As we move further into 2025, the year continues to be tumultuous, with unexpected challenges and shifts reshaping the landscape of our world and workplace. As a leader, now more than ever, you must have effective strategies and tools in your back pocket to navigate through these times. Throughout this year, each month I am presenting you with strategies that will enable you to lead yourself and guide your team with clarity, confidence and resilience. I encourage you to write each of these strategies down and refer to them as you encounter challenges. By cultivating new practices, you can adapt more quickly, foster innovation and lead your teams with a greater sense of resiliency and strength. Let’s do a quick recap of the three strategies shared earlier this year:

¨ Strategy 1 – Be Ready

¨ Strategy 2 – Get Your House in Order

¨ Strategy 3 – Disrupt Your Own Beliefs and Self-Identity to Prepare to Reinvent Yourself Professionally

This brings me to Strategy # 4: Resource Yourself Well

Resourcefulness is a fundamental trait that greatly enhances your effectiveness as a leader, allowing you to navigate challenges with creativity, efficiency and a can-do attitude. Let’s begin by defining ‘resourceful.’ The Merriam-Webster definition is, “able to meet situations: capable of devising ways and means.” What does a ‘resourceful’ leader look like to you? Resourceful leaders move and think differently. They embrace a mental agility allowing them to adapt and redirect quickly and confidently. In the coaching profession, we support clients in cultivating self-resourcing capability. Why is this important for leadership effectiveness? Resourceful leaders can be nimble and flex dynamically, always on their toes. They think outside of the box to find clever ways to overcome challenges. Resourceful leaders are adaptable, creative and proactive and can easily pivot when necessary.

I invite you to pause and do a quick self-check-in: how resourceful are you able to be when circumstances change unexpectedly?

Coaching Questions to Ask Yourself:

Listed below are questions related to topics I regularly explore with my clients. I invite you to reflect on these questions.

1. Are you comfortable with ‘not knowing’ in any given situation?
2. Are you able to adapt and pivot in any given circumstance?
3. Are you able to think outside the box and quicky made decisions during challenging situations?
4. Are you mentally agile and flexible in your thinking?

What if you are freaking out right now?

Not all of us are comfortable or skilled with navigating these tumultuous times, and that is okay. We also need leaders who have strengths and passion for upholding standards and systems, as well as implementing with consistency and quality. And yet, what the current times are calling for – more demanding of us – is that we cultivate greater resourcefulness to adapt to a new paradigm and way of working and living. If you feel completely out of your depth with navigating these uncertainties, a form of resourcing yourself could be forming alliances with other people in your network who thrive in these conditions. Work together and lean on one another.

My Personal Experience

I am someone who is comfortable navigating change. Even though I recognize this is not the case for all leaders, I must accept that my strengths and comfort level with change also create a bias in me. I continually look for the unexpected gifts or learnings or better outcomes that may come from a seemingly disappointing or challenging experience. I cannot assume, however, that others thrive amidst evolution and change. I also cannot assume that it is easy for others to build the skills and shift their mindsets to see what positive results can come after the dust of disruption has settled. Whether you are a leader who embraces change, or someone who struggles or is resistant to change, I invite you to ask yourself the following questions to further resource yourself.

1.     When was a time when I had to pivot and embrace uncertainty? What strengths, resources, network connections or inspiration did I draw upon to make it to the other side of the uncertainty?

2.     What creative or innovative solutions have I come up with to remedy a small or larger crisis? (Consider getting a flat tire on a deserted road with no cell signal or being out of the house with your infant with no diapers, or showing up to a meeting and realizing you forgot your sample materials to show the customer…. what did you do?)

3.     Recall a time when you failed, did not get the job, got stood up on a date… what good ultimately came from what you originally perceived to be a negative?

How to Resource Yourself Well in 2025:

The most effective way to resource yourself well is to begin by cultivating mental agility. What exactly do I mean when I say this? Mental agility is a crucial trait in leadership that helps you to problem solve, leverage opportunities,maximize resources and stay resilient during turbulent times. It encompasses the following traits:

1. Adaptability – You adapt to any given situation pivoting and shifting perspectives when necessary. You are flexible in your strategies and thinking.
2. Calm – You stay calm under pressure, guiding your teams through uncertainty and complex challenges. Lead by example. If you are calm, your team members will follow your lead.
3. Creativity – Creatively solve problems by thinking outside of the box. Be open to new ideas and different ways of solving a problem.
4. Innovation – Innovation is vital to drive progress and inspire your teams. Inspire fresh thinking and encourage new ideas to push boundaries.
5. Positive Mental Attitude – Subscribe to a can-do attitude. Stay positive and resilient in the face of setbacks. View challenges as opportunities. Your mindset is everything
6. Proactive Attitude: Anticipating problems before they happen and taking the initiative to find creative solutions.
7. Resiliency – Bounce back from setbacks and inspire your team to do the same.
8. Transparency – Communicate openly and honestly with your team to build trust.

April Challenge:

This month, I challenge you to read through the traits above and choose one to focus on and implement in your leadership approach throughout April. By consciously practicing and integrating this trait, you’ll help elevate your leadership and drive your team to new heights. I would love to hear how it goes. Share your journey with me on my LinkedIn feed—let’s grow together as leaders!

Resourcefulness is a key trait that greatly boosts a leader’s effectiveness, allowing them to tackle challenges with creativity. Leaders who demonstrate resourcefulness inspire their teams to think creatively, make the most of available resources, and adapt quickly to changing situations. By understanding and practicing mental agility you can cultivate thriving work environments and resource yourself well in 2025.