How Connection Builds Career Resilience (and Why We Need It Now)

Lately I’ve been having more conversations with clients who are simply tired. Not just the “I need a long weekend” kind of tired but the deeper fatigue that comes from constantly trying to hold it all together. The pressure to stay motivated, keep moving forward and stay resilient has almost become another job in itself.

We hear the word resilience so often that it’s started to lose meaning. It’s become shorthand for “pushing through” - for showing up, staying positive and doing your best no matter what. But the truth is, resilience isn’t built by gritting your teeth and carrying on alone. It’s built by connection.

The times I’ve seen people truly bounce back in their careers haven’t been when they doubled down on willpower. It’s been when they reached out to a colleague, a mentor or a friend and let themselves be supported. When they allowed someone else to say, “I’ve been there too.”

We tend to think of resilience as an individual trait, but in reality it’s relational. It grows stronger every time we connect with others, share our experiences or simply feel seen. When we isolate ourselves, the mental load of career challenges - uncertainty, rejection, burnout, redundancy becomes heavier. But when we’re connected, those same challenges start to feel shared and somehow more manageable.

Connection acts like a top-up. It fills the tank we draw from when things get tough. It’s the chat that sparks a new idea, the conversation that puts a setback into perspective, the mentor who reminds you of your strengths when you can’t see them yourself, or the peer who admits they’re struggling too and suddenly you realise you’re not the only one.

If you think about it, most career breakthroughs happen through connection. Someone opens a door, recommends you for an opportunity or shares advice that changes how you see things. But connection also keeps us grounded when work starts to feel overwhelming. It’s what helps us recover, not just achieve.

So how do you actually build connection that supports your career and your wellbeing? It doesn’t have to be grand gestures or endless networking events - it’s the small, consistent things that count.

Four simple “top-up” moves to try

1. Reconnect with someone who energises you: We all have that person who lifts our thinking or reminds us what we’re capable of. Send them a message. Book a coffee. It doesn’t need to be for a reason — just a reconnection.

2. Build your resilience network: Think of three people who play different roles in your professional life — someone who challenges you, someone who listens and someone who inspires you. Keep those connections warm.

3. Create recovery rituals: These don’t have to be big moments. It might be a walk between meetings, finishing your day with one small win written down or taking ten minutes to breathe before diving into emails. The goal is to refill your energy before it runs dry.

4. Be someone else’s top-up: Reach out to a colleague, client or friend who might be doing it tough. A small check-in can make a big difference for them and for you.

Resilience, at its core, is about adaptability but you can’t adapt in isolation. You need people around you who help you process, recalibrate and move forward. The good news is that connection is something we can all build more of, even in small ways.

As we acknowledge Mental Health Awareness Week and hopefully carry those conversations beyond it - it feels like the right time to notice where resilience really comes from: the connections and moments of support that help us refill our tank when things get tough.

Who is someone in your network who helps you recharge? And maybe more importantly, how can you return that energy to someone else?

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Thanks for reading. Our hope with each edition is to create space to pause, reflect and rethink how we work. If this sparked something for you, we would love if you shared it with someone who might need to hear it. You can always connect with us at info@pickapath.co.nz or find more at pickapath.co.nz.