Stop glorifying resilience: Here’s how the word resilience shows up in the social sector, and why some leaders say it’s problematic

Author Kylie Adair
During a Future of Good digital conversation on building resilient social purpose organizations, leaders explained what resilience means to them — and what it could mean

Why It Matters

Words matter. The language changemakers use to describe their work, their organizations and the communities they serve creates narratives that can either support or undermine their objectives.

var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG = {"cleanText":"Stop glorifying resilience: Here\u2019s how the word resilience shows up in the social sector, and why some leaders say it\u2019s problematic. Resilience.\u00a0 It\u2019s a word you\u2019ve likely heard one too many times over the past 16 months since the pandemic hit North America. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s Speech from the Throne back in Sept. 2020 was even titled A Stronger and More Resilient Canada. It\u2019s certainly been used to describe social purpose organizations and the communities they serve.\u00a0 We\u2019ve covered resilience at Future of Good, too \u2014\u00a0from tips for building organizational resilience during turbulent times to how employee ownership might make community businesses more resilient to ways Indigenous phi

Join a community of 2000+ impact-oriented professionals like you. Get full access to this story and all Future of Good content, including tickets to our digital events and networking, with a membership.