Agility in Leadership

All of us have an inner dialogue filled with thoughts, feelings and emotions trying to anticipate what may happen in the near future, or how to avoid potential downfalls. The central question that I have explored over the past couple of weeks is, “how can I be more flexible?” Call it a toxic trait, or personality flaw, but I absolutely love routine. It is how I function best, and I enjoy the predictability of my morning coffee, or planning out my day. I also realize because of this, my flexibility with changes in a day must improve so I can get better.

Clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Ramani Durvasula has a great explanation of flexibility in our psyche. She describes: “It’s an adaptability, it is a self-awareness and an awareness of others. It’s the ability to engage in novel problem-solving and not get stuck on a singular solution. It’s the capacity to be able to self-regulate and to self-soothe.”

If you can, take a second and think about a time when a situation didn’t turn out the way you envisioned it would in your mind. I think we all visualize situations, conversations, and potential outcomes to situations daily. Two things really stand out to me in Dr. Ramani’s explanation:

Adaptability

Being adaptable is probably more important now than ever. It seems that every day there is a new discovery or shift in our world. I’ve shared this before but sticking to how things have always been done is only the beginning of falling behind. Of course, there are traditions that can be celebrated, but having the ability to be flexible and adjust in real time is healthy and needed.  

Self-awareness

Understanding yourself and how people perceive you in highly important. I may believe myself to be the nicest person to walk the face of the earth, but if every interaction I have renders the opposite there is something on my end that needs to change. Don’t be afraid to ask a couple of people who you are close with to describe you, or how they feel after they have conversations with you. This could be just the feedback you need to understand how well you deal with different circumstances.

I hope you continue to find new ways to grow in your leadership, and as always, I am wishing you the best.