The World Economic Forum has suggested we are moving into a new era, one they've dubbed the "Fourth Revolution". It is a period where organizational agility, pivoting and new strategies are required for business success.

Leadership Guru Robert Cerone from Chicago takes this one step further in his article on Adaptability - saying that business leaders must adapt to change so their companies remain productive. 

He uses the term "Adaptability Quotient (AQ), which means focusing on how your business will adapt to environmental factors of change and how can you apply appropriate AQ measures to ensure high performance continues in your organization with the lockdowns scenarios.
Business leaders should not only care about this AQ measure when dealing with their people in meetings and communications, but they should be addressing topics like Remotability (checking how remote teams are doing with work away from home through surveys and check-ins), and addressing impacts and support measures i.e. situational changes that require retraining or coaching. By checking on impacts and consequences, leaders will be supported by their teams as they've chosen empathy and authenticity. Leaders need to support the people side of change so their people and business can be adaptable enough to stay competitive, as the world around us changes.

Adaptability Quotient, according to an Advantage article, is "the ability to adjust course, product, service and strategy in response to unanticipated changes in the market."
From a coaching and personal level, the Adaptability Quotient is a great way to measure an individual's ability to adjust to change. Having been part of many change programs in organizations going through a transformation, it's easy to see the ones who are overwhelmed with the constant change within their organization. Couple that with COVID lockdowns, and we heighten the need for change support for individuals and teams. This may look like career transformation and career management programs. Or it may be change resilience training or psychometric assessments like Belbin for team coaching, which can set the scene to enable new conversations and storytelling in real-time. 

Other measures I've heard of include Lean In and Working Out Loud circles, which encourage people to open up about their goals and aspirations. One idea shared recently was a Melbourne front line COVID team of workers deciding to work collaboratively over Zoom for two hours a day, inviting those who wanted company or support to login and work in partnership. A shared problem is a one halved the saying goes, and by asking a question, there's a network of others who are happy to chip in.

By looking at an individual's ability to adjust to change, you are able to gather insights and ideas from them as to how you could best support the adjustments as their leader. 

Some team players find it hard to adapt to change, or are unwilling to learn another new system or adopt a new program. Some will take an opportunity to exit the business rather than adapting. These people would be low on AQ, whereas the networkers would be high in AQ. 

One of the critical skills being taught in universities now is design thinking - getting groups to brainstorm together and create new solutions to new challenges. The ability to adapt to change is an essential core skill for employees who want to continue to succeed in their professional environments.

Many businesses are pivoting currently - those that were contractors may be taking permanent roles. Some that were contracted out to larger firms as consultants are now creating their own online offering or selling direct to hiring managers. 

One of the things my business has done over lockdown is pivot through personal branding to my new program offerings. I've also taken on a business coach, a marketing coach, and a web design team. I'm looking to scale through partnerships and collaboration. I've also started the journey toward being an Agile Coach, after years in Change and Communications Management, and I've become a Team Coach accredited with the Global Team Coaching Institute. I also did a refresher for executive and organizational coaching in preparation for my journey from ACC to PCC coach with the International Coaching Federation.

I'm only explaining the business aspect of how I pivoted. The home life is another important topic that is now much more commonplace in business conversations than ever before. For me, I used the lockdown to create more family connection moments, like walking chats and making dog walking a shared activity. Also, we had some wonderful conversations with those living away from home, via Zoom.

Knowing how I enjoy coaching small groups, I also signed up to facilitate a number of mastermind groups, which take people on a 12-week staged journey, delivering more confident and capable individuals at the end. Most set a goal at the beginning of the journey and collaborate with their peers in a new way as they attend to their self-mastery and personal goals.

Here are a few tips on how you could find help the pivoting and adapting of those around you:

• Use Authentic Leadership techniques to deepen relationships through active listening and empathy - just a few simple questions can make a huge difference
• Remain open to new innovative ideas and possibilities
• Be open-minded and kind-hearted to those in your team
• Try to see the world through the eyes of another, who might be struggling with being a parent, child, spouse, and employee, all with no dedicated home office space.
• Let go of your ego around your role, to share the uncertainty and feelings of those impacted negatively by new ways of working.

You may be wondering how AQ fits with Intelligence Quotients (IQ) and Emotional Quotients (EQ). Actually, AQ is an essential measure for evaluating prospective employees. NASA checks its future recruits for adaptability, and I'm sure I once was screened for AQ and EQ when I applied as a 17-year-old to go to the USA for a year as an American Field Service exchange student. One of the tests was to see how I fitted in with a new group of people, how quickly did I engage with them. People are looking for those who look out for others and care for them genuinely, taking a team approach.

What does this AQ measure mean to your business, as customer demands grow, market trends, and technology changes? Remind yourself, it is only those that can adjust and adapt to change that will succeed.

Business leaders need to get comfortable with changing their ways, helping their employees adopt new ways of working by supporting their teams. The way leaders lead change has a huge influence on how their teams will react. 

One way to influence collective AQ is for leaders to maintain open lines of communication, encouraging people to take risks, and pursue their ideas within the organization. In a 2013 tour through Caterpillar's HQ in Illinois, a group of MBA students found that staff was encouraged to share their ideas with senior leaders in a visible way. The idea was placed in an envelope on a journey map and anyone could see what was suggested when it was considered and whether it was adopted. There were rewards and incentives in place for those ideas that were adopted. 

In another show of support, if one of the machines Caterpillar world HQ goes down, the music starts playing and the staff knows to take a break. Later a supervisor might ask them for their insights on what might have happened and what could be improved. The team is keen to contribute to these situations as their voices were being heard. Later one or two might be offered a refresher course, just in case it was human error. In the past, those same employees might have found that human error was career-limiting. Now support and adaptability to challenges are one of their growth hallmarks as a company.

Adaptability is important when individuals and teams need to pivot or solve a problem the organization is facing. 

Model Adaptability to Lead Your Teams and Organisation Forward

Adaptability takes years of practice responding mindfully to challenges as they arise. As business leaders, you have a lot of power to influence your team and to move your business forward.

Small businesses and startups that operate with the intention of accepting and adjusting to change are the ones most likely to endure and ultimately succeed in the rapidly changing world in which we live.

Want to discuss your situation for more change resilience and QA tips, drop me a line or a question on LinkedIn or in the comments below. 

 

A Belbin team role workshop can help your team to find its strengths

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Angela J. Penteado

Agile l Change Facilitator l Communicator l Leadership Coach l Team Builder l Thought Leader l Connector l Culture Agent

15 articles

Working from home has been a reality for many of us for some time, yet for some organisations it hasn't. Here are some insights that could guide your remote working teams performance.

As a leader, how are you coping? How is remote working going for you?

As a Change Facilitator and Team Coach, I hear many stories from employees who share about the new benefits and stresses of working from home. Some of these include being a teacher to the children and keeping everyone fed - while delivering at their usual performance capacity from a home office. Sometimes the home office is a makeshift spot in the bedroom, with Zoom filters.

A colleague of mine talked to me this week about a new tool RemotAbility, which helps organisations gather data on how their people are doing at home - so they can analyse risk profiles, improve workspace areas and monitor mental and physical health, along with identifying new support requirements and performance challenges.

You may have the right IT setup in place and phones on divert, but managing virtual working is much more than this. Is the leadership of your teams ready to go virtual? Are you heading for a team of virtuosos or a virtual nightmare reality?

Over the past few years, leading change by working with change leaders has been my bread and butter. We use different Prosci and Changefirst methodology tools to take people from the Discovery phase, through the transitions, on to training and embedding the change. In our new flagship program, we partner with leaders to ensure the successful delivery of business benefits.

As Belbin and DISC certified practitioners, we are able to share insights from individual and team 360s, which can be a game-changer for performance. We are also passionate about behaviour change - the people side of change. Many transformations have agile teams that understand the importance of culture, but that doesn't always translate to the corporate or team culture. We partner with leaders to get the insights and strategies they need to move from stress to success.

For some organisations working from home has been the norm for a while, but there's still a range of SME and larger corporates who prefer people to work from the office. Sometimes it's for security reasons, as all the data is on a server at the office. But with the various COVID-19 lockdowns, we don't have the luxury of choosing where are people work from. I saw one article that reported many in Wellington will be working at home for months by choice, as their workplace strategies have created zones where people are in close proximity.

For organisations where remote working is still new, you'll be facing all sorts of new challenges. For some it's the change of culture, where much more time is spent talking about children and family matters, checking in that everyone is doing OK. When your team isn’t in the office, what can you do to motivate them? How do you get the most of them and what is the best way to harness new digital communication tools like Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams? How should you communicate with your people and how frequently? Should you wait for your team to get in touch, or should you be chasing them for updates and issuing deadline reminders? And how do you handle the strain virtual working can place on communication and keep the human touch?

Some in our network are reporting new challenges, such as family intrusions and tensions, sometimes coping with the mental health of other family members.

Whilst our Team Role behaviours may not change when we are working remotely, altering the lines of communication can throw obstacles in the team’s path, and some are likely to adapt more readily to remote working than others. So, extra care is needed in managing those behaviours and ensuring that everyone can still give of their best.

A Belbin Team workshop is one option that could bring your team together, enhancing engagement and performance. It might start with an introductory session, followed by each team member doing a 360-degree assessment. Once the results are in a follow up ''reveal' session is conducted, with related team exercises. After this, many teams like to get away for a team building day or weekend, to work on a strategy for the coming weeks and months.

It might be worth sharing some of the different team roles, with the follow-up option of having a chat with one of our experienced facilitators, who can fill you in on running an introductory team workshop. Belbin Team roles could help you understand your people's strengths and behaviours more, as could the RemotAbility tool we are exploring.

Below is some information on the different team roles that can come out of a Team 360 Analysis. Each of us has more than one Team Role strength and the way our preferred roles interact present nuances in our working style. But here's a starting pointing for thinking about running an introductory Zoom workshop for your team, as a prelude to a full Team 360. It will help you consider the benefits and potential pitfalls of each role in a remote working, virtual scenario.

Plant - Team Role behaviour

Plants prefer to work alone – they come up with the ideas for the team to take forward. So, leave them to it… up to a point. Give them questions and problems to solve, and plenty of encouragement. But check in gently, to see if they are still on-track – their attention may have wandered if a new idea has piqued their interest. And don’t expect an immediate response to email if they are engrossed in problem-solving. A phone call may be preferable.

Remember, a Plant can be sensitive to criticism of their ideas, so if you are a high Shaper, Implementer, or Monitor Evaluator, try and adopt a less task-focused or critical approach. Allow them space to communicate.

Teamworker - Team Role behaviour

Teamworkers are proficient communicators. They are diplomatic, perceptive, and are probably going to struggle if they feel cut off from others.

Give them a role that enables them to keep in touch with the rest of the team. Maybe they could send a daily (or twice-daily) email ‘checker’ to find out how everyone is doing? Perhaps they could instigate a short social chat online? Whilst you might be tempted to skip this part when the pressure is on, remember that it is key to maintaining trust in unusual circumstances.

Keep in touch by phone and remember: they will be the first ones to tell you when someone else has a problem.

Specialist - Team Role behaviour

Like the Plant, Specialists thrive when they are by themselves. Ensure that you have given them an area of research they can delve into, but don’t forget to check-in – you’ll want to disseminate any salient findings to the rest of the team.

Communication via email is probably best, but ensure that you ask very specific questions to minimise the probability of receiving information overload in return.

Completer Finisher - Team Role behaviour

When managing a virtual Completer Finisher, providing clarity around priorities and deadlines is key. Since they aren’t the most effective delegators or time-managers, it would be wise to check in on a regular basis. In addition, Completer Finishers tend to experience high anxiety levels. Why not ask the Teamworker to keep an eye on them?

There may be a tendency for the rest of the team to overload the Completer Finisher with work. (“Could you just check this through for me?”) This could cause problems, so ensure that everyone is aware of the ground rules in this regard.

Resource Investigator - Team Role behaviour

They’re not in the office much anyway, so you should be quite used to managing them from a distance. However, with events and meetings canceled, there’s a risk they might find themselves at a loose end or go completely off the radar. Encourage regular check-ins, but don’t press for too much detail.

They’re likely to prefer a phone or Skype call, but ensure that you’re in control. Resource Investigators are often over-talkative and may not let the rest of the team get a word in. Without the social cues on which we rely when we share the same space, you’ll need to be firm.

Implementer - Team Role behaviour

The Implementer is the one you can rely on to carry on as normal. Reliable and hardworking to the core, the Implementer will take a different working environment in their stride. However, processes will have to be adapted or changed, so ensure they are aware of this.

They will appreciate being given responsibility for organising new processes – or anything that will appeal to their practical proclivities. Keep in touch via email. Put together a spreadsheet you can talk through.

Shaper - Team Role behaviour

This could be tricky as Shapers like to be the loudest in the room. When they are by themselves, who will stop and listen? They may start making demands by all available means – phone calls and emails – to ensure that no-one is slacking or taking their eye off the ball.

They could alienate the rest of the team – their email style is likely to be blunt and to-the-point. Normally, the team wouldn’t take this too personally (an effective Shaper is good-humoured enough to get everyone back onside) but without the social interaction, relationships could be tense.

Make sure that you keep your promises and respond in a timely fashion. The Resource Investigator is the best to deal with the Shaper behaviour in this situation – why not give them a joint project?

Monitor Evaluator - Team Role behaviour

They much prefer to work by themselves – at last, they will have time to sit back and reflect on the best course of action without the rest of the team constantly at their door. To that extent, Monitor Evaluators are fairly easy to manage remotely. However, they do tend to over-analyse. There is a risk that this tendency could go unchecked and slow progress to a standstill.

Keep in touch, ask for updates. Do not ignore. Remember, although Monitor Evaluators may not give you the answers you want, they are usually the answers you need.

Co-ordinator - Team Role behaviour

Co-ordinators are wonderful at engaging others and ensuring that everyone has their say. However, ensure they do not take advantage and delegate more than their fair share. Regular contact via email and phone is required. Give them the role of chair in any virtual meetings and make sure they address the challenges of remote teamwork explicitly, to allow any arising difficulties to be aired and resolved.

Their calm and confident manner can also help to quell any rising panic that may occur. Ask them to insert a sense of perspective if things start spiraling.

The ties that bind

Of course, it isn’t all down to you as the manager. In order to operate effectively in challenging and rapidly-changing environments, your team members need to be aware of their own – and each other’s – strengths, so they know whom to call on, and where and how to make allowances for one another.

At Stakeholder Engagement, as part of the team coach and facilitation work we do with organisational change, we believe in empowering teams with an accessible language to articulate and explore their behaviours, as well as practical, applicable advice on how the team works. Armed with this knowledge through the Belbin framework, which we're accredited facilitators of, teams can gain confidence in their individual and collective abilities, and build the kind of trust that holds strong even when they’re apart.

So if you'd like to book a discovery call to talk about your situation, we’re here to help - maybe now is a good opportunity to run a ‘Belbin 360’ for your team? Get in touch here or on LinkedIn.

Status is online

Angela J. Penteado

Agile l Change Facilitator l Communicator l Leadership Coach l Team Builder l Thought Leader l Connector l Culture Agent