24 Jul What’s your why? Five lessons for building resilient teams that will last
When pressure mounts, what keeps a team performing at its best?
That was the question explored in Fieri’s IGNITE webinar – Building Resilient Teams: What’s Your Why? – where Dr Austin Swain, Jason Lee OLY, and Tim Rushmere QGM shared lessons and insights drawn from sport, the military and business.
At the heart of the conversation was a shared belief: purpose is fundamental to our capacity for resilience.
Here are five insights that apply to any team facing challenge – whether in a boardroom, on a pitch, or in a high-demand frontline role.
1. Purpose anchors performance
In high-pressure environments, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters. As Austin reflected: “In the modern world, there are so many centrifugal goals which can spin us away from a basic sense of purpose and direction.”
But when teams are grounded in a shared purpose, they’re better able to stay focused and resilient. “Ultimately, we’re not driven by the how, we’re driven by the why,” said Tim. “And that’s the basis of a resilient team.”
Jason shared a powerful story from his time coaching GB men’s hockey, when the team received credible death threats ahead of the 2010 World Cup in Delhi. Some players wanted to pull out; others were unsure. But through open, honest conversations about what really mattered to each individual, they found new strength as a group.
“I remember one of the guys asking, ‘What would you do, Jason?’ And I said, ‘Listen, I’m committed to you all – whatever we decide to do together, I’ll be with you.” Despite arriving late and underprepared, they went on to beat the world number one team. Jason put this down to “quality of unity on the pitch, like I’d never seen before.”
“Purpose is very complex – even for an individual, let alone for a collective,” he added. “But when we start talking about it and interrogating it, we can find what’s meaningful and what will keep us aligned through difficult, challenging moments.”
2. Resilience is built over time
Resilience doesn’t appear on demand. It’s built through preparation, deliberate practice and time to recover. Without space for reflection and connection, teams can lose touch with what drives them – and with each other.
“In sport, we’re lucky because 99% of our time is preparing for 1% of performance. In business, it’s often the opposite,” Jason added. “In the preparation phase, it’s critical that people feel safe enough to say, ‘This is what I really think’ – but that dynamic can be harder to bring out in the workplace.”
Paying attention to daily interactions and rituals can help build team resilience over time. As Austin reflected, “Resilience shows up in small habits – how we greet each other, how we run meetings, the signals we send. How we do anything is how we do everything.”
3. Start with self-awareness
Before individuals can contribute to a resilient team, they need to understand how they respond to challenge – and what motivates them when demands are high. As Tim said, “the appetite and application of the individual to understand what makes them tick is a component part of the team.”
What drives each person may be different, and it won’t always be the obvious or expected answer. He added, “In the military, it’s not always about the higher sense of purpose – Queen and country, the regiment or the cap badge. For me, it was often about my six people – their welfare, their survivability, their skills.”
Austin offered a parallel from sport: “There was a rugby player who was more motivated by playing for Lancashire than for England. The red rose of Lancashire – his roots, his origins and what it stood for – meant more to him.”
When teams have deeper, more personal conversations, it strengthens cohesion. Austin reflected, “It helps people connect to others. If I’m in Jason’s hockey team, I’m no longer admiring someone because they’re good at short corners. I’m admiring them because I know what they stand for.”
4. Leaders shape the emotional climate
Team resilience develops in environments where people feel safe to speak up and be vulnerable. “It’s about creating time, space and permission as a coach or leader”, said Tim, “and then inviting people to step into that space.”
“It has to be role-modelled by leaders”, Jason added, “and it should be an ongoing process – not something you just do in one meeting or at an off-site”.
When leaders consistently show interest, care, and humility, it builds psychological safety. “As leaders, we should be intrigued and curious about the motivations of other people,” Jason said, “rather than trying to ‘know’ them.”
Austin described this kind of leadership as “meaning-making” – helping others connect their ‘why’ to something bigger. He reflected on his work with local government teams, connecting their efforts to fix potholes with a higher purpose through having a ‘different’ conversation: “When you make that pothole safe, you might save the life of a cyclist”.
5. Purpose needs consistency
When teams face constant change, their sense of purpose can easily get lost. “A real frustration for soldiers in the military is when a new commanding officer comes in every two years with a new message, new focus, new priorities – translated as a ‘here’s our new purpose,’” said Tim. “That never washes. It’s not for one person to challenge the bigger ‘why.’”
Resilient teams don’t reinvent their purpose with every new cycle. Instead, they reinforce it – through shared stories, recognition, and consistent behaviours.
“It’s a problem that some sports teams get into,” Jason added, “every season they recreate their purpose. But the long-term successful organisations – they tend to have a common story that has lasted for decades.”
Final thoughts
Resilient teams don’t just endure pressure – they prepare for it, reflect on it, and grow through it together. Purpose can act as an anchor, giving people a ‘why’ to hold onto when demands are high. And when that purpose is shared, it creates clarity, focus and cohesion. “It’s not a destination,” Jason concluded, “it’s a way of being.”