What is adaptability?
- Adaptability means the ability to be flexible and adjust to changing factors, conditions or environments. Being
adaptable is highly valued in almost all workplaces, since every industry and business can be unpredictable.
Effective strategies to champion changes:
- Be responsive to new information.
- This may include stretch goals you set with your supervisor, which may be challenging at first, but
may increase or improve your skill set.
- Explore training on Microsoft Office (Microsoft Essentials and Microsoft Desktop), public speaking,
soft skills, or working with your manager to find possible opportunities to shadow colleagues in their
jobs.
- There is no use in wasting energy on things you cannot control, but you can be proactive on things
that are in your control or that you may influence.
- Be responsive and proactive to embrace any changes that may occur during this new project.
- Demonstrate initiative; show that you can adapt to the changes that will result from the new process.
- Stay current with what is changing in your industry or area of business. Keep one step ahead.
How to improve adaptability skills
1. Be aware of changes in your environment
- For instance, you might observe the finance team's new budget and stay updated on current
allowances if your team's responsibilities involve the use of company funds.
2. Develop a growth mindset
- Developing a growth mindset can positively influence your ability to take on new challenges, find new
opportunities to develop your knowledge and contribute to new projects.
3. Set goals for yourself
- For instance, if you feel you might be weaker in your nonverbal communication or you tend to
procrastinate when expected to complete challenging tasks, you might set a goal to work on each
aspect of your skills so you can improve your overall ability to adapt to changes in the workplace.
4. Ask for feedback
- As you develop throughout your career, you might think about requesting feedback or constructive
criticism from your managers to help you improve on your weaker skills.
5. Learn to acknowledge and accept change
- Additionally, learning how to be willing to accept change can be an effective step toward recognizing
when you need to make adjustments to make transitions smoother for yourself.
Types of adaptability skills
1. Communication skills
- Active listening shows you are attentive and ready to take a new direction, and developing your
nonverbal communication skills can help you navigate changes in team relationships or dynamics in
the workplace.
2. Interpersonal skills
- Similar to effectively communicating with others, having excellent interpersonal skills can also play a
key role in your overall adaptability.
3. Problem-solving skills
- Moreover, being able to observe and analyze how you might approach solving a new problem can
show your managers your willingness to make adjustments or improvements to the way you
approach solving problems
4. Creative and strategic thinking skills
- For instance, developing new ideas to market products, finding ways to adapt to a changing market
and implementing methods to improve and develop new strategies can all showcase your overall
adaptability skills.
5. Teamwork skills
- Being able to work on a diverse team of people and deal with conflict, differing ideas and other
dynamics that can occur can positively benefit how adaptive you are in a team environment
6. Organizational skills
- Organizational skills can include several different aspects that can make this skill necessary to develop
your adaptability skills.
Adaptability skills in the workplace
- If there are changes to processes, procedures or operational practices, you can ask for clarification
from teammates and managers to help you better plan for transitions.
- You might request opportunities to work on tasks that may be new to you or offer to take on
responsibilities that require creative approaches.
- If sharing your ideas with your colleagues is something that makes you anxious, you could set a goal to
contribute to team meetings and collaborations.
- Try getting all aspects of your work organized, such as documents, required paperwork, projects and
other work information, so you're prepared in case there are transitions within your job.
How to highlight adaptability skills
1. Adaptability skills on a resume
- You might consider the required job skills and compare them with your developed skill sets.
2. Adaptability skills in a cover letter
- However your adaptability skills have helped you achieve goals, consider mentioning it in your cover
letter.
3. Adaptability skills in an interview
- You can highlight your adaptability skills by providing the interviewer with examples of how you have
applied your skills in past roles.
