What does being adaptable mean?

This morning I was dropping my 3 girls to Kindy and school. While doing so I was talking to a friend on the phone and we were discussing Darwinism and the need for adaptability in the world we currently live in.

As I hung up my eldest daughter asked, "Dad, what does adaptable mean."  The example I gave her related to the seasons and how we adapt in winter and summer by putting layers on to make ourselves warmer or taking them off to make ourselves cooler.

She got it.... I think.

In the context of my phone conversation we were discussing our personal lives and our roles and current businesses we work in. My role as a consultant ensures the opportunity to partner and interact with a number of businesses and senior stakeholders and it's amazing to see the different leadership styles and approaches that are being taken during this challenging time - reactive, proactive, wait and see.

Flexibility to work remote is an interesting one to me. Many of us have had little choice but to work remote for the majority of the year but now as the virus situation, in Queensland anyway, has eased it's fascinating to hear what companies are doing. Some will continue to work remote, others offering a hybrid of continued choice (and in some instances providing on-site parking for their staff to ensure they don't need to use public transport) while some have made it compulsory to return to work.

As I mentioned, this morning I dropped my kids off at school. In the last 8 years I have rarely been able to do this. Rarely have I picked them up, helped with homework or been home for dinner - like so many other working parents. I didn't fully appreciate how hard those mornings and evenings can be sometimes but, in the same breath how rewarding and how much it means to my girls to have both Mum and Dad at home together, as a family.

The company I work for has adapted. We have found a way together to offer a hybrid model and offer choice of working remote or in the office. Whether this works for you and your team comes down to a few key points in my opinion: do you trust your people, are they professional, hardworking, understand what needs to be done, outcome focussed, independent and yet team orientated.

If the answer to the above is yes then consider, can you adapt and offer your team a workplace that offers this flexibility of work and life, autonomy and freedom to grow both personally and professionally. If the answer is no, have you hired the right people for your organisation in the first place?

Things will continue to evolve over the coming months so ask yourself, “how do you need to adapt???”