In a world of political and social uncertainty, rapid change and the growth of AI, the one quality that every leader needs is the ability to adapt. But what do we mean by adapt? According to the Oxford Dictionary, adapt means ‘to change your behaviour in order to deal more successfully with a new situation.’
In a leadership context it means to help your team to change their behaviour to meet different situations quickly and easily. In this context, I am referring to adaptability as a skill. This is not to say that some personality factors can influence adaptability (e.g. openness to experience) but for the most part thinking about this as a skill is far more productive. Adaptability can be thought of as a skill like learning to play golf or playing a musical instrument. This means that you can practice and develop this capability.
But how do you develop your (and the team’s) adaptability skill?
The starting point to develop the adaptability of your team is that you need to role-model this yourself. It’s not enough as a leader to ask your team to be more adaptable if you are not willing to demonstrate this skill yourself. And you will find that the more your team adapts, the more you will, so you create a positive cycle.
Fortunately, there is a fast, easy and energising way to develop your adaptability muscle every day.
I call it Switch Thinking.
As the name implies, Switch Thinking is a way of moving to another way of thinking – on demand. By doing so you can often see a situation in a new way. This means that by switching how your team thinks, you can switch how they feel and what they do.
For example:
The CEO has requested that the project your team has been working on has to be accelerated and launched in half the time.
Your team’s first impulse may be that it ‘cannot be done.’
As a leader you might try this switch of thinking with your team:
Ask what is probable?
Switch
Then what is possible?
Switch
And finish with what is impossible?
In my experience these switches can often unlock new possibilities and options. Perhaps what was considered impossible is not so? These questions might encourage your team to let go of what is peripheral and focus on what is truly important to deliver.
The key message?
Your team is adapting to this new situation by switching their thinking.
Notice that I am using the word switch rather than change. Change often comes with a lot of baggage. It can be slow, permanent, often top down and sometimes used as an excuse to reduce headcount.
Switch by comparison is inviting, open and temporary. It builds on what people are already doing (e.g. switch concentration, switch the conversation) and it tells your brain exactly what you want to do.
For example:
Can we switch the question around?
We have been focused on results, can we switch our focus to how people are feeling?
We have been looking at the problem from a competitive perspective; lets switch to a customer lens.
These are small switches in thinking that can make a big impact on how your team sees a situation and how they respond.
For example:
The usual approach is:
What is not working and what do we need to improve?
Switch
What is working well and can we do more of this?
Language is important to inform your (and others) thinking. To introduce the concept of switch thinking, simply use the word switch as frequently as you can. I have found that when a leader role-models this expression in their interactions the team follows and starts using the word switch in their meetings, presentations and everyday conversations.
Switch also can be applied to not only thinking but to your actions as well. For example:
The usual approach might be that all your meetings are online.
Switch
You can suggest that the next meeting is face to face and encourage team members to have a coffee after?
It’s a small switch that could make a big impact.
When you switch the idea of adapting, a change in a situation does not seem so scary. In fact, it can be exciting and open new opportunities to create, learn and grow. Who wants to do the same thing again and again? The idea of switching your thinking means that your team is not trapped by what it has always thought and done. This insight can be incredibly empowering for people.
To use Switch Thinking I suggest a three step approach:
Pause – Switch – Play.
As a leader when a situation changes (or in fact when you would like to change one), you pause for a moment.
What is different in the situation, what has changed, where is the energy?
Then you suggest a switch in thinking. It does no matter what the switch is, you are interested in movement away from the usual or default team response.
For example:
What is the way we have always done this?
Switch
What is a different way that might have twice the impact?
Then you encourage the team to play with this switch for two minutes. This encourages all the team members to really go for it without filtering their responses. Ask them (and AI) to create and enhance on the ideas of each other.
After the two-minute thinking sprint ask the team to try and connect your potential new approach with the existing one. You might just discover a new way that is grounded in what has worked before.
You can use Switch Thinking on most challenges, issues or problems. It’s a powerful way to engage and energise your team and the two-minute switch makes it efficient. This approach means that you do not have to wait for the right team, place or mood to adapt to a change, solve a problem or brainstorm a fresh idea.
What can you switch and what can you not?
As a leader ask yourself, what is core to your team and should not be changed without extensive thought? It could be your team’s values, purpose or vision for example.
Switch
What can my team switch? It could be a process, perspective, question, KPI or an assumption.
I have found that helping your team switch their thinking is an effective way to develop individual and collective adaptability. But why wait for a change in a situation, goal, budget or timing to use it?
My suggestion is to encourage your team to try switching every day. It’s the ideal way to build a more adaptive culture, a two-minute switch at a time.
