Personal agility: a Key prerequisite to Effective Leadership
Sep 17, 2023
We live in a chaotic world. Everything is changing very quickly.
Acknowledging we all live in an era of global permanent change, agility means being able to face changing conditions, anticipating them and responding in the most appropriate way. As a result, people with this skill can manage situations and transitions with ease.
This implies taking a strategic and proactive approach to change, a willingness to cope with everything that life throws at you, doing what you can to anticipate challenges and opportunities, being willing to rethink your past assumptions and readily, willingly, rapidly, effectively, strategically adapting to change.
People who are anchored to the status quo and their habits and struggle to deal with change usually lack the perspective to deal with the ever changing realities. They lack the ability to anticipate and strategically adapt to change. They deny, ignore and/or resist change and blame others for changing circumstances. Generally, they maintain an inflexible attitude in the face of challenges; they do not see the opportunities that change may bring and are unwilling to explore or be open to new possibilities.
In today’s economy, personal agility is an increasingly important skill. In order to be comfortable with change and ambiguity, adapting well to new realities and make the best move on the chessboard even when all the info is not yet available or when you do not have the big picture below are some tips to immediately apply to your everyday reality.
- Educate yourself.
- Learn from experience.
- Seek out info, ask lots of questions.
- Examine situations from many perspectives.
- Be willing to question long held assumptions
- Anticipate change and prepare for dealing with it.
- Be adaptable, flexible.
- Be curious and interested in new way of doing things
- Adjust your approach to meet the demand of ever changing situations
- Maintain the big picture.
- Do not let change put you in a bad mood
- Focus on what you can control (acknowledge what is within your control and what is not)
- Stay connected to reality (separate facts from fiction)
Acknowledge that the normal human response when dealing with change is denial, resistance, exploration and new beginning. For this reason, do your best to maintain an open mind towards change and its phases. Work with a Social and Emotional Intelligence Certified Coach.
“Speed, agility, and responsiveness are the keys to future success.” — Anita Roddick
“Social and Emotional Intelligence (SEI) is the ability to be aware of your own emotions, and those of others, in the moment, and to use that information to manage ourselves and our relationships.” ― The Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence
