We were delighted to welcome our SSF UK leaders yesterday for the first event in our 2026 Leadership Series. With the sun shining and everyone joining online, it was a positive and well‑attended start to the year — great to see so many of you.
With our theme Resilience Rebooted, this session was designed to help us rethink what resilience really means in today’s workplace. Rather than seeing it as simply “getting through” pressure, the focus was on understanding resilience as something shaped by leadership behaviour, team culture, psychological safety and the wider systems we work within.
We were joined by Chris Hardy, Director of Learning at Work Well Being, who introduced practical, evidence‑based ways to look at resilience in real working conditions. Chris explored how leaders can respond more thoughtfully to change, support wellbeing as part of everyday performance, and create environments where people feel supported, valued and able to adapt.
Chris used several frameworks to guide the session, including:
The Four S Model: Situation, Self, Support and Strategies — encouraging leaders to think about what is within their control, the strengths they bring, the support around them, and the actions they can take in challenging moments.
The PERMA‑H Model: highlighting areas that support long‑term wellbeing and resilience, including Relationships, Engagement and Meaning, and how these can be woven into daily leadership habits.
Improving Underlying Assumptions — based on Edgar Schein’s work, prompting leaders to notice existing routines and behaviours, reflect on whether these align with their intended culture, and consider what assumptions may need to shift to better support their teams.
The breakout sessions provided an opportunity to network, exchange perspectives and explore these ideas together, leading to interesting conversations about how resilience shows up in their teams and what can influence it day‑to‑day. Many also discussed small “Stop, Start and Continue” actions to support healthier, more sustainable ways of working.
Thank you to Chris and the Work Well Being team for leading the session, and thank you to all our leaders for joining us. It was a strong and engaging start to 2026, and we look forward to seeing you in June at Chester Zoo for our Safari Summer Social.
