The Elasticity Lens

In my work with Shauna Springer, Ph.D. and Jeff Kingsfield, we see that growth doesn’t depend on “solving” each stage once and for all. Instead, we stretch into them again and again across life.

• Trust: Elasticity means that even after betrayal, trust can be rebuilt. Trust is not fragile, it’s flexible.

• Identity: Elastic identity bends with experience. We are not locked into who we were; we are free to become who we are becoming.

• Intimacy: Elastic bonds absorb conflict without breaking. Love isn’t the absence of strain but the ability to stretch together.

• Integrity: Elastic wisdom means we can reflect without collapsing into regret. We bend toward meaning, even as we age.

Erikson taught us that each season has tension. Elasticity teaches us that tension is not the end — it is the stretch that makes the next season possible.

The Elastic Self in Leadership

We often carry the illusion that people “outgrow” certain stages. But Erikson reminds us, every stage revisits us. A young professional may wrestle with identity just as a seasoned leader may face new questions of intimacy or integrity.

Elastic leaders recognize this cycle and create space for their teams to stretch:

• Rebuild trust when it falters.

• Reimagine identity when roles shift.

• Strengthen bonds when stress strains them.

• Discover meaning even in endings.

Reflection for You

Which stage is stretching you right now?

• Are you rebuilding trust?

• Are you reworking your identity?

• Are you strengthening bonds of intimacy or belonging?

• Are you searching for meaning and integrity in your work or life?

Erikson saw life as a series of crises. My work on elasticity reframes them as a series of stretches.

Each challenge doesn’t just test us, it expands us. Each season isn’t a verdict, it’s a chance to bend, adapt, and become.

You don’t have to master every stage once and for all. You only have to meet each one elastically, trusting that the stretch itself carries you forward.

Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Javidi, M., Springer, S., & Kingsfield, J. (2025). Elasticity of Identity. Readiness Network Publishing. Theory: