How to deal with uncertainty to thrive

How to deal with uncertainty to thrive

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.

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.

Yet the same conditions that make adapting so important can also trigger fear, making us default to familiar patterns or whatever solutions worked the last time.

This is called the “adaptability paradox”: when we most need to learn and change, we stick with what we know, often in a way that stifles learning and innovation.

Even positive events, such as receiving a promotion or beginning a new workstream, can turn negative unless we can maintain a learning mindset while under pressure.

Unfortunately, people often don’t put in the hard work of learning and mastering something new unless there is a compelling motivation to do so. When that motivation arrives, it’s often accompanied by pressure—to avert failure, for instance, or to attain a high-stakes reward or incentive.

To avoid this trap, leaders must work on transforming their relationship with change and uncertainty by building adaptability as a skill that benefits themselves and their organisations at a deeper level.

This is not a natural skill—even for the most successful among us—but it can be nurtured.

And the rewards are worth the effort: companies with strong cultures that emphasise adaptability have better financial performance than entities that lack those attributes.
What steps can you take to become more adaptable, including emphasising both well-being and purpose, practicing an adaptive mindset, building deeper human connections, and making it safe to learn?

The power of resilience has been amply demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis. Although resilience and adaptability are linked, they are different in important ways. Resilience often entails responding well to an external event, while adaptability moves us from enduring a challenge to thriving beyond it. We don’t just “bounce back” from difficult situations—we “bounce forward” into new realms, learning to be more adaptable as our circumstances evolve and change.

Learning agility, emotional flexibility, and openness to experience are all part of a multidimensional understanding of adaptability. They help us maintain deliberate calm under pressure and display curiosity amid change. They allow us to respond in ways that are the opposite of a knee-jerk reaction by making thoughtful choices.

Studies have shown that adaptability is also linked to important psychological skills, ranging from coping to personal growth. In the workplace, higher levels of adaptability are associated with greater levels of learning ability and better performance, confidence, and creative output. Adaptability is also crucial for psychological and physical well-being and is linked to higher levels of social support and overall life satisfaction.

Over the next week or so we will explore some ways that leaders can invest in adaptability to prepare for a fast-paced and uncertain future.