Topic 6.4: Managing your adaptability
There’s little doubt that the only person who can take responsibility for your career is … you. Job security doesn’t exist anywhere anymore, change is constant and careers are less likely to progress in a neat, steady, linear manner.
While this can be disconcerting, it also suggests opportunities for those who are prepared. And an important part of preparation is to be clear about the opportunities that will be most appealing and suitable for you.
This positive approach to an uncertain and constantly changing future highlights the value of being adaptable – more so than ever before …
In the first module we introduced the topic of Adaptability – identifying it as a necessary and valuable “intelligence” for the fourth industrial revolution. And we’ve focused on some of the skills required for a working environment that requires increasing adaptability, including communication, a learning mindset, collaboration, coaching, positivity, psychological safety, teamwork, and a strong sense of purpose.
30 min
This article looks at adaptability from the perspective of self-management – integrating principles of wellbeing and a learning mindset, in addition to connection and personal purpose.
Excerpt:
“The past year has made it abundantly clear, if it wasn’t already, that a volatile and complex world is serving up change at an accelerating pace. Individuals and organizations need to be ready. That doesn’t mean reacting to the next challenge that comes our way but rather being prepared to meet it when it arrives.
“There’s one tool above all others that can help leaders do that: adaptability.
“Adaptability is the ability to learn flexibly and efficiently and to apply that knowledge across situations. It’s not so much a skill as a meta-skill— learning how to learn and being conscious of when to put that learner’s mind into action. By becoming aware of and open to change now, we can maintain control over uncertainty before pressures build to the point where altering course is much more difficult, or even futile.
“Our research shows that adaptability is the critical success factor during periods of transformation and systemic change. It allows us to be faster and better at learning, and it orients us toward the opportunities ahead, not just the challenges …”
While each of us must take responsibility for managing our own career, it’s equally true that each of us can take advantage of the experience, support and wisdom of others. Whether through formal or informal networks, there are rich sources of career support and guidance available to us.