When was the last time you challenged the status quo to achieve breakthrough performance?  In today’s environment of complex challenges and rapid change, the ability to solve problems is critical for survival. Unfortunately when we are in a position for a long time, we may tend to become accustomed to the status quo and fail to challenge the process in order to continue to grow and improve. We develop inertia.

Adaptability is the ability to change (or be changed) to fit new circumstances . It is a crucial skill and an important competency for survival including survival at your job.

When we do something repeatedly for a long time we tend to automate it. We perfect the way we do it and it becomes natural for us to do it the same way over and over. Through practice, what we do is eventually entrenched and it ends up making the action so easy and automatic that we never give it another thought.

Adaptability denotes willingness to get out of one’s comfort zone, and learn continuously as a way of responding to changed surroundings.  

Repetitive behavior simplifies life and makes us efficient in what we do. Unfortunately it also puts us in a comfort zone that blocks our sensitivity to changes in the external environment. We tend to stop noticing things that are not consistent with what we know. You have perhaps heard the statement that past behavior predicts future performance. While this is largely true, the statement can only hold if the environment in the past remains unchanged in the future. This is not usually the case. The reality is that our environment is changing all the time and it gives different messages and signals as it changes.

These messages and signals are missed if we are stuck in a rigid frame of repetitive behavior. In other words the world moves ahead of us and without us. So beware of the seasoned employee who may carry the title of ‘institutional memory’. If the ‘institutional memory’ is stuck in old and rigid behavioral frames, he or she may be averse to change or even insensitive to the new signals of a  changed environment.

Adaptability denotes willingness to get out of one’s comfort zone, and learn continuously as a way of responding to changed surroundings. Adaptability marks the difference between successful and unsuccessful employees.  The bottom line is that we must be flexible in a rapidly changing environment. Repetitive behavior and inertia in a comfort zone will make us rigid, unresponsive to change and reluctant to learn and adopt new ways. This will have an impact on our survival and success. People who embrace adaptability are able to deal more positively with change. They are also able to do what it takes to change their approaches to issues and shift their priorities.

Adaptability starts with accepting that things will change. This enables one to adapt personal approaches to meet the needs of different or new situations. An employee who adapts to new ideas and initiatives across a wide variety of issues or situations will be able to shift priorities, change style and respond with new approaches as needed to deal with new or changing demands. When an employee’s adaptability skills advance the employee will seek opportunities for change in order to achieve improvement in work processes or systems. Such an employee will challenge the status quo to achieve breakthrough performance.

In this regard employees who wish to enhance their careers and go up the hierarchical company  or organizational ladder  should be prepared to adapt to new ways of doing things in a changing environment.  This attribute will prepare them to move up the career ladder.  For more information about adaptability in your  career  Visit  our  Email  coaching  program  at  http://www.expressexpertise.com/lesson/getting- started/ and make a coaching request EE