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Hello Jeanne!
Pain can be good. You want pain resilience!
This is what my physical therapist said as I began my healing journey three weeks ago. What??? Is she crazy???
I was telling myself that pain meant I should stop and rest. What I've learned is that my brain is protecting me and that's not always a good thing.
In physical therapy, the term pain resilience describes the body’s ability to keep moving, adapting, and strengthening even when discomfort is present. The goal isn’t to ignore pain - it’s to build the capacity to work through it in healthy, productive ways.
As I let this sink in, I realized that leadership requires the same kind of resilience. Teams experience “organizational pain” in many forms like change, setbacks, tough feedback, competing priorities, or uncertainty.
Leaders who model pain resilience don’t pretend challenges aren’t there. Instead, they acknowledge them, stay steady, and help the team keep moving forward.
 Just as muscles strengthen through gradual stress, teams build resilience by facing challenges together. Think of a flower pushing up through a crack in the road. Before the bloom appears, the plant must press through darkness, resistance, and pressure. That struggle is not separate from the bloom—it’s what makes the bloom possible.
This is what my physical therapist is teaching me. I can move forward through the pain and not just be okay but be stronger - such an incredible gift!
Here's a great question to ask about your work, family, or any team you are on: Where is our team experiencing pressure and how can I help us move through it, rather than around it?
Be. Here. Now.
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