The Resilience Paradox
The Resilience Paradox: Why the Strongest Organizations Are Those That Admit Vulnerability
We’ve been thinking about resilience all wrong. For years, organizations have equated strength with invincibility. They polish their image, hide their struggles, and punish anyone who admits uncertainty. But here’s what I’ve learned working with organizations across continents: the ones that last aren’t the ones that never crack. They’re the ones brave enough to show you exactly where the cracks are. When leaders say “I don’t know,” something powerful happens: everyone else starts looking for answers. When organizations admit their weak spots, people rush to strengthen them. When you trust people with problems, they trust you with solutions. This isn’t soft management theory. It’s human nature. We don’t trust perfection—we trust honesty. We don’t follow invincibility—we follow humanity. And we don’t give our best to organizations that pretend everything’s fine. We give it to ones that trust us with the truth.
The Protection Paradox
Here’s the irony: organizations that admit vulnerability become less vulnerable. By mapping where they might break, they prevent the breaking. I see this constantly in my safeguarding work. The organizations with the strongest protection aren’t those claiming they’re risk-free. They’re the ones saying, “Here’s where someone could get hurt, and here’s exactly what we’re doing about it.” They turn vulnerability into strategy. Weakness into wisdom.
What This Actually Looks Like
Resilient organizations do three things differently:
- They normalize not knowing. Instead of pretending they can predict everything, they build systems that work regardless. They plan for disruption, not around it.
- They reward truth over comfort. Bad news travels fast because it’s useful. The person who spots the problem gets thanked, not silenced.
- They practice being wrong. They discuss near-misses openly. They run “what if we fail” scenarios. Every crack becomes intelligence, not embarrassment.
The strongest organizations aren’t those without cracks. They’re those that turn their cracks into windows—letting light in, letting people see through, letting solutions flow both ways.
Your Move
So, here’s my challenge: Where is your organization pretending to be strong when it could be getting stronger? What problems are you dressing up as strategies? Which vulnerabilities could become your biggest advantages if you just admitted them? The future doesn’t belong to organizations that never fail. It belongs to those honest enough to admit where they might fail—and brave enough to ask for help before they do. Resilience isn’t about being unbreakable. It’s about being real enough to bend without breaking. And that starts with seven words most organizations are terrified to say: “We don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.” Try it. Watch what happens.
Mofoyeke Omole Organizational Resilience Strategist