You're part of a team that's struggling to adapt. What can you do to help?

To truly understand a team's ability to change and adapt, leaders must also understand the unique abilities and character traits of each team member. That's where the AQai Adaptability Assessment and insights platform comes in. By surfacing hidden abilities, this tool provides valuable insights into team dynamics and why certain teams struggle to innovate or adopt new practices. Think of team adaptability like an iceberg where the AQai Adaptability Assessment helps leaders see what's below the surface and determine if their team has what it takes to make the necessary changes. Investing in tools like AQai can make all the difference in building a team that can thrive in today's ever-changing business landscape.

While it is important to communicate the purpose and benefits of change, this is not the first conversation one wants to have with your team. Change management is a dynamic process and should never be implemented by following a specific change model or formula. To do so is why more than seventy percent of change initiatives fail. Conversation one should be structured to elicit feedback as to how each team member feels about the project, how it is going to impact their other work, and what reservations and concerns they have. This feedback, will allow the team leader to address friction points, skills shortages, time constraints and work loads in a way that people buy in to the change process, rather than it being rammed down their throat.

Shaping expectations and buy-in to any change initiative is time well invested. As team leader it is imperative to know each of your team members well, how they think and what motivates them if they are going to perform at their best. Once the path forward has been agreed, regular one on one short informal sessions will allow one to assess ongoing team dynamics and pinpoint where and when interventions need to take place. Regular team meetings are not just a time to track and manage change progress, but also an opportunity to acknowledge progress and celebrate even small successes, all of which helps foster engagement, ownership and commitment.