How Can We Be More Resilient? | LSE iQ Podcast

Why It Matters

Understanding that resilience is learnable empowers individuals to navigate career setbacks and stressful environments, ultimately improving personal well‑being and organizational performance.

Key Takeaways

• Resilience can be cultivated through emotional awareness and reframing setbacks.
• Ignoring others' judgments reduces stress and preserves mental energy.
• The “spotlight effect” shows people remember failures far less than we think.
• Aligning actions with core values boosts confidence for outsiders and underdogs.
• Changing environments to supportive cultures enhances long‑term professional resilience.

Summary

The LSE iQ podcast asks how we can become more resilient, featuring former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and LSE economist Grace Lordan. Scaramucci recounts his 11‑day tenure in the Trump administration, the public fallout, and the personal mindset that helped him rebound.

Both guests stress that resilience is not a fixed trait but a skill that can be trained. Lordan explains that recognizing and processing emotions, then refocusing on controllable goals, replenishes one’s “resilience reserves.” Scaramucci adds that dismissing others’ opinions and treating regret as a “millstone” to drop can prevent mental overload.

Key quotes illustrate the point: Scaramucci says, “What other people think of you is none of your business,” while Lordan cites the “spotlight effect,” noting that audiences quickly forget others’ mistakes. Scaramucci’s mentor’s advice to leave an ill‑fit corporate culture underscores the value of self‑awareness and authenticity.

The discussion implies that professionals can boost their resilience by practicing emotional awareness, embracing their outsider identity, and seeking workplaces that respect individuality. These habits not only safeguard mental health but also enhance long‑term career adaptability.

Original Description

We’ve all had rough days at work. But none of us have been fired by a sitting President after just 11 days in the job. That’s what happened to American financier and LSE alumnus Anthony Scaramucci, whose brief and explosive stint as White House Communications Director in 2017 became global news.

But instead of letting the experience define him, Anthony rebuilt his career, returned to his investment firm SkyBridge Capital, and has since become a prominent political commentator — including co‑hosting The Rest Is Politics: US podcast with the BBC’s Katty Kay.

How do we keep going when life delivers an unexpected blow? How do we protect our mental health, rebuild after setbacks, and strengthen our resilience reserves?

In this episode of LSE iQ, Sue Windebank asks: How can we be more resilient? She speaks to Anthony Scaramucci about what it takes to ‘bounce back’ after public failure. She also speaks to Dr Grace Lordan, economist and founding director of the Inclusion Initiative at LSE, and hears about key behavioural insights that can help build resilience — from managing our inner critic to taking practical steps that boost our capacity to recover and thrive.

Contributors

Grace Lordan

Anthony Scaramucci

Research

Think Big, Take small steps and build the future you want by Grace Lordan.

From Wall Street to the White House and back, The Scaramucci guide to unbreakable resilience by Anthony Scaramucci.