Why adaptable leadership matters now
Lockdown, re-entry, lockdown, hybrid work, work from home, Zoom, Zoom, and more Zoom, supply chain disruption, online everything, DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), pivot, post-Covid resignations, and all the rest delivered unprecedented challenges to leadership. The workplace and business ecosystems have been altered indefinitely and continue to serve up change at an accelerating pace. Adaptable leadership is no longer optional.
Agile or adaptable leadership?
The world is changing and so are the ways in which we work. To survive, adaptability is key. Flexibility is not enough. You need to be able to change direction, or even your entire strategy, at any moment. The question becomes, how do I remain adaptable?
The answer lies in leading by example and creating an environment where people are willing and eager for change because they know it will benefit them and the company. Leaders who demonstrate this trait find that employees want to prove themselves worthy of following such a visionary leader. Adaptable leadership became a necessity during the pandemic. Without adaptability, even a good change can turn sour. Adaptability is your change muscle. Like all muscles, it requires regular exercise to stay open to change, to anticipate it, to respond proactively, or even to make it happen.
How to become and remain adaptable
Develop a keen learner mindset
Carol Dweck writes about a fixed or a growth mindset. Developing the habit of curiosity and looking for new meaning or insights in everything is at the core of being adaptable. When a new circumstance is thrown our way, we can approach it from an unmovable point of view or a learner mindset, for example:
| The unmovable point of view | The adaptable mindset |
| Fixed: “A challenge is a test that I pass or fail, based on my inherent abilities. If I am not good at something, I will not do well.” | Growth: “I can learn to do anything I want. Challenges and mistakes are opportunities for learning and development.” |
| Expert: I should already know the answer. I should perform during a challenge by having all the answers. | Curious: I am going to ask a lot of questions, explore, and discover. I can learn a lot from trying something new. |
| Scarcity: A challenge typically involves limited resources, hard choices, and tradeoffs that must be made. | Abundance: A challenge is typically a potential win-win to be discovered. |
Practice wellbeing
The relationship between wellbeing and resilience has been under the microscope in recent years. A McKinsey study revealed that looking after physical and mental health was related to a 21% increase in productivity and a 46% improvement in employee engagement.
Making wellbeing a priority supports sound decision-making and the capacity to face uncertainty. When we are exhausted, our minds shift to a scarcity mindset, which shuts down adaptability. Paying attention to body, mind, and spirit is necessary. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, and connection are the nutrients that make resilience and adaptable leadership possible.
Be grounded in your purpose and values
Our purpose and values offer a north star to determine what really matters, where the boundaries are, and where our focus should turn. This grounding helps us avoid running from one urgency to another when pressure increases.
Learn the adaptability lens
Our brains are wired to create meaning. They scan the circumstances in front of us and relate them to the past to predict what will happen next. That is why people default to autonomic behaviours under stress, such as taking control or playing the victim card. To counteract living in the rearview mirror, make learning a life habit. Practice reframing, ask better questions, and notice patterns without judgment. These habits strengthen adaptable leadership.
Build and maintain deep connections
Strong interpersonal relationships bolster adaptability, since human beings need meaningful connections to survive and thrive. These community networks can even affect longevity. Research shows that social connectivity is the most predictive indicator of longevity.
Deep and diverse connections that provide social support are fundamental elements of the rich tapestry feeding our wellbeing and learning, especially during periods of uncertainty and heightened stress.
In a nutshell
We are human beings, not human doings. Our complex and hyper-connected world often drives high performers toward the human doing space, where we eventually burn out and lose our drive, passion, and vigour. The discipline to remain in the being space, to stop doing and make self-care and connections the most important aspect of our existence, will bolster creativity and productivity. This is the quiet engine of adaptable leadership.
Our next blog: How do we take the adaptability formula organization-wide?
