Bounce back stronger

As the treasury profession evolves with increasing volatility and technological demands, building personal resilience has become an essential competency for long-term career success

Personal resilience can be defined as the ability to manage, and recover from, setbacks. 

It is an invaluable skill in demanding and fast-moving work environments where people continually face new challenges and operate under high levels of stress. Environments  such as many treasuries, in fact. 

“Personal resilience matters in treasury because the role sits right in the middle of pressure, pace and constant change,” says Fi Wallace AfflACT, head of treasury and interim tax at Pure Search. 

“Decisions often need to be made quickly, with incomplete information, and against a backdrop of market swings, shifting business priorities and tight deadlines. When you’re resilient, you can stay calm under pressure, think clearly when the stakes are high  and keep your judgement steady, even when everything around you is moving fast. Resilience underpins your ability to perform well in a role where the landscape rarely stands still.” 

 The constant need to make high-stakes decisions around liquidity, funding and risk can be draining, especially when markets are volatile and deadlines are tight  

Knocks to personal resilience 

Several factors can test a treasurer’s personal resilience, according to Wallace. “The constant need to make high-stakes decisions around liquidity, funding and risk can be draining, especially when markets are volatile and deadlines are tight,” she explains. 

“Inside the organisation, unclear expectations, limited resources or poor communication can add extra strain. On a personal level, perfectionism, long hours  and not having time to reset  can chip away at energy and perspective. Over time, these pressures build up, and make it harder to stay steady and effective.” 

“A treasurer’s workload can be extremely intense,” notes Ben Walters FCT, interim group treasurer at recruiter Robert Walters. “You must be able to balance demands from all angles – both internal and external – including from banks, investors, the CFO and the board. 

You are also expected to be in control, very accurate and very authoritative about what the business should be doing. Plus, you need to ensure your work pressures don’t affect things at home.” 

Greg Russo, principal with EY Global Treasury Services and a former head of global treasury operations for US conglomerate GE, believes technological advances are heightening expectations of treasurers. “Treasury data has value that can extend beyond the treasury organisation,” he explains. “As a result, CFOs are increasingly looking at treasurers to act as strategic advisers, which requires them to be even more resilient than before. 

"Treasurers aren’t just handling the day-to-day challenges of managing cash, FX and risk, they must also understand emerging technologies, including automation and artificial intelligence [AI].” 

Given these ever-expanding demands, building resilience is no longer just a 'nice to have', it is essential. Here are some top tips on how to cultivate that strength.

Tips for building your resilience

1. Take care of yourself. Look after your health, find time to recharge and make sure you have a work-life balance – life should not be all about work. 
2. Trust yourself. Listen to your body so you know when your stress levels have hit a tipping point – and make a positive choice to reduce them, perhaps by leaving work early that day. 
3. Find a mentor. They can help you talk through problems and make sound decisions. 
4. Reach out to your network. Ask for advice and support, as well as tools and resources that will help you to develop your resilience. 
5. Be open about the challenges you face. Everyone’s personal resilience is tested at times – don’t feel embarrassed to admit that you are struggling. 
6. Embrace change. New technologies can help you work more productively so you can use your time more efficiently and reduce the pressure on you and your team. 
7. Be a continuous learner. Sharpen your skills by learning from your peers, leaders, networks and mentors. Find out about new resources and new ways of working. 
8. Prepare for the worst. When you have robust plans to address the worst-case scenario, you will feel more confident about addressing smaller challenges that arise.

About the author

Sally Percy is a business journalist, author and a former editor of The Treasurer

A longer version of this article originally appeared in The Treasurer, Issue 2 2026