Episode 353: Resilience Isn’t Optional: Tools Every Nonprofit Leader Needs Now (Russell Harvey)

SUMMARY

Nonprofit leaders are operating in a world where change is constant - and the pressure to react quickly can undermine clarity, trust, and team stability. In this episode, Russell Harvey explains why resilience is a leadership capability (not a personality trait) and how leaders can strengthen it without adding more overwhelm. Russell introduces the VUCA framework (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) alongside the leadership responses that help teams navigate it (Vision, Understanding, Clarity, Agility). He also shares his Resilience Wheel - seven connected elements leaders can develop personally and organizationally, including purpose, adaptability, support networks, meaning, and energy. Throughout, Russell emphasizes reflective practice as a practical discipline: pausing regularly to identify what’s working, what isn’t, and what to do next - so leaders and teams can “spring forward with learning” rather than simply trying to bounce back.

ABOUT RUSSELL

Russell Harvey is a leadership coach and facilitator based in Leeds, England, and the founder of The Resilience Coach. He works with senior leaders, teams, and organizations across sectors - including the nonprofit and third sector - helping them lead themselves and others well in a “full-on” world shaped by constant change. Russell’s approach blends practical frameworks (VUCA and the Resilience Wheel) with core leadership behaviors: delegating to strengths, removing blockages that prevent performance, building resilient teams, and committing to lifelong personal growth.

RESOURCES & LINKS

The Resilience Coach
Resilience Wheel (Russell’s framework + related posts)
Russell Harvey on LinkedIn
Book recommendation: Humankind by Rutger Bregman
Follow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership
Learn more about the PMA & Armstrong McGuire merger