Built to bounce back: Why resilience is the real creative superpower

Building a Resilient Sense of Self

Resilience also involves developing a personal identity outside of commercial creativity, or what you do for a salary/long overdue invoice. The client’s opinion matters in the moment (they have final sign-off, after all) but they don’t get to define your worth or value. It’s important to cultivate a sense of self that is independent of your commercial work. This can look like self-initiated projects, a strong network of supportive people, or simply engaging in activities that aren’t tied to external validation or productivity. All of this builds confidence, and therefore resilience – a muscle you never know when you might need to flex.

Claude advocates for this same principle in his work with Mentoring Matters, a global mentoring scheme for candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. “My main advice is to inform candidates of the power they have. Their unique and varied life experience is a blessing, not a curse.”

The benefit of building this inner strength and sense of self is that it also allows you to maintain a healthy perspective on work, which Claude is eager to stress: “I think it’s important to understand that it doesn’t have to be that serious. I think we get wrapped up in the idea we’re changing the world, but it’s honestly not that deep. So checking yourself and getting things in perspective is essential. With my teams, I try to make it so that we strive for excellence but not at the cost of our health.”

Leading Resilience: The Role of Culture and Leadership

Claude’s leadership is about nurturing resilience while creating a culture that supports doing your best work. His advice for leaders? “Be the example you want your team to see. Champion new talent, especially those who wouldn’t normally have access to these worlds. And don’t gatekeep knowledge. You’re a team, not an island.”

For Chris Bounds of Kit Studio, resilience is built into the fabric of teamwork. “Everyone on the team brings something different. When working on experimental or unconventional projects, it’s vital to challenge the work honestly. Resilience is key for that.”

One common misconception is that resilience is purely an individual trait, but any successful team needs to be resilient as a unit, and it’s a leader’s job to ensure that resilience is easy to tap into. “When a project isn’t going to plan, or we get difficult feedback, it’s the team’s job to solve it – not one person,” Chris says.

He advises taking time to step back and examine the problem holistically before rushing into a solution. “When things don’t go to plan, our instinct is often to jump on the problem immediately, but we’ve found that’s often counterproductive. It’s important to make space to think, whether opening a book, taking a walk, or changing environments. Then we can come back to the problem with a new perspective.” This approach shows younger members of the team the beauty of taking a beat, of not pretending to have all of the answers and ultimately, the power of leaning into a resilient mindset. As Chris puts it, “Inspiring confidence means creating a safe environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas – there are no wrong answers.”

At Grammarly, resilience isn’t just a buzzword – it’s part of the design team’s DNA, and it starts from the very first conversation. As Collin Whitehead, VP of Design, explains, they look beyond the shiny portfolio and into the grit of someone’s journey. “Resilient designers always have a story about the obstacles they’ve overcome and the impact they’ve made despite them,” he says. “It’s not always obvious in a case study, but when someone talks about rounds of review, changing constraints, or a tough pivot they navigated – that’s a signal.”

Grammarly also brings intention to its critique culture. Before presenting work, designers are encouraged to set the scene: what stage they’re at, what kind of input they need, and what success looks like. This stops critique from veering off into subjective I like/I don’t like, territory and keeps the team focused on impact. But even more powerful is the mantra they try to live by: “Get curious, not furious.” As Collin puts it, “Rather than getting defensive when feedback hits a nerve, ask yourself: Where is this coming from? Did the stakeholder miss context? Is there a user need we overlooked?” The shift from reaction to investigation is one of the biggest resilience-building moves a designer can make.

That approach extends into team culture. “We talk a lot about safe spaces for exploration,” Collin says. “But real safety means welcoming critique. Designers need to feel comfortable not just sharing work but also asking how we work together.” It’s this kind of openness, combined with a shared sense of responsibility, that keeps the team buoyant through rapid change.

And when the change inevitably comes? Collin’s advice: give your team the tools to understand the business. “If your team relies on someone else to interpret why things are shifting, they’ll always be playing catch-up. But if they understand the competitive landscape, user needs, and business goals, they’ll know how to pivot. They’ll adapt with purpose.”