We’ve all heard it before…change is the only constant. While that may sound like just a clever little sound bite, it is, in fact, quite true.
Every customer relationship, every situation and almost every aspect of your business—and life— is undergoing constant change and that can bring on great amounts of stress. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are skills that you can learn to help manage these stresses and even harness that power of change to be a better advisor for your customers. How? The answer can be found in one simple word…adaptability.
Adaptability can be defined as the ability to absorb change and uncertainty while maintaining high levels of performance. You may notice that the definition does not say anything about “embracing change” or “enjoying change”—adaptability is about being able to absorb or handle change and uncertainty while performing at a high level. And the good news is that adaptability is a skill that can be learned and developed.
There are signs and visual clues that a person has a high degree of adaptability. These include:
Most people—about 80 percent—have naturally low to moderate levels of adaptability. So, the person we just described above, is pretty rare. But you can strive to be more highly adaptable by understanding the core elements of adaptability.
Your ambiguity threshold indicates how much change you can tolerate. The higher your threshold, the more change you can absorb while performing at a high level. Another point to consider is that our ambiguity threshold can change depending on the situation and what other stressors we have going on in life.
These 5 practices can help increase your ambiguity threshold.
With energy! Physical, emotional, and mental well-being are critical to adaptability. Keep your energy stores high by finding the right combination of exercise (aerobic, strength-training and stretching), and relaxation (meditation, napping and practicing good sleep hygiene), to help you be ready to adapt to any challenge thrown your way.
While change is inevitable, being overwhelmed by it is not. You can help build your tolerance for change, and your skills of adaptability over time, and the best time to start is now!
Source: Korn Ferry Alliance, www.kornferry.com