The Resilience Podcast

Playing to Your Strengths: Proactive Resilience | Russell Harvey

Russell Harvey · July 23, 2024

Executive Coach · Leadershipin

Interview with Russell Harvey

Playing to Your Strengths: Proactive Resilience | Russell Harvey

Podcast: The Resilience Podcast

July 23, 2024 · 56 min

The Resilience Podcast is brought to you by the Resilience Institute. Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to test drive the v5 Resilience Assessment. This episode is hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brad Hook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Russell Harvey is an accomplished leadership coach, facilitator,…

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Playing to Your Strengths: Proactive Resilience | Russell Harvey

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Key topicsLeading Well When the World Won’t Slow DownChange is no longer something leaders navigate occasionally - it is the environment they lead in every day. Russell explores the difference between leaders who are simply surviving relentless change and those who can genuinely say: “There’s a lot going on, and I’m good.” Drawing on nearly two decades specialising in resilience, Russell offers a practical perspective on what resilient leadership actually looks, sounds and feels like when the pressure is real and the uncertainty isn't going away.Before You Add AI to Your Team, Fix the Human OneOrganisations are racing to adopt AI, but Russell believes leaders need to ask a more fundamental question first: what makes our team work brilliantly together? Only then can they understand where AI can genuinely improve performance. With deep expertise in leadership, resilience and navigating persistent change, Russell offers a refreshingly human perspective on AI: the biggest challenge may not be the technology, but how well we lead the people using it.Off the Record — What Leaders Admit in Coaching and Never Say in the BoardroomRussell Harvey has coached leaders to board level for over 6,000 hours, and the same admissions come up in private: they are guessing, they are tired, and they can say neither out loud. Most organisations treat that silence as strength and reward the executive who never wavers, which is how confident-looking teams commit to decisions nobody in the room believes in. Drawing on 18 years with organisations from the NHS to Novartis and Kerry Group, he describes what changes when a leader finally gets one place to think honestly: how they pressure-test a decision before announcing it, and how they pass that same permission down to their own team. Listeners leave able to hear what their leadership group is not saying, and knowing what to do once they hear it.View all topics →

About Russell Harvey

The Resilience Coach | Resilient Leadership Expert

100,000+ People positively affected6,000+ Executive coaching hours£12M+ ROI delivered by RWE npower leadership programme20+ years Learning, leadership and organisational development

Russell Harvey is The Resilience Coach - a resilient leadership expert, executive coach, facilitator and keynote speaker who helps leaders and organisations perform at their best when the world refuses to stand still.

With more than 20 years in Learning, Leadership and Organisational Development, 6,000+ hours of executive coaching and over 70 published podcast appearances, Russell is an experienced and engaging voice on resilience, leadership and navigating persistent change. He has worked with leaders across organisations including Novartis, the NHS, AB World Foods, Kerry Group and The Co-operative Group.

Russell’s work goes beyond helping people simply cope with pressure. He believes true resilience isn’t about “bouncing back”, being tougher or pretending everything is fine - it’s about springing forward with learning and becoming better equipped to lead because of the challenges you’ve faced.

His approach connects the human side of leadership directly to what matters to organisations: engaged people, stronger cultures, better decisions and improved performance. His work has delivered measurable results, including a leadership programme that returned £12 million to the business and a Resilient Leader Programme that achieved more than 1,100% ROI.

In August 2025, Russell achieved his long-held purpose of positively affecting 100,000 people.

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About this episode

This episode is brought to you by the Resilience Assessment and hosted by Brad Hook.

Order your copy of Brad's new book, Start With Values, now!

The guest:

Russell Harveyis an accomplished leadership coach, facilitator, public speaker, Managing Director, podcaster, and radio host. With over 20 years of experience in learning, leadership, and organizational development, Russell has honed his expertise in resilience and VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) environments. Passionate about positively impacting lives, Russell aims to affect 100,000 people by 2025. Known as "The Resilience Coach," he combines a deep understanding of human behavior with practical strategies to help individuals and organizations thrive.

Connect with Russell:

Russel's Website: https://www.theresiliencecoach.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russelltheresiliencecoach/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresiliencecoach/

Key Takeaways:

Proactive Resilience: Embrace proactive resilience by engaging with resilience tools and techniques before adverse events occur. This prepares you better and shifts your perspective on challenges.

Leadership and Delegation: Effective leaders focus on three key responsibilities: delegating to strengths, removing blockages to performance, and creating a resilient culture.

Playing to Strengths: Building confidence and resilience often involves focusing more on playing to your strengths rather than dwelling on weaknesses.

Purpose and Community: Having a well-defined purpose and engaging in community support work are crucial elements of building resilience.

Adaptability in Modern Work: Embrace vision, understanding, clarity, and agility (VUCAPrime) to navigate the

Guest: Russell Harvey