How can you develop adaptability in the face of new challenges?

Use what you've learned from past challenges to succeed with new challenges. Some parts of your previous lessons will always relate to your future lessons. Find those commonalities and build on them.

For me it always been attitude. Having a great attitude and positive mindset will allow you to over anything. In my recent experience of having a massive hemorrhagic stroke two year's ago after retirement from a long professional baseball career (at age 57) I've had to persevere in my daily life and take my therapy very seriously. My overall positive attitude and relentless mindset has allowed me to get closer to a full recovery...

Challenges, both internally and externally to your career are inevitable and require you to deal with change. A growth mindset is critical to anyone's ability to adapt to this recurring change. A powerful twist to put on the growth mindset is to see each challenge that comes your way as a gift. Instead of beating yourself up for not addressing each stage of the challenge with perfection, see each step as a gift giving you new knowledge or skills to be even more prepared for the next obstacle.

You can't connect the dots until you collect the dots. Adaptability is about navigating a variety of challenges. Effectively doing so requires a broad knowledge base. This knowledge comes from learning. It can be reading, working on a new problem your company faces, brainstorming with others, or getting outside your bubble. I worked with a mentee who has a research based background in government work, who wanted to change industries. We worked to get in touch & meet a co-founder of the company he wanted to work for. To elevate the relationship we invited the co-founder to be interviewed by my mentee in front of his MBA class to promote the company & educate his peers. Soon the cofounder helped my mentee land an interview & he was hired.

A common thing to hear in the workplace is, "but, is always been done this way." It's natural. Change is not easy. The thought of it makes us curl into the fetal position. When I get that feeling, it's my trigger to use mindfulness to explore WHY I feel that way. Next time you are triggered to adapt take three deep breaths and ask yourself two questions. 1. What's the worst that can happen if we change? 2. What's the best thing that can happen? Chances are the worst is not really that bad and the best can rant be limitless. Be open and be aware of when your resistant to change and your world will be have endless possibilities.

Many years ago, one my trusted colleagues placed on my desk a printout of one of those in-flight emergency cards that instructs one to "put your emergency oxygen mask on before helping others." I immediately got the message - you cannot lead a team, process, collaborate, or innovate effectively if you are in your own way! I find this to be valuable advice to keep in mind when growing your ability to adapt. I still keep that printout on the wall in my desk to this day.

My career started on Wall Street. Working harder had always created success for me, until now. After getting passed over for a few promotions, I realized my strategy needed help. I went directly to the person who passed me over for a recent promotion and told him my dilemma of feeling stuck. He told me I needed to expand my skill set & recommended doing volunteer work. I shared with my network I was looking to volunteer. Soon I was introduced to a NY Film Festival Director & was helping him find sponsors for the event. Through much effort, we landed Jameson Irish Whiskey as a title sponsor. It taught me 'selling' is about solving real problems for others. Asking for help, a new mindset, & outside the box thinking soon landed me a promotion.