RISE BY KCL | Executive Briefing

Beyond Resilience

How leaders are creating the conditions for sustainable performance

We're speaking with thirty senior leaders across high-pressure sectors about what helps people perform well over the long term, and what gets in the way.

The findings will be published this autumn. Be among the first to receive your copy.

First edition of the Work Well. Lead Well. Executive Briefing.

Why this briefing

For years, organisations have invested in helping people become more resilient. That work matters.

But resilience alone doesn't explain why some teams keep performing under pressure while others struggle. What else is going on?

This briefing explores what sits beyond resilience. Not instead of it, but around it: the everyday conditions leaders create, and the part those conditions play in whether performance lasts.

Why it matters

Pressure isn't going away.

Organisations don't need people to give more. They need environments where people can keep performing, collaborating and making good decisions over time.

This briefing offers practical insight from leaders navigating that challenge every day.

What you'll learn

• How senior leaders define sustainable performance

• Where they see the biggest gap between intention and reality

• The leadership practices making the greatest difference

• The conditions they say matter most, and the ones most often missing

• The questions leaders believe we should be asking more often

Who it's for

Chief People Officers, HR and People Directors, Heads of Learning and Development, Operations Directors, and business leaders responsible for performance, culture or capability.

If you're responsible for both organisational performance and the people delivering it, this briefing is written for you.

About the research

The Executive Briefing draws on confidential conversations with thirty senior leaders working across high-pressure and regulated sectors.

Contributors are quoted anonymously by role and sector, allowing them to speak candidly about the realities of leading in complex organisations.

The research is led by Kai-Nneka Townsend, founder of RISE by KCL, who has spent more than twenty years helping leaders create the conditions for sustainable performance.

Publishing autumn 2026.

Interested in contributing? A small number of executive interviews remain open. Tick the box when requesting your copy and we'll be in touch.

Work Well. Lead Well. | Kai-Nneka Townsend, RISE by KCL | www.risebykcl.com