Building Resilience During Uncertainty: What Ecosystems Teach Us

“Is the garden going to be okay, Mama?”, my 8-year-old said to me through her tears, while she held me tightly in her bed.

It was the middle of the night and she had been startled awake by a hail storm that was thundering down outside. 

Her fear was driven by the fact that, the year prior, our fruit and vegetable garden had been completely decimated by an atypically fierce hailstorm. We had woken up to find at least a foot of hail blanketing our yard. 

As I laid there with her that night, I thought about how I might calm her. 

Ecosystems, I reflected, are both delicate and resilient. 

We’re losing plant and animal species at alarming rates but where conservation, regenerative agriculture and rewilding efforts have commenced, nature has rebounded back incredibly quickly.

We need to be so acutely aware of this paradox. 

Because when we take its resilience for granted, we sometimes neglect to care for it. When under threat, it can be hard to stay hopeful. We might not know where to put our attention, or worse, we might give up.   

As my thoughts wandered, I realized this is a metaphor that could apply to organizations, themselves representing a dynamic ecosystem. 

In a natural ecosystem, species must adapt to changing conditions, such as climate changes or the introduction of new species. Those that cannot adapt may become extinct, while others may evolve new traits that help them survive. Thinking about organizations as ecosystems, they too must continuously adapt–to market changes, technological advancements, and competitive pressures. Businesses and nonprofits that fail to innovate or adapt risk becoming obsolete, whereas those that evolve with the market thrive. 

We’re seeing huge disruptions that both companies and nonprofits must respond to. Whether it’s new regulations like CSRD in the EU, supply chain disruption from climate change or macroeconomics, or changing consumer and employee demands.    

The paradox–where ecosystems are both fragile and resilient–reminds us how important it is to pause and invest in caring for our organizations: through planning, strategizing, and affirming our values, to ensure stability in the face of difficult times. 

It can be hard to know where to put our attention, but we must not be naively hopeful and carry on as usual. Building resilience takes concerted effort. 

My stream of consciousness was all a bit too advanced to share with my daughter that night, of course. 

The best I could come up with to reassure her was, “the garden is going to be okay, we’ll care for it in the morning”. 

With this sudden reminder of the need to invest our time and energy in caring for it, morning could not come soon enough. 

With thoughtful attention and care, I told her, it will be even more resilient when the next storm comes. 

Is your organization looking for resilience amidst ever-disruptive changes beyond your control? We can help! Contact us to future-fit your organization.