Resiliency and the need for thick skin in leadership.

Will there be disappointments in your career? Absolutely.

Will there be moments where you feel frustrated, discouraged, or completely burned out? Without question.

Will you occasionally wonder if abandoning corporate life to become a goat farmer might be the better option? Probably more than once.

Leadership comes with incredible rewards - but it also comes with setbacks, criticism, missed opportunities, difficult people, and seasons where nothing seems to go your way. The quality that helps leaders survive those moments is resilience.

Over time, I’ve realized that resilience doesn’t mean you stop feeling disappointment. It means you recover faster, gain perspective more quickly, and learn not to let temporary setbacks define your future.

One thing experience teaches you is this: You will make it through difficult seasons.

Here are a few things that have helped me regroup after career disappointments:

1. Take care of your physical health: Stress and discouragement hit harder when you’re exhausted. Exercise, sleep, fresh air, and movement matter more than leaders often admit. Your physical and emotional health are deeply connected.

2. Call a non-work friend and get together: Sometimes the best perspective comes from someone who knows you, not just your job title. A good friend can help interrupt the negative spiral that often follows disappointment.

3. Redirect your energy into growth: Ask yourself: “What are three productive steps I can take right now?” Maybe it’s learning a new skill, joining a project, attending a conference, finding a mentor, or simply freshly re-engaging with work. Momentum helps restore confidence.

Every leadership career will include valleys. But there will also be moments at the summit that remind you why you stayed the course. Resilient leaders don’t avoid disappointment. They learn how to regroup, refocus, and keep moving forward.