Issue #68: On Increasing Adaptability, the Key to Leadership, and More

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INSIGHTS (on leadership/self-leadership)

One of the most in-demand skills today is adaptability (not surprising given what we’ve all been through the last several years). Increasing your adaptability involves strengthening three types of flexibility:

· Intellectual flexibility – this means keeping an open mind, incorporating new data and drawing conclusions accordingly, switching quickly back and forth between the big picture and detail, creative solutioning, and leveraging your learning agility (ability to learn).

· Emotional flexibility – i.e. not getting overly emotional about the changing conditions in a way that negatively influences behavior, and remaining resilient if changing conditions bring adversity.

· Dispositional flexibility – this means being receptive to change, having a “can-do” attitude, being willing to alter your working style or approach, and having the confidence to improvise, experiment, or switch courses quickly.

Get more flexible, become more adaptable.

IMPERFECTIONS (a mistake many make)

I was at a leadership conference recently and heard a quote that resonated with me as the key to leadership, from Dr. Brian Brim:

“Don’t show them your superpowers, show them theirs.”

Too many leaders mistakenly put all their efforts into showcasing their strengths to the organization, missing the point that it’s first and foremost about unlocking others’ abilities.

You bring out others' potential when you invest in their learning and growth, by coaching them, giving them learning opportunities, and not punishing them unduly for their failures. You unlock their superpowers when you grant them autonomy generously and guide them without over-directing them. When you celebrate their successes in meaningful ways, uplift their self-confidence, and when you help them challenge their limiting beliefs.

Bottom line, it’s about making one of your super-strengths helping people realize theirs.

IMPLEMENTATION (one research-backed strategy, tip, or tool)

Keeping with last week's theme of productivity tips, here’s a strategy for overcoming perfectionism.

Focus on process versus outcome.

Perfectionists focus on the outcome (will it be perfect or not?), missing the richness of the process - the opportunities to learn and grow along the way.

A LEAD ON! reader shared with me that his perfectionism kept him from learning how to do things he was interested in because he couldn’t be perfect at them right away. He wanted to learn to play the guitar, but because he couldn’t quickly perfect the art, he abandoned it. His perfectionism robbed him of the process of practicing, learning incrementally, and improving.

In other words, learn to fall in love with the process of improvement, not perfection.?

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