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: Organizations—like ecosystems—must continually develop a diverse set of capabilities to thrive amid uncertainty. 

In nature, species survive and ecosystems remain healthy by adapting to changing conditions and developing new traits. Similarly, organizations build resilience by intentionally evolving their structures, strategies, and skills. Those that invest in developing their capabilities-much like ecosystems fostering biodiversity-are better equipped to adapt, survive, and flourish when faced with disruption.

We’re seeing huge disruptions that both companies and nonprofits must respond to. Whether it’s new regulations like CSRD in the EU, geopolitics, 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.

Just as a forest’s health relies on the continual development of diverse, interconnected species, transformational charities strengthen their resilience by intentionally developing a broad set of organizational capabilities.  We outline each of these capabilities in our guide, Cultivating Transformation: How Charities Can Deliver Exceptional Impact.

• Empowering Leadership: Like ecosystems that distribute influence, resilient charities encourage leadership at every level, reducing reliance on any one person.
• Supportive Operations: Multiple food sources keep ecosystems stable; similarly, charities should diversify funding and strengthen operations to weather uncertainty.
• Strategic Agility: Ecosystems adapt to change; charities can do the same by regularly reviewing strategies and responding quickly to new challenges.
• Community Accountability: Mutual support sustains ecosystems. Charities should center stakeholders, listen, and build transparent, accountable relationships.
• Social Systems Change: Just as ecosystems shape their environment, transformational charities address root causes for lasting impact. 

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. 

You can start by embedding transformational practices that help you identify and focus on the capabilities that need attention:

• Regular Strategy Review: Schedule frequent check-ins to keep strategies relevant as conditions change.
• Reflective Learning: Create space for teams to share lessons learned and adapt accordingly.
• Values-Based Leadership: Keep your organization grounded in shared values to guide decisions during uncertainty.

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, 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. 

Indeed, resilience should not be viewed as a static trait, but as an ongoing process of transformation. 

Check out the Transformational Charity Framework and take the assessment to see where you need to build resilience in your organization.