Organisational resilience: the strategic mindset for boards

By Matthew McClelland, Specialist Partner, Governance and Strategy

What happened to stability?

The board’s fundamental role is to promote the organisation’s long-term, sustainable success. To do that, for years we have relied on a familiar governance toolkit: strategic plans, risk registers, business continuity protocols, crisis management playbooks. For the most part it worked: we executed the plan and, when a crisis blew up, we managed the fallout and got back to business as usual as soon as possible.

However, recent years have brought a bewildering range of challenges: the pandemic, climate breakdown, geopolitical conflict, cyberattacks, trade wars, supply chain shocks…the list goes on. Disruption is no longer a temporary phenomenon; it’s an ongoing condition – and that poses a fundamental challenge to the orthodox approach.

The critical question for boards isn’t any longer, “Are we prepared for the next crisis?” – but rather, “Can we continue to deliver our purpose, even when crisis is the norm?”

That’s where organisational resilience can make the difference.

What is organisational resilience (the short answer)?

Organisational resilience is the strategic capability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from disruption, while maintaining delivery of critical outcomes.

It isn’t just another compliance exercise or risk framework. It’s about enabling your organisation to bend without breaking, and to continue delivering value to clients and stakeholders under pressure.

Orthodox governance practices in effect bake in an expectation of failure: we accept some shocks or crises will overwhelm our controls and negatively affect performance until things get back to normal.

By contrast, resilience builds on the familiar practices of strategic planning, risk management, business continuity, and crisis response to make sure the organisation can continue to deliver its key outcomes whatever shocks and crises are thrown at it.

Resilience is the critical strategic mindset for boards and leaders.

How can my board develop a resilience mindset?

Building organisational resilience is about four strategic shifts in governance mindset.

From rigidity to adaptability

Many organisations prioritise stability and efficiency above all else, but too much rigidity can be a fundamental weakness. Resilient organisations prioritise flexibility in structure and ways of working so they can adapt how they operate more easily. High performing boards champion approaches that allow for rapid reconfiguration.

Key question for boards: Can we pivot fast when we need to, or are we too locked into how we’ve always done things?

From control to empowerment

Even organisations that have embraced an empowerment culture tend to revert to strict hierarchical controls in a crisis. Yet in a crisis, there’s no time to run every decision up the hierarchy. Resilient organisations prepare and empower people to act under pressure. High performing boards foster and model high trust culture, and invest in readiness testing.

Key question for boards: Are our people ready and trusted to make decisions under pressure?

From centralised governance to purpose-aligned agility

Organisations often have centralised decision-making structures that are good at maintaining strategic coherence but can be slow and bureaucratic. Resilient organisations make fast decisions and stay aligned to their core purpose. High performing boards streamline decision-making and provide absolute clarity about guiding purpose and values.

Key question for boards: Can the organisation make rapid decisions without losing strategic direction?

From operational continuity to outcome continuity

Typically, an organisation’s recovery efforts have focussed on restoring systems. Resilient organisations recognise that getting servers back online and trying to get back to the old way of doing things isn’t the same as delivering outcomes. High performing boards focus on defining and preserving the outcomes that truly matter.

Key question for boards: Are we still delivering what matters even if we must change how we do it?

To find out how our experts can help your board develop the culture, behaviour, and practices that enable organisational resilience contact [email protected] or call 0207 692 5675.