Action 7: Adaptability

The seventh action that challenges business leaders is adaptability.

On one hand we are all hard-wired to adapt. Humans are considered one of the most adaptable creatures on earth. Opposable thumbs, large brains, and ability to acclimate to different temperatures are all examples of our profound capactiy to change when necessary.

So why, then, do we seem to resist so strongly when something new comes our way? Why do we - and the people around us - resist change? Even good changes?

As adaptable as we humans are, we also have a keen sense of uncertainty, and we gravitate away from it quickly. Uncertainty can be fearful, and at times even painful. Uncertainty is very uncomfortable. And if human beings do one thing well, it is to avoid discomfort. (Another day, I will address time management and procrastination, and their relationship to success, as functions of avoiding discomfort.)

We resist change, because change is uncertain. It's not that we don't like new things. It's that we don't like uncertainty.

We don't use the new software, because if we still have access to the old software that we know how to use, we don't have to go through the discomfort (or length of time) of learning.

We don't change our diet because it takes effort to learn to cook new foods, and it is uncomfortable not having the "comfort foods" we have come to depend on.

We don't coach our employees to help them grow, because the speed of their growth is slower than the ease of just telling them what to do.

We don't have hard conversations because...well, you get the idea.

In each of these cases, we know that the new thing brings an end result that is better than the original. But it takes discomfort to get there.

Adapting relies on embracing temporary discomfort, to produce lasting results.

So the challenge you are faced with as a leader is not to become an "early adopter", or even a cheerleader for the new thing. It is to learn to embrace the temporary discomfort.

And part of that discomfort is having patience for the time it takes grow; the time it takes for your team to adapt; the time it takes to get from where you are, to where you want to be.

Our species didn't just wake up one morning with opposable thumbs...it took a few (million) years.

Go. Be. Profound.

G