20 ways to build a resilient company culture in uncertain times

Fast Company

02-07-2025

Uncertainty is inevitable in today's business landscape, thanks to economic volatility, leadership changes, and global disruptions. But while instability can rattle even the strongest organizations, resilient cultures rise above the noise.
The foundation for resilience is laid long before a crisis hits through clear values, transparent leadership, and strong interpersonal trust. To understand how today's executives create adaptable, cohesive, and confident teams in unpredictable times, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share their top strategies for cultivating resilience across their organizations.
1. CONSIDER YOUR OWN SELF-CARE REGIMEN.
Building resilience within organizations starts at the top. What's your self-care regimen as a leader? How are you leading by example? Are you encouraging overcoming challenges and creating a healthy work-life balance with your teams? Are you listening deeply to your team's struggles—whether professional or personal—as they impact productivity? Are you helping to find solutions? This is resilience. – Cheryl Contee, The Impact Seat Foundation
2. MAKE SURE TRUST RUNS BOTH WAYS.
Resilient cultures are built on psychological safety, where calling out mistakes is valued and trust runs both ways. When frontline teams and execs alike know they're supported, alignment deepens and confidence scales. In uncertain times, trust isn't a luxury; it's the operating system of high-performing teams. – Jacob Orrin, Merit
3. STAY THE COURSE.
Build resilience by staying the course. Times are uncertain all the time. It's just that some times feel more uncertain than others. Focus on the things that have always mattered and work on satisfying the customer more than ever. When the times change, the feeling will fade—before it returns again. – Arar Han, Sabot Family Companies
4. PLAN AND COMMUNICATE EARLY.
Resilient company cultures stem from thoughtful planning and transparent communication. Having a plan in place beforehand that everyone on your team is aware of is essential. Doing so enables leaders to keep their teams calm when sudden change happens, and it can also help their teams learn to navigate the uncertainty successfully and come out stronger than they were before. – Misty Larkins, Relevance
5. PRIORITIZE CLARITY OVER CERTAINTY.
We've discovered that teams are most interested in clarity rather than assurance. We increased our emphasis on openness, communication, and flexibility, whether that meant reevaluating responsibilities, putting projects on hold, or just accepting uncertainty as a necessary part of the process and adjusting accordingly within the team. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush
6. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL.
In uncertain times, resilience comes from focusing on what you can control: your team's safety and security, clear communication, and ensuring the team is aligned with your company's mission. While we can't stop conflict and uncertainty, we support our people, foster respect, and stay committed to our purpose. A strong culture grows when leaders create space for diverse views and shared humanity. – Max Azarov, Novakid Inc.
7. ALIGN TEAMS AROUND PURPOSE AND WELL-BEING.
Business leaders can build a resilient company culture by fostering open communication, aligning teams around a clear purpose, and investing in employee well-being. Empowering people to adapt, make decisions, and learn from setbacks creates a culture that can weather uncertainty and emerge stronger. – Martin Pedersen, Stellar Agency
8. FORGET PERKS—PRIORITIZE CLARITY AND TRUST.
Ditch the ping-pong tables. Real resilience comes from radical clarity, earned trust, and leaders who don't flinch when things get weird. Culture isn't perks—it's what shows up when the Wi-Fi goes out. – Stephanie Harris, PartnerCentric
9. LEAD WITH VALUES BEFORE A CRISIS HITS.
Building a resilient company culture requires a deliberate and strategic approach from leadership. Resilience in company culture is not built in moments of crisis; it's tested there. The foundation must be set beforehand with strong values, open communication, and a commitment to your people. Leaders who model resilience, humility, and adaptability set the tone for the entire organization. – Justin Rende, Rhymetec
10. START WITH YOUR 'WHY.'
A truly resilient culture is established through core values that employees can consistently rely on, especially during times of uncertainty. An effective starting point is defining the organization's 'why.' Clarifying a deeper purpose behind day-to-day work gives employees a broader perspective and creates a shared foundation to support them through challenges. – Tom Amburgey, Euna Solutions
11. MODEL CALM URGENCY AND ADAPTABILITY.
In times of change, I focus on aligning teams around purpose, priorities, and pace. That means transparency, fast feedback loops, and a mindset that embraces both innovation and adaptability. Leaders should model calm urgency—moving fast, but with intention. When people feel informed, trusted, and energized, they don't just weather uncertainty—they help lead through it. – Alexander Kwapis,
12. BE EMPATHETIC, TRANSPARENT, AND ADAPTABLE.
Communication is crucial in uncertain times. Leaders should focus on being empathetic, transparent, and adaptable. When leaders make sure their employees feel heard, encouraged, and supported, they have the opportunity to be innovative and adaptable together. When a resilient culture is established, teams can respond to new challenges in any circumstances under one vision. – Asad Khan, LambdaTest Inc.
13. INSTILL A CRISIS-READINESS MINDSET.
Foster a proactive crisis-readiness mindset. Prepare comprehensive continuity plans for potential crises, from data disasters to supply chain failures. When teams know there are well-prepared responses for worst-case scenarios, they operate with greater confidence amid uncertainty. – Chongwei Chen, DataNumen Inc.
14. PROVIDE DIRECTION AND A NORTH STAR.
Leaders need to take ownership and offer clear direction, reasoning behind decisions and what the north star of the company is. This removes a lot of rumblings from the workforce and enables them to focus on the organization's mission. – Ruchir Nath, Dell Technologies
15. LEAD WITH HONESTY AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTION.
Focus on authentic, transparent, and emotionally connected leadership. Provide timely, honest, and clear communication. Demonstrate vulnerability by sharing personal experiences or challenges. Actively listen, validate employees' emotions, and respond empathetically. Communicate a shared purpose with clarity on the 'why' decisions are made. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union
16. USE SUCCESSION PLANNING TO PREPARE.
While uncomfortable, succession planning helps small business owners prepare for the unexpected, whether it's a leadership change, economic disruption, or personal life event. Start small. Open, honest conversations about the future—especially with family members or key employees—build trust and alignment. – Mark Valentino, Citizens
17. EMBED PURPOSE, AGILITY, AND TRUST.
Resilient culture starts with transparency, agility, and purpose. Resilience isn't just operational, it's cultural. Business leaders must align teams around a shared mission, empower decisions to be made by those on the ground, and build trust that can weather any disruption. – Lexi Sydow, interos.ai
18. DIVERSIFY YOUR REVENUE STREAMS.
It takes several steps to make a company resilient. One that is pivotal is to develop other aspects of the business to pull in revenue if your primary focus drops. For instance, a tech company that focuses on B2B can also reach out to those in education as another revenue source. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
19. BUILD TRUST BEFORE A CRISIS HITS.
You don't build a resilient culture during a crisis; you build it all the time. When revenue was soaring at our travel company in 2019, we invested in culture-building programs nobody thought we needed. When the pandemic cratered our revenue, we had a core to fall back on. People can't learn to trust each other when the building's on fire; they have to trust before they smell smoke. – Shayne Fitz-Coy, Sabot Family Companies