Adaptability®
People especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.
Score Distribution
Shows scores for this strength across all staff.
Users with Adaptability strength
In their TOP FIVE strengths:
Theme Description
You live in the moment. You don't see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn't mean that you don't have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don't resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.
Action Items
- Seek roles in which success depends upon responding to constantly changing circumstances. Consider career areas such as journalism, live television production, emergency healthcare, and customer service. In roles of this type, the best react the fastest and stay level headed.
- Fine-tune your responsiveness. For example, if your job demands unanticipated travel, learn how to pack and leave in 30 minutes. If your work pressure comes in unpredictable spurts, practice the first three moves you will always make when the pressure hits.
- During times when the pressure is on, help your colleagues find productive ways to relieve the pressure and therefore make progress. You can be the spark that "unfreezes" them.
- Cultivate your reputation as a calm and reassuring person when others become upset by daily events.
- Never apologize for your spontaneity. On the contrary, help others realize how many experiences might be missed if you don't seize the moment now.
- Avoid roles that demand structure and predictability. These roles will quickly frustrate you, make you feel inadequate, and stifle your independence.
- Look to others for planning. People who are strong in themes such as Focus, Strategic, or Belief can help you shape your longer-term goals, leaving you to excel at dealing with the day-to-day variations.
How to Manage a Person Especially Talented in the Adaptability Theme
- This person lives to react and respond. Position him so that his success depends on his ability to accommodate the unforeseen and then run with it.
- Let him know about the planning you are doing, but unless he is also strong in Focus, don't expect him to do the planning with you. He is likely to find much planning work endlessly boring.
- With his instinctively flexible nature he is a valuable addition to almost every team. When balls are dropped or plans go awry, he will adjust to the new circumstances and try to make progress. He will not sit on the sidelines and sulk.
- He will be most productive on short-term assignments that require immediate action. He prefers a life filled with many quick skirmishes rather than long, drawn-out campaigns.
- Examine his other dominant themes. If he also has a talent for Empathy, you might try positioning him where he has to be sensitive to and accommodate the varied needs of customers or guests. If one of his other strong themes is Developer, you should cast him in a mentor role. With his willingness to "go with the flow" he can provide a wonderful environment in which others can experiment and learn.
- Be ready to excuse this person from meetings about the future, such as goal-setting meetings or career-counseling sessions. He is a "here-and-now" person and he will find these meetings rather irrelevant.