Wanted! Adaptability Quotient. Mensa-Level Status Not Required

In a Never Normal world, the Adaptability Quotient (AQ) is quickly becoming the new currency for success. Fortunately like IQ, you don't need to be at Mensa-level status to grow, thrive, and achieve success. How much AQ you need depends on the complexity and uncertainty of your environment, as well as your personal goals.?

The choice, however, isn't entirely ours to make. With uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity permeating almost every aspect of our lives, predictability of the future seems to be written in disappearing ink. Consequently, one thing is clear: everyone will need more AQ just to keep up, even if your goal is to just cope and survive.

So how much AQ do you need?

I’ve taken the liberty to break it down to three levels. We've got uppercase AQ for bold transformation, lowercase aq for "tweak-and-adjust" moments, and sQ for "stick to the script."?

Uppercase AQ: The "All-In" Zone

When the game changes, you've got to bring your A-game. That’s where high AQ comes in—the "all-in" zone. Think Netflix’s pivot from mailing DVDs to streaming or Adobe’s bold shift from boxed software to a cloud subscription model. Both companies cannonballed into new waters, rewriting their playbooks as they went. High AQ requires radical innovation and transformative change. It's about Explore and Transform, where teams embrace disruptive ideas and pioneer new business models, even if it means reinventing the wheel.

Lowercase aq: The "Tweak and Adjust" Territory

Not all challenges call for a total reinvention, which my friend Ben Bensaou distinguishes as innovation. Sometimes, you need subtle adjustments or to be innovating. Enter lowercase aq, the "tweak and adjust" territory. Picture an HR manager implementing a hybrid work model. The fundamentals are in place, but finesse is needed to maximize productivity and morale. The metric here is Utilize and Improve, where teams refine business models and emphasize incremental improvements that boost customer satisfaction and extend value from ongoing activities.

sQ: The "Stick to the Script" Routine

Then there’s sQ, where sticking to the script gets the job done. If a new retail store opens following the same setup as others in the chain, execution matters more than invention. The processes are tried-and-true, and success hinges on following the manual and maintaining quality control. No need to reinvent the wheel here—just keep rolling. That is, until the environment unexpectedly zigs when your plans zag.

Change Readiness and Reskilling Index

Two additional metrics are crucial in determining where you and your team stand: Change Readiness and Reskilling Index. Change Readiness measures how employees might respond to new challenges, gauging their openness to change. Meanwhile, the Reskilling Index assesses the extent to which your team can upskill, reskill, and de-skill quickly to meet evolving needs.

Conclusion: Future-Proof with Higher AQ

No matter what lies ahead, everyone will need a higher AQ to not just grow and thrive but also cope and survive. How much higher? Well that depends on how much AQ you have and the challenges and complexity that life throws at you. Whether you're diving into transformative change, tweaking and improving, or sticking to the script, adaptability is the ticket to navigating life's twists and turns.?

Find out where your team stands by taking the AQai assessment, which will reveal your team's strengths in radical innovation, incremental improvements, and readiness for change. Get clarity on your Explore and Transform vs. Utilize and Improve balance, along with your team's Change Readiness and Reskilling Index. Let us help you build a future-proof strategy. Get your team's AQ game plan ready today!