Adaptability

Are you flexible and adaptable or are you stuck in your ways and rigid? If you are saying rigid, I think you should change your viewpoint on this. Here is why. Teamwork and personal rigidity just don't mix. If you want to work well with others and be a good team player, you have to be willing to adapt yourself to your team. Team players who exhibit adaptability have specific characteristics within them. In my mind adaptable people are

- Teachable - Long distance swimmer Dian Nyad said ' I'm willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I'm interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers.'  

Adaptable people always place a high priority on breaking new ground. They are highly teachable.

- Emotionally Secure - People who are not emotionally secure see almost everything as a challenge or a threat. They meet with you with rigidity or suspicion with the addition of another talented person added to the team, as an alteration in their position or title, or a change in the way things are done. But secure people are not made nervous by evolution itself. They evaluate a new situation or a change in their responsibilities based on their merit.

- Creative - When difficult times come, creative people find a way. Creativity fosters adaptability.

- Service Minded - People who are focused on themselves are less likely to make changes for the team then people focused on serving others. If your goal is to serve the organization, adapting to accomplish the particular purpose is not difficult. The first key to being a team player is willing to adapt yourself to the team - not an expectation that the team will adapt to you.

Are you willing to adapt to your team in order to build a high-performance team in order to succeed?