Blog Articles

Adaptive leadership is a new way of thinking, one with humility, vulnerability and more questions than answers at the heart. A stark contrast from the ‘tried & true’ methods that experience and time on the job gifted many leaders of the past. It emphasizes the need for leaders to be agile, learn continuously, and excel in unpredictable environments. In this edition, we revisit a crucial chapter from "The Future-Ready L&D Professional" by AQai co-founder Ross Thornley. We dive into adaptive leadership's core, the significance of Adaptability Intelligence (AQ®), making decisions amidst uncertainty, sparking innovation, and building an environment conducive to leadership and team growth.

It is in the most extreme situations we witness the best and worst of humanity. But what makes us turn one way or another? Difficult situations, ones perceived outside of our control, are the moments in life when choosing how to show up creates waves of immeasurable impact. Impact on ourselves, our family, our community, our Nation and our planet.

The primary value drivers throughout the Third industrial revolution were the biological hegemony of survival of the fittest, and its economic analog in capitalism, that profits flow to the shareholders. Biologists, economists, and climatologists today suggest that as a species we did diversify through competitive advantage. However, we evolved by integrating through collaborative advantage to optimize the whole system.

Futurists such as Ray Kurzweil have argued that technological changes are accelerating today at such unprecedented speed that it’s hard to even imagine what our world will look like in a decade. We could see more change in the next 10 years than we have in the previous 100. The World Economic Forum reports that 40% of jobs that exist today will not exist in 10 years. As we approach the 1-year anniversary of global lockdowns due to the Pandemic, it’s clear the world of work will never be the same. This pace of change is quickening, and that level of change and uncertainty can create a great deal of fear.

Adaptability has been described by the Harvard Business Review as ‘the new competitive advantage’. 2018 LinkedIn data revealed that adaptability topped the top five soft skills that employers were looking for in new candidates.

Understanding what drives us and keeps us motivated, especially during challenging times, is essential for personal and professional success. In today’s article, we are not going to be talking about ‘what someone is motivated by, i.e. money, fame, friendships, mastery or meaning’, but how you can leverage critical people data to inform practical communication strategies to shift responses of change from friction to flow. ‍Let’s lift the lid on the concept of Motivation Style, as explored in Ross Thornley's "Decoding AQ: Your Greatest Superpower."

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and shifting market dynamics, the corporate landscape faces a continuous state of flux. Challenges like managing remote work, embracing digital transformation, and keeping employees engaged have become commonplace. In this evolving scenario, Adaptability emerges as a critical skill for both leaders and employees.

As we explore in the AQai book "Decoding AQ," authored by our co-founder Ross Thornley, true adaptability involves embracing the key cycles of change. Understanding and leveraging these cycles will help us remain sane, experience less frustration and with intentionality, feel a little more accomplished as we say good night each day. Enhancing our Adaptability Quotient (AQ) will help us navigate through change more effectively.

At AQai, we believe that adaptability is a cornerstone of success, period. One of the key dimensions of adaptability is Grit, a concept extensively studied by psychologists like Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman. But what exactly is Grit, and how does it differ from Resilience?

The fourth industrial revolution is distinguished from the previous three because it acknowledges the interdependence and undeniable synergy between the quality of human life and the way work is accomplished.

When you invest your time, energy, and trust in someone to lead, it can be painful to watch them go.

Reflecting on a pivotal past episode of "Decoding AQ," featuring Mark Metry and hosted by Ross Thornley, we revisit the enduring relevance of their discussion on technology's role in shaping our own emotional health.

Simply put, because they are able to win more business, do more interesting projects, and have an even greater impact. Several essential leadership qualities have been recognised, researched and discussed over the years in many journals. Qualities like communication, creativity, critical thinking, and empathy. However, just about every major study - from the World Economic Forum, and Deloitte, to Mckinsey, Linkedin and PWC - are placing ‘adaptability’ as the #1 essential skill of our time. Even citing adaptability as the leading delta in employability, and success.

With the rise of machine-learning, robotics, sensors, algorithms, and AI, it’s becoming clear that humanity cannot continue to thrive in the same way we used to. Everywhere, professions are being challenged and in some areas outright outmoded by technological innovations, leaving us with questions as to who we are, our very identity, and how we can make a difference in this ever-changing world.

Staying ahead of the curve is not just about responding to change, but predicting and influencing it. The reality is that it’s not only technology that is rapidly changing our world, but the strategic by-products from access to tremendous amounts of information. We have more data than perhaps ever before in human history. A strange paradox exists; we hold an abundance of information on on the subject of nutrition and optimum human health, but we also have a crisis of health on our hands. At least in the West, where obesity levels are at an all time high (almost a third of adults in the UK are now clinically ‘obese’).

The Adaptability Quotient (AQ) assessment can be a useful tool for evaluating how adaptability influences behaviors that impact customer satisfaction. Adaptability, in this context, refers to an individual's or an organization's ability to adjust effectively to new conditions, challenges, or environments, which is particularly relevant in customer service roles. Here's how the AQ assessment could be applied to Customer Service Best in Class

Earlier this year, the BBC published a series of articles on the 101 ways worklife is changing today. One of the most interesting articles, by Lisa Leong, discussed adaptability quotient, and its importance in the modern workplace. In fact, Leong went so far as to describe AQ as the ‘X-factor for career success.’

In our exponential world, everything could (will) change tomorrow, and the pace of change is increasing, doubling in fact, in accordance with Moore’s law. Soon, we will approach the singularity, where the outcomes of change will become impossible to predict. How can we cope with this rapidly approaching moment of transformation?

In general, when we talk about our rapidly changing world, we talk about humans and technology in isolation, as though the two are naturally separated, or worse as two opposing forces in a battle for supremacy. However, I believe technology is inert until we give it a purpose, and at it’s best, when augmented alongside humans, it can unlock opportunities and accomplish solutions never-before-possible. Technology has always had a symbiotic relationship with humankind, and informed the way we interact with the world around us.

I was introduced to the acronym VUCA in the early 2000s while writing my first book Perfect Labor Storm. After the convergence and accumulation of events that disrupted our lives in the past 18 months, I can’t think of a more fitting description than VUCA - Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous.