Leadership Essentials: Adaptability

Being more adaptable?

Change is inevitable in any setting and there may be times when you feel that it’s difficult for you and your team members to cope with the changing expectations you are experiencing. This can lead to feelings of stress and present risks in terms of the effectiveness of the organisation as a whole. Being adaptable is essential for you and your team.

Pulakos E et al., 2000

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Being adaptable means that people are

able to:

Handle emergencies and solve problems.
Respond to unpredictable situations and manage their stress.
Learn new processes, activities and technology.
Demonstrate adaptable interpersonal skills.

As a leader or manager, you need to

demonstrate your adaptability by:

Being resilient and calm under pressure.
Acting as a role model by using different methods of communication to suit different circumstances.
Managing ambiguity and being open to change.
Working well with diverse groups of people across all levels of the organisation.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

Each individual has a unique way of processing and making sense of information. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a tool to support effective communication and help build better relationships, both of which are essential to adaptability. Taken from NLP Academy (2017) NLP is defined as follows:

Neuro – individuals establish their own mental filtering systems for processing the information absorbed through each of the senses. A mental map comprising of internal images, sounds, tactile awareness, internal sensations, tastes and smells forms as a result of this neurological filtering process.
Linguistic– individuals then give this filtering personal meaning by assigning linguistic representation to it, resulting in conscious awareness.
Programming – this is the behavioural response that occurs as a result of neurological filtering and the subsequent linguistic map

VUCA

The ability to be adaptable and to communicate effectively with greater awareness using techniques such as NLP helps individuals respond to the constant change organisations face. The type of change should be identified and VUCA, a popular acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous, offers a means of making sense of the challenges of today’s business environment.

The VUCA Prime was developed by Bob Johansen, author of Leaders Make the Future (2012) suggesting that, VUCA leaders need to ‘flip’ the VUCA model and focus on the following four antidotes:

Volatility is mitigated by “vision”

clarity of where an organisation is heading and sense-

making about the organisational context. In times of

volatility, leaders need to communicate clearly and

make sure their intention is understood.

Uncertainty yields to “understanding”

and the ability to reflect. In uncertain situations, leaders

should seek fresh perspectives and remain flexible.

They need to understand their own and other’s values

Complexity is addressed by “clarity”

and sense making. In complex situations, leaders

need to collaborate with others and be flexible about

solutions.

Ambiguity is countered with “agility”

speedy communications between people and across

organisations to help find quick solutions. When

confronted with ambiguous situations, leaders need

to listen, think divergently, act responsively, and

implement decisions quickly.

Agile Leadership

Agility should not be confined to countering Ambiguity, for ‘Agile Leadership’ is increasingly being seen as the key to organisational survival in this digital and VUCA world:

“Agile leaders are connected leaders. They know how to connect with their team, customers, colleagues and wider stakeholders. They also know how to connect with societal trends that are shaping a new reality around us - a digitally accelerating, politically unstable reality that creates novel opportunities and raises the threat of obsolescence across products and whole sectors.” Hayward, S. (2018)