Resilience training for leaders and professionals
Stay clear, steady and effective when pressure rises.
Practical self-leadership training for people who need to remain clear, steady, relational and effective under pressure – for leadership teams, staff and whole organisations.
Taught in leadership programmes at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, for over 15 years, including the Major Projects Leadership Academy
The challenge
Pressure changes the state you act from.
Under sustained load we react rather than decide. That affects not only how we feel, but the quality of judgements, conversations and collaboration.
Judgement narrows
Focus turns short-term, options shrink and decisions become reactive.
Recovery gets lost
Sleep, breaks and recovery are squeezed – and performance erodes quietly.
Relationships strain
Irritability and withdrawal wear down teams, conversations and trust.
What is adaptive resilience?
The capacity to return to dynamic balance after disruption – and to keep performing, relating and recovering while pressure lasts.
The training works on attention, breath, body, emotional tone, perception and recovery – through repeatable guided practice rather than abstract theory.
Physical
Breath, sleep, rhythm
Emotional
Regulating and using emotion
Mental
Focus, perspective, rehearsal
Meaning & values
Direction and goals
What we offer
Two ways to train
Live
Workshops in person or online
For leadership teams, staff cohorts and whole organisations – shaped around your situation.
Half day – Foundations and core practices
One day – Deeper practice, carried into daily work, with two 90-minute online follow-ups
Multi-day – programmes for teams and organisations, by arrangement
In person in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, or online. Dates, format and pricing on request.
Explore Leadership ResilienceSelf-paced
Online programmes
Fifteen short modules in six parts, plus a welcome module. The programmes will include narrated video lessons of 10–15 minutes, guided practice with audio breath pacers, a private lifestyle check, and a small weekly experiment that turns each skill into a habit.
For leaders:
Adaptive Leadership Resilience →
For staff wellbeing:
Staff Wellbeing →
Coming soon in English. Our revised online programmes are being prepared for release. Contact us about availability and pricing for individuals and organisations.
Prefer individual training? 1:1 Adaptive Resilience Training – six online sessions with Dr Peter Gruenewald, tailored to you.
Explore 1:1 trainingContent
Six parts, fifteen short modules
Every module will take 10–15 minutes, teach one practical tool and end with a small if–then experiment for the coming week. A short welcome module will explain how to get the most from the training.
1
Your state
What pressure does to your brain, nervous system and heart – and why your state decides what you can do. 1A Why knowing isn’t enough · 1B Your heart keeps time
2
Foundations
Sleep, movement, food, alcohol and breaks – with a private lifestyle check. 2A Sleep · 2B Your foundations
3
Breathing
The core practice: engagement (6:6) and relaxation (4:8) breathing with audio breath pacers, the rescue breath and quick stress relief. 3A Your breath, your lever · 3B The practice, step by step · 3C For the difficult moment
4
Emotions & energy
Stepping back from a problem, gratitude, reframing difficult events, a daily action list and your energy balance. 4A Balcony and ballroom · 4B Gratitude and reframing · 4C Actions and energy
5
Goals & relationships
Choosing goals well, mental rehearsal, deliberate practice, the In-Step technique, listening and difficult relationships. 5A Goals worth your energy · 5B Practice that makes a difference · 5C Listening and relationships
6
Your team
Psychological safety: what it is, why it matters and how to build it. 6A Psychological safety · 6B Building psychological safety
Two breathing rhythms
Engagement Breathing and Relaxation Breathing
Both are practised with a 15-minute audio breath pacer: a single soft tone moves between the ears – right ear, breathe in; left ear, breathe out.
Engagement Breathing
6 : 6EffectAims for a calm, alert state before demanding moments.
WhenMorning or early afternoon; before demanding tasks, meetings, presentations and difficult conversations.
Relaxation Breathing
4 : 8EffectSupports recovery after work and before sleep.
WhenIn the evening to wind down, after a stressful event and before sleep.
Approach
Integrated and evidence-informed
The training draws on several disciplines and turns them into concrete, repeatable practice: breathing pace, heart rate variability, sleep, mental rehearsal and reflection.
Training, not treatment.
The programme builds self-leadership skills. It does not replace medical or psychotherapeutic care.
Your trainer
Dr Peter Gruenewald
A physician and resilience trainer whose work brings together medical knowledge and practical self-leadership training. He is a Clinical Specialist in Sleep Medicine at University College London Hospitals (Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine) and has taught at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, for more than 15 years—previously as Associate Fellow, now as Consultant and Lecturer.
Read full biographySelected organisations we have worked with
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Major Projects Leadership Academy
NHS Leadership Academy
NHS England
United Nations System Staff College
HM Treasury
Deloitte UK
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Contact
Talk to us about your team.
We agree dates, format and pricing with you individually,
and reply within a few working days.