What is Adaptability?

There’s no doubt as to the challenges faced in today’s modern workplace, and how these have evolved over the years.

The age of information and technology has given rise to paradigm shifts within the workplace itself - transforming the traditional 9-to-5 grind into a more flexible, diverse, agile, and collaborative environment.

Though flexible and remote work arrangements were already in place long before the COVID-19 pandemic, it further changed the workplace as we know it.

Organisations worldwide had to reconfigure their overall approaches to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of their employees. For most, this meant going virtual.

Even two years later, as economies begin to re-open, companies continue to acclimatise to the permanent structural and cultural changes brought about by the pandemic.

Those of you who closely follow my monthly blogs will know how I value and respect the key character traits which encompass today’s modern leaders.

In previous months I’ve talked about traits including resilience and situational awareness.

Now I want to discuss change.

Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill once famously said: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

A key element of change, to ensure continued success in the workplace, is adaptability and author HG Wells put no greater importance on adaptability when he declared: “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.”

But what exactly is adaptability?

Put quite simply, adaptability is your ability to adjust to changes in your environment and, therefore, being “open to change”….

How is this similar or different to being “agile”?

Agility in the workplace is more akin to being able to quickly change and adapt your behaviour based on the situation you’re faced with.

In a previous blog, I have written a little more on the differences and similarities between the two words and behaviours.

They are both a critical factor in maintaining good productivity.

You can focus on tasks relevant to your job rather than struggling with mismatches between how you do things and how your workplace operates.

Quite simply, it’s critical if you want to be successful in today’s competitive environment.

Adaptability in the workplace also means adapting quickly to changes in organisational structure, such as mergers and acquisitions.

Sometimes, these structural changes can require you to take on roles you may not be comfortable with. However, by adjusting quickly and learning new skills, you can stay ahead of the curve.

Do you feel like you’re ahead of the curve or lagging behind? Photo Roel Dierckins Unsplash

If you’re not adaptable, team dynamics will be challenging due to mismatches between how things are done on the team and what’s acceptable within the workplace culture or company norms. This could lead to tension, conflict, and eventually poor performance on the part of team members.

Look out for my next blogs in this series on adaptability – how to be adaptable in the workplace, the importance of being adaptable in the workplace, and the benefits of being adaptable in the workplace.

If you’d like to explore the subject of adaptability more deeply, please contact via Email: russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.