How to Master Adaptability Skills? (+ Tips for Becoming More Adaptable)

Every industry is changing faster than ever, especially as we enter the new technology era of “A.I.”. The most powerful skill that both an individual and a company can have is adaptability. Adaptability skills are among the most coveted soft skills that employees want.

Someone with a vital adaptability skill can learn new things, work under stress, keep up to date with trends, and solve unforeseen problems with a positive attitude. 

Think about how many challenges arise in your work life that could be solved if you had a higher level of adaptability. Have you ever met a programmer who was great at coding, but when promoted to management became a fish out of water? What about when you’re trying to sell a new product on social media, and Generation Alpha decides that the trend is already for boomers? 

After we further define what adaptability skills are, we’ll give strategies on how to improve them and how to market them to employers and hiring managers, so you don't need to be afraid of any job descriptions listing adaptability as one of the key required skills ever again. 

Adaptability skills are the attributes you need to embrace change and adjust to new technology or challenging tasks, and environments or even to take on a leadership role. The higher adaptability in the workplace you have, the more resilient you will become, which in turn makes you a highly valuable team member to any company. 

Resilience is the ability to encounter adversity and continue moving forward. This is not only an important skill regarding adaptability in the workplace, but also in life. Many times you will face rejection or receive a scolding, and many people will give up and crumble. Resilience allows you to persevere and find solutions to new challenges, which allows you to increase efficiency and continuously be productive.

As an adaptable employee, you have a better chance to survive in fast-moving industries and tough times and respond quickly to challenging situations and unprecedented challenges with creative problem-solving skills and unique solutions.

People who embrace adaptability willingly navigate change and changing circumstances, accelerating their personal growth and further developing adaptability as a great asset to the team. Consider someone who isn’t accustomed to public speaking but chooses to lead a writing workshop. Though their initial workshop may have been challenging, doing things differently catalyzed improving skills in organization, teaching, and public speaking. This skill set not only enhances their future new projects but also equips them for other situations where these adaptable skills are invaluable.

Adaptability comes in different shades. There are several different ways for adaptable people to apply their skills. The following skills that we will go over are examples of different types of adaptability skills.

1. Cognitive Adaptability

Creative Thinking

A big difference between the workplace and the classroom is that not every issue you find at work can be solved by looking it up in a textbook. Unforeseeable issues and sudden changes arise all the time at work, and often fundamental methods can’t solve them. Continuous learning like thinking outside the box to come up with original ideas and new solutions will help you deal with unorthodox obstacles.

Problem-Solving

Learning how to solve problems is perhaps the most important soft skill that requires emotional intelligence by looking at nonverbal cues. People want someone who can solve their issues on point. Problem-solving requires adaptable people who can think analytically, communicate effectively, and demonstrate adaptability to help resolve complications.

Critical Thinking

One of the first steps to achieve it is active listening. Critical thinking allows you to process the effectiveness of what you’re doing, and what can be done to improve. Without critical thinking, you’ll get lost in unfamiliar situations.

2. Emotional Adaptability

Resilience

New and unpredictable scenarios are stressful. Resilience is a crucial skill that gives you the resolve to go through obstacles despite the challenges they present.

Stress Management

Stress is unavoidable, so having a growth mindset to cope with it is a key adaptable skill. Identifying new problems and reflecting on your conflicts can help put your stress in perspective and make it easier to deal with.

Emotional Regulation

Awareness about your emotions will lead to you having better control of them. You’ll encounter scenarios where your temper will rise, and exercising patience and introspection will help you deal with your emotions. 

3. Behavioral Adaptability

Open-Mindedness

The willingness to try new techniques, philosophies, and technologies is central to growing as a person and a professional. Utilizing your open-mindedness in ways such as active listening to other colleagues' opinions can introduce you to new ways of thinking. 

Resourcefulness

Adaptability in the workplace supplies you with methods of solving problems that come up. Building up a strong network and a wealth of knowledge will give you the ability to think of solutions for problems that may have initially stumped you.

Versatility

Diversifying your soft skills and growth mindset will make you more prepared for more situations. A team member who is familiar with different disciplines and trains of thought can tackle more problems than others in the entire team who are heavily specialized. 

4. Social Adaptability

Communication

Frequently, your social context, including new colleagues, clients, and management, becomes relevant, requiring you to adjust to these dynamics. Communication skills prove to be an adaptable skill set in the workplace as they aid in developing new ideas abd comprehending your environment, especially when taking on a new project or new challenge.

Collaboration

Organizational skills such as this allow you to combine your adaptable skills with others like leadership skills and problem-solving skills. Teamwork leads to brainstorming to solve issues faster and more effectively. Collaborating with others also means you draw perspectives from individuals with diverse backgrounds and disciplines, leading to new ideas and work performance that you may not have come up with yourself. 

Empathy

People are unpredictable and so are their moods and problems, so raising your self-awareness and understanding others' issues is the first step to solving problems. Adaptable employees with high levels of empathy also have an easier time collaborating and communicating with others outside of their comfort zone, forming a more adaptable work style.

Do Not Fight Change, Embrace It

Change is inevitable, and those who struggle most with it are people who can’t accept change. While there are many factors, the key to overcoming changing circumstances is having an open mind.

When you have an open mind you’ll start to appreciate differences, not feeling frustrated about how different work processes can be done at the workplace. You may also start to appreciate those with different experiences and backgrounds, thus raising your communication skills with other co-workers.

Fighting against change is going to lead to more stress, which in turn will make you not want to go to work or meet the team. Stress is one of the biggest killers of productivity at workplace — not to mention it makes you feel miserable. There is nothing worse than dreading work, but if you go into work with the mindset that whatever happens you can make the best of it, you’ll get through the day more smoothly. 

Don’t Give Up

Resilience is one of the adaptable skills you’ll use in the workplace because you’re going to come across dilemmas you won’t know how to solve right away. One of the most stressful things about work is dealing with problems you do not know the answer to. Everyone has felt lost, helpless, and anxious when dealing with a new challenge. You have to have a level of reflection and security to know that any challenge you encounter, if you keep going you’re going to eventually get past it or at the very least improve.

Engage in your problems with close friends or colleagues. Having someone you can vent your frustrations to is therapeutic, and will help relieve stress. Also, when you talk about your problems with people, you subconsciously analyze them and may come up with solutions to your concerns.

Above all, stay optimistic. Easier said than done if you have a pessimistic personality, but think about the goals you’ve achieved to be where you are. Reflecting on the improvements you’ve made throughout your life will help reinforce that you’ll have better days in the future.

Be Prepared for Anything

Being unprepared is one of the biggest stressors one can have. Having contingency plans will significantly improve your adaptability skills as well as give you more confidence in the problems that you face.

A good way to take care of stressful issues that may pop up later is to consider what weaknesses you currently have. What are the problems that you do not know how to solve now? What are the first steps to learning how to solve them, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone? While adaptive skills are primarily reactionary, becoming preemptive is a powerful tool to have in your arsenal.

Developing plans and alternate strategies will make you a better problem solver, and a more organized individual as well. Adaptable people consult with others to identify possible issues to prepare for, as well as effective approaches to overcome them. 

Leap into the Unfamiliar

We can use pre-emptiveness to increase your level of adaptability by having you volunteer for things you may not be familiar with. If the problem with your adaptability is that you do not know what to do in scenarios you have little experience with, then acquiring more experience will fix that flaw.

Start experimenting with projects at workplace that are outside your skill zone. You can make sure the stakes for the project or your role in the team are not too important, this way you can focus on learning as opposed to delivering on a strict deadline.

You can also contact your colleagues outside of your team to let them know if they could use a hand. But if there is nothing at your job that fits this description then you can find countless projects to take on online to acquire new skills. 

You can dive into your social network or use gig oriented websites. Attending networking and workshop events will introduce you to people who are looking to collaborate. Doing work for others is one of the best ways to “give” in a networking relationship. In fact, enlarging your network in general is also a way to boost your adaptability skills — so it’s a two for one!

Adaptability skills in the workplace are incredibly important to employers. On the surface it might seem tricky to showcase your your adaptability, but it is quite simple. You need to form a narrative. 

Just like in any good story there needs to be an obstacle for the protagonist to overcome, you can write your resume with a similar philosophy.

Present an issue or an obstacle, and then show the resolution

Highlight times when you were doing something new. This not only shows you’re adaptable but it also demonstrates you have the ability to learn, which is an adaptable skill in itself.

There are different ways to subtly show you were adaptable. Any experience you’ve had while abroad for example, automatically shows that you are used to adapting to different cultures.

Show you’re a problem solver by highlighting a mishap that you fixed

Use Vocab Related to Adaptability Skills

The hiring manager will see you as highly adaptable when you describe your tasks using vocabulary associated with versatility.  

Use the same philosophy and strategies you used to feature your adaptable skills on your resume for your job interview. Answer questions using vocabulary that shows off your adaptable skills. In interviews you have more freedom to elaborate, so you can more easily convey obstacles that you’ve overcome. 

Questions pertaining to your adaptability skills are almost always asked for job interviews. You should make a list of interview questions and come up with responses to them before your interview.

Some common interview questions that will test your adaptability skills are: 

Use these skills to become a more resilient, empathetic and open-minded person. You’ll recognize your ability to get past obstacles, and these are the types of journeys that companies want to hear about. Companies want adaptable people who can fix their problems, even the ones no one saw coming.

Adaptability skills are important, but there are many other abilities to learn. Visit Cake’s resources to discover more ways to build-up your resume and level up your professional journey.

--- Originally Written by Christopher Grudge ---