By Roy Notowitz, Noto Group
I was getting ready to go to work when I first learned of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. Just twelve hours earlier, I had returned from my honeymoon—feeling recharged and excited to dive back into building my business. But after witnessing the horror unfold, work suddenly seemed trivial and unimportant. Strong feelings of patriotism, resolve, and unity swept the nation in an instant. In the days and months that followed, lives were upended, and—as you would expect—hiring came to a screeching halt.
I remember spending what felt like an eternity waiting for the market—and our sense of normalcy—to return. My office mates and I would play four hours of ping pong each day, just to pass the time.
That was just one of many seismic shifts I’ve lived and worked through: the dot-com bubble bursting, the housing market collapse, COVID-19, the post-pandemic. Each wave of disruption left its mark. Each one tested our assumptions, our leadership, and our teams. And yet, despite the turbulence, opportunities still exist and success is always possible. I started Noto Group in the midst of a recession, and the foundation I built during that time was stronger as a result. The constraints and challenges of those early days forced me to focus, innovate, and prioritize what mattered most.
If there's one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: turbulence is not a detour—it’s the road. And the CEOs who navigate it well don’t just adapt reactively. They build the conditions for resilience—on purpose, with purpose, and alongside the people who power their organizations.
Here are five core leadership priorities that can help you build a resilient, focused, and adaptable team.
1. Anchor in Purpose, Not Just Plans
When circumstances are uncertain, people need more than KPIs—they need clarity of purpose. Your company’s purpose is the North Star that keeps your team oriented when strategies shift or business models evolve. It’s not just about inspiration—it’s about alignment.
Purpose answers the “why” behind every decision, and it fuels discretionary effort, especially during tough times. Teams connected to something meaningful push through challenges with greater creativity, unity, and drive.
CEO move: Recenter teams around purpose in every major decision. Ask, how does this tie back to why we exist? That connection strengthens resilience at every level.
2. Design for Adaptability, Not Just Efficiency
In stable conditions, efficiency is king. In volatile environments, adaptability wins. Resilient organizations aren’t rigid—they’re responsive. They have systems, teams, and processes built to flex with changing realities.
That means decentralizing decisions, empowering teams to act close to the front lines, and preparing for more than one future. Adaptability isn’t chaos—it’s disciplined agility, with guardrails.
CEO move: Re-evaluate where your structure may be slowing you down. Encourage scenario planning and make room for iteration, not just execution.
3. Turn Tension into Team Strength
Strong teams aren’t the ones that avoid tension—they’re the ones that manage it well. Every team faces push-pull dynamics. These aren’t problems to fix—they’re tensions to navigate. High-functioning teams surface these dynamics and have the emotional safety to work through them.
As a CEO, you set the tone for how tension is handled. When you model open dialogue, your teams learn that challenge isn’t conflict—it’s part of the process.
CEO move: Ask your leadership team: Where are we seeing friction? Is it a signal we need to surface, or a tension we can better manage together?
4. Focus Meetings on Real Work, Not Just Updates
One of the most common traps for executive teams is spending valuable time on updates rather than collaboration. Status reports have their place—but strategy, change, and integration are where leadership teams create value.
If meetings feel like a string of reports, your team is missing opportunities to align on direction, navigate change, and break down silos.
CEO move: Redesign your leadership meeting rhythm. Carve out time each month to tackle the hard stuff—cross-functional priorities, interdependencies, and strategic pivots.
5. Support the Human Side of Performance
Turbulence isn’t just operational—it’s emotional. When people are under sustained pressure, performance can suffer unless there’s space for recovery and support. The most resilient teams aren’t those that avoid stress—they’re the ones that understand how to handle it together.
That starts with acknowledging how each person responds to stress, what support they need, and creating space to reset without guilt. Stress becomes toxic when it goes unnamed.
It also means creating a culture where more voices are heard—especially in decision-making. Diverse perspectives are critical to navigating complexity. But if your team doesn’t feel safe to speak up, you’ll miss out on the very insights you need most.
CEO move: Share your own stress triggers and needs. Ask your team to do the same. Then ask: Whose voice is missing from this conversation?
Final Thought: Resilience Is Built in the Day-to-Day
Leading through turbulent times isn’t about staying in control—it’s about staying connected: to your purpose, your people, and the truth of the moment.
Resilience isn’t a trait reserved for the lucky few—it’s something you can design into your team’s culture, systems, and mindset. It’s built through small choices: what you focus on in meetings, how you respond to tension, where you create space for rest and reflection, and when you invite others to lead alongside you.
Turbulence will keep coming. The real question is: how ready are you to navigate it with clarity and confidence?
At Noto Group, we partner with purpose-driven companies to build leadership teams that thrive in uncertainty. If you're evolving your executive team or talent strategy to meet the moment, we’d love to connect.
