As a leader in today’s world you need more than one approach or viewpoint. You have to be willing to open your mind and be a little bit more creative in considering the best approach. You are required to be adaptable.
Not only do are you required to be adaptable but your team and the culture you create does too. In this way you can be more agile and responsive to the situation you find yourself in.
You have to be a master craftsman. If you only have a hammer and a chisel in your toolbox you are pretty limited to what you can achieve. A range of tools and techniques in your armoury to be as creative and resourceful as possible is key.
Creating a climate of adaptability
We all know that leadership isn’t easy. Youset the tone for the environment you want to create so here are some simple (not easy) steps to work through to assess the level of adaptability your current climate is:
- Review your current team and the wider organisation. How do people react to new situations, problems or solutions? Do they:
- Try and take control?
- Enjoy the excitement of the unknown and new?
- Wait for others to explain what is expected?
- Worry about how to go about it in the ‘right’ way or whether they are making the ‘right’ decision?
- Use the opportunity to experiment and learn from failures?
- Speak candidly without fear of reprisal?
- What are the obstacles to adaptability? Are they systemic? Is innovation and creativity hindered by existing processes and procedures? Is there the right mindset – an openness and curiosity with a discipline on where to focus?
- Are the business reasons for being adaptable clear? When people are clear about the rationale they are more likely to align and be willing to learn.
- Are you modelling an attitude of adaptability and agility? If not where can you start? I’d suggest starting small and explaining why you’re making the change e.g. changing the way you run meetings, empowering others to make decisions, ensuring learning comes out of successes and failures and applying those learnings.
Once your assessment is complete identify 3 things that will help you move the culture forward. Make them practical. Things that can be implemented easily. It’s often the small things that have the biggest impact!
Increasing your ability
On the job experience accounts for 70% of a leaders development, so whilst you may be tempted to look at what courses or workshops are around, don’t. Start by looking at what is around you. Here are just a few suggestions:
- Find people who deal effectively with ambiguity and ask them to share their experiences and tips.
- Review your priorities. Where are there opportunities to take a different approach?
- Ask for feedback from your team or trusted colleagues. Where do they see your strengths and where are their opportunities to adapt your approach?
- Take some time out for reflection. Look at past successes and failures, what can you learn from them? What is your current mindset? How can you be more comfortable with not knowing? Where might you need to loosen the reigns?
These are just some ideas to get you started and if you feel working with a coach could really help please make contact to set up a free discovery call to explore how we may work together.
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”
George Herbert
