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Published May 27, 2025

Ep 175: Organizational Psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich on Moving Beyond Resilience and Becoming “Shatterproof”

What does it truly mean to be resilient? In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft interviews top management thinker, organizational psychologist and self-awareness expert Dr. Tasha Eurich. Together they unpack Tasha’s latest book, Shatterproof, and discuss how leaders today—she calls them “stressed-out strivers”—can move beyond mere resilience and learn to thrive in our modern world.  

Show Notes

SUMMARY 

What does it truly mean to be resilient? In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft interviews top management thinker, organizational psychologist and self-awareness expert Dr. Tasha Eurich. Together they unpack Tasha’s latest book, Shatterproof, and discuss how leaders today—she calls them “stressed-out strivers”—can move beyond mere resilience and learn to thrive in our modern world.  

  

IN THIS EPISODE 

0:00 Intro 

02:30 Tasha’s path to her work.  

06:45 Helping people thrive in the midst of chaos. 

08:15 Where did Tasha start her research? 

13:45 A basic definition of “stress.”  

14:50 How human beings typically respond to stress.  

19:35 Is there a difference between stress and chaos?  

22:30 What happens when someone hits their resilience ceiling?  

28:35 Signs that someone has hit their resilience ceiling.  

31:35 Can some people handle more stress than others?  

33:30 Where does the idea of “burnout” fit into the discussion of resilience?  

37:45 Practical tools that leaders can use to help their teams thrive.  

39:45 Is our struggle with stress at work worse today than in the past?  

40:15 What it means to “thrive” in the midst of chaos. 

46:15 Outro 

 

 

LISTEN 

 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

 

STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS 

  • At the end of the day, every interaction is about making the other person’s life just a little bit better.
  • For “stressed out strivers,” chaos and stress come constantly and from all different angles.
  • “Resilience” has its time and place, but it cannot be our only coping strategy.
  • As humans, the real challenge for us is chronic stress across multiple areas of our lives. 
  • “Stress” can be any constraint that we are experiencing that we don’t have control over.
  • Our bodies react to stress in two ways: fight/flight or freeze/faint.
  • It is a myth that the more stress we encounter in life, the stronger we will be.
  • Regardless of who they are, all achievers have a “resilient ceiling”: the moment that their resilience resources run out.
  • Hitting your resilience ceiling and reacting badly does not mean you’re failure; you are merely experiencing your automatic responses to a world that our bodies were not designed to live in.
  • There are three signs that indicate someone has hit their resilience ceiling:
    1. They’ve lost their “mojo,” or enthusiasm
    2. Little things feel big
    3. Our top tools to navigate stress are failing 
  •  Even though some people can handle more stress than others, everyone has a limit. 
  • “Burnout” differs from hitting a resilience ceiling in that burnout tends to (a) be more directly associated with work; and (b) happens gradually over time.
  • Human beings have three fundamental needs:
    1. Confidence/growth
    2. Choice/agency
    3. Connection/belonging 
  • Leaders should ask themselves, “What am I doing to fulfil or frustrate the three basic needs of my people?”
  • Becoming “shatterproof” means going beyond “white knuckling” through tough moments to acknowledge our cracks and struggles and use them to point us towards how we can be stronger.
  • True strength is not saying, “I’m not breaking.” It’s saying, “I’m breaking, and I’m going to use that to become the best version of myself.”  

 

LINKS MENTIONED 

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