiosity is the highest-rated attribute (4.26 out of five), reflecting CAs’ commitment to continuous learning and the ability to adapt in a rapidly changing business environment. Altruism (4.18) is another clear strength, highlighting the service mindset and its role in supporting clients, organisations and the wider public interest. Perhaps most surprisingly, creativity scored 4.12, challenging traditional perceptions of accountants as purely technical professionals.

Overall top strengths

Dee France, Chair of CAW Global Wellbeing Taskforce, says this was one of the findings that most defied expectations. “Accountants get that kind of tag of being a little bit boring, a bit risk averse, a bit safe, a bit predictable,” she says. “But the fact that there was this creativity element was really nice because it demonstrates that strategic problem-solving approach; the ability to look at a business environment in a much more dynamic and creative way.”

The report recommends practical steps for CAs to bolster resilience, including mono-tasking to improve concentration, cognitive behavioural techniques to manage worry, attention control to reduce overthinking, and stronger boundaries around recovery and sleep.

But as Dee points out, organisations also have a role to play in creating healthy, productive environments: “The onus needs to be on workplace design, and the linchpin in all of this is equipping your manager to deal with building the psychological safety that’s required.”

Shared support

But resilience isn’t something that can be built alone. As Cooper’s model explains, seeking support is one of its defining characteristics, yet it’s something many professionals struggle with, particularly early in their careers. “Young people are frightened to death of going to a senior partner and saying, ‘I don’t understand that’, but then they make a mistake instead.”

“We’ve become a little too obsessed with time management. Time isn’t actually the variable we control – energy is”

Sir Cary Cooper, Manchester Business School

Asking for help demonstrates judgement, says Cary: “It’s better to be upfront and say, ‘Can you help me with this? I don’t quite get it. Give me some advice and I’ll learn from that.’”

The key, he adds, is knowing who to approach. “Be socially sensitive about who you’re asking. There may be someone who’s supportive and someone who isn’t. Leaders who themselves admit their failures are the ones you go to.”

Seeking advice isn’t confined to the workplace. ICAS provides a network of support that helps CAs strike that balance between professional responsibilities and coursework.

Gurveer also discovered that support came from every direction during his training. Colleagues a year ahead openly shared their experiences, while being part of a cohort embarking on the same career journey also helped him to strengthen his resilience. “You can all empathise with each other,” says Gurveer. “That’s what creates those friendships.”

That means balancing work with exams. Acting on feedback from previous students, ICAS decided this was something it wanted to address. The institute launched Advantage in 2023, both as an online learning platform and as a means for regular communication with students.

The move to digital learning means ICAS can use data to make earlier interventions and help those students fulfil their potential.

Daily habits

While resilience may be an abstract quality, it is clearly one built through everyday behaviours. For Gurveer, one of the biggest breakthroughs came when he stopped trying to fit everything in and started prioritising.

“Time blocking was really important because it helped me divide up my work,” he says. “I’d make it clear: I’ve got to finish at five and go home and study.”

Creating clear boundaries meant he could meet the expectations of both his employer and his studies without sacrificing either. “It allowed me to flex between the two and not see a dip in performance in either,” he says.

“Sustainable performance almost always outperforms short bursts of overwork”

Adam W Barney, executive and leadership coach

Adam believes many professionals overextend themselves because they focus on managing the wrong thing altogether. “We’ve become a little too obsessed with time management,” says Adam. “Time isn’t actually the variable we control. Energy is.”

Instead of fretting over how to squeeze more into every day, people should ask how they can maintain the physical, mental and emotional energy to perform well over the long term, Adam believes. That means protecting sleep, taking breaks during demanding periods and recognising that recovery is a critical part of high performance.

“Sustainable performance almost always outperforms short bursts of overwork,” says Adam. One habit he recommends is spending five minutes at the end of each week asking three questions:

What gave me energy this week?
What consistently drained it?
What’s one small adjustment I can make next week?

“Those simple reflections build self-awareness,” he says. “And in my experience, self-awareness is one of the strongest foundations for resilience because you can’t manage what you don’t notice.”

Always learning

No matter how talented and well prepared a CA is, mistakes are inevitable, particularly in the early years of a career. The important thing, Cooper says, is how people respond. Drawing on decades of research with senior leaders and entrepreneurs, he has found that the people who thrive aren’t those who avoid setbacks but those who learn from them, and know not to dwell on every single failure.

Being able to cultivate a mindset of continuous learning underpins Gurveer’s approach to work today. Curiosity, he believes, has become one of the most valuable aspects in his skillset: “In my current role at BTG Corporate Finance I’m working in M&A and investment banking. So we’re dealing with a lot of entrepreneurs, and I think curiosity is really important there.

“That’s something I developed through the ICAS qualification. For example, we would have a case study module which meant analysing every part of a business. And during my training I would go to meet large firms in person to understand what makes them tick.”

Empathy is another key trait we associate with resilience. Gurveer was part of a cohort of students who helped each other, but he also experienced it from the other side of the fence whenever he turned to his educators for support.

“The tutors were always there to help and would answer emails when I needed support ahead of an exam. I was very grateful for that.”

Ultimately, resilience isn’t about working longer than everyone else or pretending to have all the answers. It’s about building habits that help individuals to adapt, seek support, stay curious, learn from setbacks and protect their wellbeing from the start of their career.

“The healthiest leaders I work with aren’t the ones who can survive the most stress,” says Adam. “They’re the ones who know how to recover, maintain perspective, ask for help when they need it, and continue making good decisions under pressure.”

After all, resilience isn’t measured by how long you can run on empty. “It’s measured by how consistently you can perform without sacrificing your wellbeing in the process.”

Read the CAW Global Well-being Report
Access the ICAS wellbeing toolkit