How can adaptability help leaders manage stress?

Adaptability does not mean that you follow someone else's will and stop being a leader with your own vision. Being adaptable means being able to step out of your comfort zone and see things from a different perspective. Figure out what you can find useful and create a friendly environment in which you and your opponents will feel comfortable, without stress and resistance.

Unforeseen changes will happen. This is a given. It helps to be cool with the idea that not everything will go smoothly and as planned. Normality is that unforeseen changes happen and therefore adaptability is required. But that's cool because that's normal. I am not making it easier than it really is when it happens. However stress also may come from a too high or perfect expectation. If someone expects everything goes smooth, that makes it even more complicated (hence stressful) to be able to adapt to a new situation. And by the way: changes, difficulties, obstacles... are also positive as it is a nice challenge for leaders to show their problem solving skills. If everything were so easy, a leader's life would be boring ^^

Adaptable leaders demonstrate resilience, view challenges as opportunities for growth, and excel in problem-solving. Their high emotional intelligence helps them navigate stress and foster a harmonious work environment. They are skilled in conflict resolution, promoting open communication and compromise. Adaptability also aids in change management, reducing the stress associated with transitions. These leaders make better decisions under pressure, reducing the anxiety linked to decision-making. Adaptability equips leaders with the tools to manage stress by promoting resilience, improving problem-solving, enhancing emotional intelligence, facilitating conflict resolution, and supporting better decision-making in high-pressure situations.

At Belkins, where the stakes are high and the pressure is constant, adaptability is a lifeline. It allows us to reframe challenges as opportunities, transforming stress into a catalyst for growth. Instead of succumbing to pressure, adaptability enables us to regulate our emotions, maintain a clear head, and make informed decisions. It turns potential stressors into puzzles we're eager to solve, fostering a proactive environment. This mindset not only alleviates stress for me but also sets a tone for my team, reducing burnout and fostering a culture where challenges are met with innovation rather than anxiety.

To stay nimble in the ever-evolving landscape of SaaS and service industries, I regularly evaluate my adaptability. Tools like the Adaptability Quotient (AQ) are invaluable. They dissect adaptability into tangible components: my ability to tackle problems creatively, my character traits such as empathy, the resources at my disposal, and my mindset. This introspection isn't just about self-improvement; it's critical for leading Belkins effectively. It ensures I can pivot swiftly, embrace innovation, and sustain growth. By assessing and enhancing my AQ, I'm not just adapting to change—I'm leading it.

Adaptability is one of the 34 talents measured through the CliftonStrengths assessment. I recommend this assessment as the basis for leadership development for many reasons. Directly related to this step, it can help identify to what degree adaptability is a natural talent for you. Strengths-based development focuses on deepening one's natural gifts rather than the often unproductive approach to strengthening one's weaknesses. Using this approach, we can then ask which of our natural talents can we use to be flexible in dynamic situations and tailor our response to stresses. The good news is there are many approaches one might take to achieving the same goal that may be more in line with their natural proclivities.

One of the fastest ways to be highly adaptive is to let go of fear. Fear is an emotional response to a perceived danger, which may or may not be present in the moment. Our internal psychological defense mechanisms set off a chain of physiological responses that end with reflexive actions we take to move away from threat and toward what is known and safe. When I work with clients to help them be great leaders of their small businesses, one of the critical areas we improve is their psychological mindset and emotional state to not be triggered by fear. This frees up their creativity and inspiration to handle difficult situations and come up with, and execute the best solutions, allowing them to be highly adaptable, and highly successful.

Develop adaptability by having a consistent routine of planning, acting and reflecting. This asks you to be mindful and intentional in your actions and then offers you opportunities for growth as you reflect on how successful you were or whether there were opportunities to improve your approach.

Be consistent on your purpose but flexible on your approach. The horizon of where you are going shouldn't need to change consistently but the pathway to get there will.

To effectively lead with adaptability you need to create a psychologically safe space, where people feel comfortable to share ideas and challenge each other without fear of being of shut down. When people feel safe to share you will get more and better engagement and willingness to adapt to change.

Recognize that the only constant is change. Rather than fearing or guarding against change, expect and lean into it. Rather than looking to go back to who or what we were, allow change to transform us into something new. When we see change as inevitable and a chance for something new, we're better able to adapt and grow.

We all adapt, it’s how life works its magic across short and unimaginably long arcs of time. And when we find and remove the small limits of our personal adaptability, we can utilize this natural force as a powerful and reliable way to grow organizations and ourselves in meaningful directions.