Selling now happens in conditions better described as brittle, anxious, nonlinear and incomprehensible than by the older VUCA framing. This report sets out what resilience is as a measurable competency, how OMG scores it, and what a 500-person sample revealed about how ready sellers and managers actually are.
What is inside
Performance under pressure, client focus during adversity, and rapid recovery from lost deals. In leaders, it also shows up as holding team morale through stress-filled periods.
Brittle systems that fail under pressure, anxious unease that clouds judgment, nonlinear change with outsized effects, and events that defy precedent.
Eighteen validated questions covering emotional recovery from failure, ownership of outcomes, proactive outreach under stress, adapting to change, and staying composed with frustrated clients.
Sellers in the top 25% on resilience-related factors are twice as likely to be top performers as those in the bottom 25%. High performers stay in the moment, persist after rejection and recover faster.
Across 500-plus assessed professionals, only 1 in 5 were confident of hitting targets in a downturn and nearly half had low confidence in their manager's ability to support them under stress.
Resilience can be identified and measured, but it has to be built through deliberate coaching and enablement rather than assumed.
Written for: Leaders trying to work out why capable reps stop pushing.
Published by Objective Management Group. Sources include the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report, 2023.
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