How has the pace of work changed in the last ten years? A decade ago, it was much easier to separate work from home. In today’s world, the prevalence of smartphones and digitised work means the majority of people are now connected to their business 24/7, using cloud-based platforms and apps to work on or access information instantly, at their fingertips. These new ways of working have inevitably changed the way people communicate, make decisions, and collaborate, for example, less paper, fewer face-to-face meetings, versus more emails and remote working. On a bigger scale, the pace of change led by AI and big data means organisations may discover that their most powerful competitor is a company that didn’t exist two years ago.
The Pace of Change is Relentless
Now, consider that every one of these changes requires people to learn new skills, forge new ways to communicate, and alter their perspective about their work, all whilst trying to remain engaged, stress-free, customer-focused, and productive.
A 2016 Harvard Business Review survey identified the ability to adapt as the most important skill for companies undergoing a digital transformation – more important than technical knowledge.
According to research by Barclays LifeSkills, 60% of employers report that adaptability has become more important over the previous decade; 20% say adaptability is lacking among employees, and only 8% say they actually provide specific training for it.
Adaptability Should Be in Everyone’s Job Description
Unfortunately, adaptability is not taught in schools and arguably is not explicitly taught in the workplace either. It is an increasingly exponential problem for organisations because every individual or team who doesn’t adapt to change becomes a liability to success, compromising growth, innovation, and competitive advantage.
In a World of Constant Change, Non-Adaptive Behaviour is the Killer Problem
Expecting employees to simply “tough it out” is wasteful, naive, and expensive, and can easily backfire, resulting in a significant loss of top talent and future leaders.
Instead, organisations need to invest in building resilience skills to adapt to challenge and uncertainty. This involves engaging with change through strong problem-solving capabilities, high levels of creativity, effective leadership, and the ability to develop supportive and trusting relationships with colleagues.
Building Adaptive Behaviour: The Four Phases
Shared Purpose
Imagine powerfully communicating who you are, where you are going, and the essential behaviours required to get there. Now imagine that everyone understands and can explain the roadmap in a way that resonates with them.A New Perspective
Facilitating adaptation requires more than vision and values on a wall. People’s instinctive habits, beliefs, and behaviours either drive or drain energy for change. Providing resilience skills changes the way people engage and respond to stress and disruption. They begin to see opportunities in change, boost performance, and take action. Changing perspective requires a change in mindset.
The ideal mindset for navigating change is a resilient one. Resilience is often thought of as a personality trait, but it can be learned. In the face of change, resilience fosters a growth mindset.
Strong and Effective Networks of Empowered Teams
As people develop resilience, teams acquire the strength to adapt quickly and unlock resistors to change in themselves and others. Resilient teams embrace continuous change, accountability, flexible thinking, problem-solving, mutual trust, and psychological safety. Without such resilience, team productivity would falter under pressure.
Leaders of empowered teams must also adapt, acting as coaches and mentors rather than hands-on micro-managers. This represents a dramatic break from the top-down structures that have defined organisations for generations. Candid leaders will acknowledge their own need for resilience when navigating this transformation.
Reinforcing Systems and Behaviour
People need to see managers and leaders “walking the walk” rather than just “talking the talk.” Creating reinforcing systems and structures is the final condition for real adaptation to change. Resilience training uses a blend of unique 360 reviews, refreshers, coaching, and team workshops to consolidate behaviour change, producing tangible and measurable return on investment.
Choosing the Right Provider
Look for a provider that offers evidence-based programmes giving people the knowledge and skills to adapt, change their thinking, behaviour, and habits, and better manage change while increasing productivity and engagement.
Key considerations:
Are the programmes skill-based? Many fail because they create a training-room environment that doesn’t transfer to real life.
Avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Will the provider appear credible to your CEO and teams? Do they have experience operating in high-performance cultures at a senior level?
Half-day workshops are rarely effective – look for programmes that embed learning over time.
For more information on how resilience training could be a key enabler for you, your team, or your organisation, get in touch. We love talking all things resilience!
