Despite how many times you experience change, it can still be daunting. Especially these days where it seems to be happening every minute. You blink, and something new already happened. Changes can also happen to any organization. What you’re doing now may not be appropriate five years after. And when these changes happen, you must be prepared. Your key to managing change is adaptability.
Adaptability as the key to managing change
Do you remember your first came to your job? Everything was new and uncertain, and you know almost nothing about how things work in the company. But as more time passes by, you notice that you’re getting better at your work, and you can do it with more confidence and speed than before. This is because you have already adapted to the job and the organization.
Adaptability is an innate ability for humans. It’s how we continue to survive despite the changes that we experience. However, this means that no, you can’t train people to be adaptable. What you can do is to manage yourself in a way that unleashes your natural adaptive abilities.
When change happens, especially in an organization, there are a lot of things affected. Because of this, people, including you, may fear it. After all, change brings uncertainty. But if you’re adaptable, you’ll be able to face these changes better.
Ways to be more adaptable
So, how can you and your organization be more adaptable? Here are some ways:
Self and Organizational Awareness
Your body and brain are already conditioned to adapt to changes. That’s why when you do something repeatedly, it becomes easier to do it because your body and brain adapt to allow you to do it without thinking about the task.
And because you’re naturally adaptable, when something new happens, you can always adapt again. Sometimes, you can get overwhelmed by what you feel about the change. The key is to look past your emotions and to what you should do. This is where self-awareness comes in.
And this is not just for individuals. Organizations can be self-aware, too. This is called organizational awareness, and according to Korn Ferry Institute, it means having the ability to read a group’s emotional currents and power relationships and identify influencers, networks, and dynamics within the organization.
Continuous Learning
Continuous learning is essential to adaptability. To be able to cope with changes easily, it’s best that you equip yourself with more information, not only at just your core discipline but also outside of it. You don’t know when you’ll suddenly need knowledge on a certain topic, so it’s best that you continuously learn and improve yourself. So that when the time comes you’re going to need certain information, you wouldn’t be starting from scratch.
Prepare for the unexpected
Of course, being prepared is one of the best ways to easily adapt when the unexpected happens. Whenever you do something, it’s best to always think of as many outcomes as possible and determine what sort of actions you’re going to do when it does occur.
Organizational changes may be overwhelming. But you have to remember that the uncertainty you’re feeling now will pass. Your key to managing change is adaptability. The faster you adapt, the better you can manage change.
