Values › Freedom › Adaptability
Core value · Freedom family
Adaptability
Adjusting well to change
Also covers Flexibility and Versatility
What does adaptability mean as a core value?
Adaptability as a core value means adjusting well when circumstances change, switching roles, plans or approaches quickly while keeping a clear sense of who you are.
When the plan changes, you’re usually already working on plan B. You don’t need things to stay the same to do well, and you can switch roles, settings or approaches without losing your footing. You take some pride in being versatile, and people who dig in against every change can seem a little baffling. A reorganisation, a move abroad or a new baby in the house unsettles you too, but you expect to adjust, and you usually do.
What does adaptability look like in practice?
- You pick up a colleague’s work at short notice without needing a long handover.
- You rewrite the presentation on the train when you hear the audience has changed.
- You adjust how you talk depending on whether it’s the board, the team or your teenager.
- You treat a cancelled holiday as a chance to find a different one.
- You volunteer for the role nobody has defined yet.
When is adaptability overplayed?
If you bend to everything, it gets hard to tell what you stand for. Overdone adaptability shows up as agreeing to changes you could have challenged, absorbing extra work because you can, or reshaping yourself so often for different groups that you lose track of your own preferences. Others may assume you don’t mind when you do. Held well, it adapts from a stable centre. One thing you could try is writing down the few things you wouldn’t adjust for anyone, then checking whether the people around you know them.
Often confused with
Adaptability vs Resilience
Resilience is recovering after a setback. Adaptability is changing shape to fit the new situation, often before there’s anything to recover from.
Adaptability vs Open-mindedness
Open-mindedness is being willing to consider new ideas. Adaptability is changing what you actually do.
Adaptability vs Spontaneity
Spontaneity is acting on impulse without a plan. Adaptability can be deliberate and carefully planned, because what matters is adjusting well.
Questions to sit with
- What have you adapted to recently that you’d have been better off pushing back on?
- Which parts of you stay the same whichever room you’re in?
- Who benefits most from your flexibility, and do they know what it costs you?
More values in Freedom
Independence, choice and room to be yourself.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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