Resilience in times of change

What can top sports teach us about resilience?

There are four crucial factors for success: teamwork, strategy, data and impact. This applies to both large digital transformations and top sports. In this series of articles, Management Consultants from Anderson MacGyver speak with multiple rowing champion Lisa Bruijnincx. Since April, Lisa has been part of TeamNL 2025, and at the end of September she won her first senior World Championship. In this blog, Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma, Management Consultant at Anderson MacGyver, talks with her about mental resilience in times of change: what can organizations learn from a rowing crew for their digital transformation?

Balancing ambition and motivation

Lisa has been rowing in the quadruple sculls since 2022, and since 2025 she has been doing so for TeamNL. Top sports are all about delivering top performance, but how do you make sure it remains enjoyable?

“When I was rowing at the under-23 level, I got a lot of enjoyment out of performing, but you don’t always achieve the result you want or had in mind. I had to learn a lot from that, and it made me reflect on what I was actually rowing for. The conclusion was to live more in the moment”. That mental shift, from focusing purely on performance to being present, is crucial, both in sports and in business.

Intermediate sprints on the way to the finish line

When Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma asks whether Lisa thinks about long-term goals on a daily basis, Lisa responds: “When things are going well, that definitely helps. But if, for example, it’s raining, I get frustrated, and a future goal doesn’t motivate me at that moment.”

Lisa is currently fully focused on rowing, but she already feels the urge to use her mind in a different way than for the rowing team or boat techniques. Within the team, for example, there is a lot of knitting and crocheting, which provides a tangible and achievable end result.

Just like in sports, a digital transformation also requires finding a balance between long-term ambition and short-term motivation. Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma emphasizes that this is equally important in a (digital) transformation. “A transformation is generally a long-term process. Breaking down goals can help keep motivation high within an organization. It’s also important to celebrate small, short-term successes.”

The power of fixed rituals – together through all conditions

Lisa explains that her team has a short check-in every two weeks to discuss how everyone is doing. “Sometimes we do a weather forecast check-in. If you say it’s stormy, it’s immediately clear that everyone should give you a bit of space and calm.”

Short, frequent check-ins also help strengthen team cohesion within organizations and allow tensions to be identified early on. Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma recognizes this in organizations undergoing transformation. Daily check-ins take place to assess how work is progressing, where people are getting stuck, and where support may be needed.

The right mindset

“Companies undergoing a digital transformation often experience resistance or doubt. Which mindset helps you keep going, especially when things get tough?” Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma asks.

Lisa explains that the higher goal for the team is Los Angeles 2028, the Olympic Games. “The route toward that goal gives us room to experiment, but in this phase we also have to dare to fail in order to learn and optimize for the higher objective. The whole team had to get used to that, because it means that in the short term things don’t always go the way you would like, but it may lead to a better performance at the Olympic Games.”

Organizations can change in different ways: sometimes through a well-thought-out plan, sometimes by experimenting, making mistakes, and moving forward again. Whatever change strategies are used, it is important to allow space for resistance and to ensure clear communication and proper guidance.

Moving in sync: trust as the foundation of success

Trust within a rowing crew is essential for team performance. But how do you create mutual trust and clear communication within the team, especially under high pressure?
“When the pressure is high, you want certain processes to already be in place. I give the command, and at that moment there is no time for discussion. The final race is also always rehearsed and visualized a week in advance.”

Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma acknowledges that rehearsing and visualizing are also widely used in the business world. “At Anderson MacGyver, we call this situation sketches. When people take on new roles and responsibilities, we walk through the new day-to-day way of working with them. This removes uncertainty and ensures that people are better prepared for the new situation.”

Looking back to move forward

“Rowing is seen as a four-year project, with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 as the goal. That makes evaluation extremely important. As a crew, we always discuss what could have been improved or what should be maintained. Within the broader TeamNL, evaluations are also conducted based on crew combinations and performance. This means we have evaluation moments at different levels. We always take time for this and even schedule the evaluation before the final result has taken place.”

Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma recognizes this as well in organizations undergoing a (digital) transformation. In any transformation, it is important to define what you are going to measure and to actually track it. This allows you to adjust course where necessary to achieve your goal. Just as important is regularly evaluating together with the teams involved: how are they experiencing the change so far, what is going well, and what could be improved?

Resilience as the core of sustainable transformation

As Federer once said: “The best in the world are not the best because they win every point, but because they know they’ll lose again and again, and have learned how to deal with it.”

Resilience does not mean that everything always goes well, but that you learn to deal with setbacks, uncertainty, and change. This applies in top sports and in every organization undergoing transformation.

The true strength lies in a team that continues to learn, reflect, and trust one another, especially when pressure increases. Because only then do you move forward, both literally and figuratively.