Why the best coaches in the world are learning how to leverage adaptability in their businesses.

Simply put, because they are able to win more business, do more interesting projects, and have an even greater impact.?

Several essential leadership qualities have been recognised, researched and discussed over the years in many journals. Qualities like communication, creativity, critical thinking, and empathy.? However, just about every major study - from the World Economic Forum, and Deloitte, to Mckinsey, Linkedin and PWC - are placing ‘adaptability’ as the #1 essential skill of our time. Even citing adaptability as the leading delta in employability, and success.?

While it is vital to draw on our previous experiences with change to influence how we might address the next unforeseen challenge, being adaptable entails a level of mental flexibility, and rapid feedback loops, to remain open in our approach, acknowledging that we may succeed or fail* along the road.

*Fail - First Attempt In Learning

Adaptability— The Number 1 Skill in The Workplace

While this is a learnable skill we can all benefit from in a changing environment, it is especially important for leaders. Leaders will need to evolve their thinking, behavior and actions as they transition from supervisor to middle manager and eventually to more senior roles. As you advance in an organisation, leadership roles get more demanding and sophisticated, necessitating more nuanced influencing and persuasion abilities. As leaders' seniority grows, mastering these three easy steps will help to unlock high impact and performing teams. :?

In business, adaptability research and science are identifying clear links which underpin personal and organisational achievement, enabling agility amid spiralling complexity, the accelerating pace of technological developments, and ceaseless disruption.

Today’s highest-performing leaders must be situational and dynamic. Able to contextualise vast information and embrace an experimental mindset as circumstances demand. Rather than being experts in narrow areas, leaders – and their organisations – must be good at learning how to do new things. Unfortunately, far too many people in leadership positions are unwilling to adapt to the changing times or do so ineffectually, and because of this, many companies ultimately perish.

“All success is successful adaptation. All failure is a failure to adapt.”? Dr Max Mckeown

During periods of transformation and systematic upheaval, the prospect of making changes can be a daunting and difficult challenge. Change can trigger fear in people, especially in leadership positions. Often defaulting to familiar patterns of whatever solutions worked in the past. This is one of many? "adaptability paradoxes": when we most need to learn and change, we stick with what we know, often in a detrimental way.

To overcome this challenge, leaders must work on transforming their relationship with change and uncertainty by building their ‘unlearning’ capacity, a skill of adaptability. A fundamental skill that will benefit themselves and their businesses in perpetuity. Whilst change can be difficult, having the support of a coach throughout the change process increases the odds of a successful implementation while building more robust, more resilient employees for the future.

We know coaching has a profound business impact:

88% increase in productivity** among managers who received personal coaching rather than the traditional managerial training program.

** Research by the President of Human Resources Solutions Inc, Dr. Gerald Olivero PhD,?

A study published by the Manchester Review stated that 100 executives from Fortune 1000 companies reported benefits to themselves and their companies after completing an executive coaching program. These benefits included:

32% rise in executive retention

While the changing times pose a significant challenge for business leaders, they pose an exciting opportunity for coaches. Many coaches are beginning to realise there is a large skill gap across various industries regarding adaptability, and they are starting to leverage this to their advantage.

To be a highly valuable business coach, you must have the right approach and solutions for the demands of today. Backed by access to the right toolkits, community and learning to scale your solutions for maximum impact. The coaches who are learning the science, and model of AQ (Adaptability Quotient) are benefiting from the fastest growing adaptability focussed community in the world. A vital tool for growth and validated measurement.

What Is the Adaptability Quotient, And What Does It Measure?

The Adaptability Quotient (AQ) is “a measure of the abilities, characteristics, and environmental factors which impact the successful behaviours and actions of people, and organisations to effectively respond to uncertainty, new information, or changed circumstances” Decoding AQ 2022. ?

Based on AQai’s A.C.E. model, A person's AQ will be composed by various aspects of employee adaptability and situational factors. :?

• The ability to adapt as a personal skill or resource: How and to what degree do I adapt?
• The character (willingness): why someone adapts as an individual difference: Who adapts and why??
• ?The environment that boosts or inhibits when someone can adapt: When does someone adapt and to what degree??

It's about rolling with the punches and working with, rather than against, change.

The Need for AQ

Adaptability is the most in-demand and critical skill organizations are seeking.

The skills we've acquired and polished over decades will be obsolete in a matter of years. It is imperative for businesses to rethink and reinvent themselves to survive and capitalise on new opportunities. It's no longer merely a matter of competitive advantage: we must adapt or become outdated; those who don't keep up will be left behind.

Be part of the solution:

In today's rapidly changing world, it is imperative to build a? future-thinking culture, and every firm and individual must adapt to survive. According to a 2020 World Economic Forum report and 2021 research by McKinsey and Company, owing to the pandemic's acceleration of automation:

·? By 2025, 85 million jobs will be lost.

·? By 2025, 97 million new employment will be generated.

·? 40% of today's employment will no longer exist in ten years.

·? 375 million individuals may need to change jobs and obtain new skills.

The demand for employees to upskill and reskill to maintain their value and relevance, to obtain a new job, to ensure employee mobility is a worldwide and industry-wide issue and opportunity. Organisations that invest in coaching will increase productivity, reduce employee stress and drive more successful innovation. Workforce retention will radically improve for those who can unlock the superpower of the adaptability of their talent.?

Here are some of the ways in which you, as a coach, can support your clients by improving their AQ:

• Talent Retention | Cultivate a Culture of Adaptability

The pandemic has fundamentally altered the workforce. Employees began resigning in droves during the pandemic - dubbed by the media as the Great Resignation - and filling vacancies has been challenging ever since. Employee retention numbers still look bleak, two years on. Adaptability is a practical and effective solution. Improving employee mobility is a key attribute to improve retention.

Unexpected or even expected change is one of the workplace's primary proven stress triggers and enhancers. 74% of employees have said they feel unable to "learn as they go" when presented with a challenge. This cognitive inflexibility can easily make employees feel frustrated and less resilient. Our adaptability is our best tool in navigating uncertainty and reducing stress.

Enhancing a culture that responds positively to change rather than falling victim to the company immune system response to change, can improve an organization's chance of success. Leadership plays a vital role in building adaptability and resilience into the fabric of a team's culture. A team can't adapt unless they have an adaptable leader and the right environment for change.

• Talent & Leadership Development | Connect It To Their Future

Adaptability in leadership and career agility are not just 'buzzwords' designed to improve a person's resume; they are critical for business success and career growth. For this reason, many employers look for adaptability when hiring new staff members. The skill is often included in job descriptions because of its importance for growth within a role.?

Unfortunately, it is a skill that many people do not possess, or know how to improve it. A PWC study found that 63% of CEOs are unable to find and recruit talent that can adapt to the requirements of the business. Similarly, research suggests that around ?44% of employees do not recognize adaptability as a skill they possess, with only 15% listing adaptability as a skill on their CV.?

Learning and growth should not be seen consigned to the annual 2-day leadership retreat or pinned on stacking content into a digital learning management system.? Building adaptable learning into the culture requires systems for psychological safety and context-specific interventions in real-time. Driving radical transparency, clear communications and a scalable, personalised approach.?

The opportunity to connect with an employee's own future vision - their own purpose, with that of the organization - will transform development with alignment, hope, and well-being front and centre.?

• Innovation and Change Culture | Building a Diverse and Inclusive? Workforce

Change Agents, Change Champions and Change Ambassadors are the titles given to those colleagues who clearly see the vision for the future, driving innovation and growth. They actively advocate for and do their best to facilitate the shift while supporting the team in integrating new initiatives.?

Building up a diverse and inclusive workforce made up of the full spectrum of Change Agents and Champions is essential for any organization. Helping to increase awareness and reduce resistance to the changes among your employees.

But how do you know who are the right people to drive these roles?

How do you empower these leaders to connect, inspire and engage the wider workforce?

By training your leaders with the language of adaptability, the AQ data intelligence, and skills roadmaps to successfully navigate continual change. You will ensure the future success of the organization?

ACT NOW.?

Come for the learning, impact, and revenue growth - Stay for the community and mission.

Interested in learning how you can leverage adaptability in your businesses?

Do you want to win more business, do more interesting projects, and have even greater impact with your clients?

Over 150 leading coaches and consultants from around the world have become AQai certified in the last 12 months.

Take these two simple steps to start your own AQ journey:

Step 1 - Join one of our interactive webinar sessions and get an introduction to the first-ever complete framework on Adaptability Intelligence

Step 2 - Enrol in one of our AQ certification programs to learn about the AQ model, how to measure the adaptability of your clients' workforces, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Helping to solve some of the most challenging and interesting issues organizations are facing.??

There is one conclusion

The future belongs to the most adaptable, and you can be part of the story. Part of the mission to ensure no one is left behind in the fastest period of change we have ever seen.

The evidence is mounting, from every direction…

According to the 2021 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 'Adaptability' and

'Resilience' have become the most in-demand and important

talents required in the contemporary workplace, even outranking technical

skills and emotional intelligence.

So what are you waiting for?