Change is something we encounter throughout our lives and careers, whether we expect it or not.
People change. Organizations change. The economy shifts. World events create circumstances we couldn’t have predicted, and new opportunities can require us to reconsider what we had planned. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that adaptability in leadership is about recognizing when a situation requires something different from us.
We can have a clear idea of where we want to go while remaining flexible about how we get there.
Why Adaptability Is an Important Leadership Skill
I experienced the importance of adaptability long before I thought about it in the context of leadership.
As a basketball player, something is always changing. You have new teammates, coaches, teams, cities, and responsibilities. You prepare for different opponents and game plans. You deal with injuries, recovery, and moments when things simply aren’t going the way you expected.
You learn to adjust. That lesson has stayed with me because leadership requires many of the same skills. Every day can present a different challenge. We work with different people, priorities, and goals while responding to circumstances that aren’t always within our control.
The plan matters, but so does our ability to adjust the plan when necessary.
How Leaders Can Avoid Getting Stuck in Familiar Patterns
Experience gives us a lot to draw from as leaders. Over time, we recognize patterns, learn from mistakes, and develop stronger judgment.
But we can get in trouble when we stay in one pattern for too long.
We naturally develop ways of working that have been successful for us. Eventually, though, we can become so close to our own work that we only see the way we do it.
Adaptability requires us to occasionally challenge that thinking:
- Is the way I’ve always approached this still the best approach?
- What has changed about the situation?
- Is there another perspective I haven’t considered?
- What can I learn from how someone else is approaching a similar challenge?
Our experience should inform our decisions without limiting our ability to consider something new.
How New Perspectives Make Us More Adaptable Leaders
I was reminded of this recently during trips to Shanghai and Beijing. When I travel, even if I’m only there for a short time, I try to experience the place I’m visiting. I want to walk around, see people, learn something about the culture, and visit historical sites when I have the opportunity.
In China, I also had opportunities to connect with basketball and federation leaders from around the world and hear how they think about their work.
- What are their goals?
- How are they approaching the growth of basketball?
- What opportunities and challenges are they seeing?
Sometimes hearing how someone else approaches their work makes you think differently about your own.
Travel is one way to broaden our perspective, but it isn’t the only one. Reading, asking questions, meeting new people, and exposing ourselves to different ideas can all help us see beyond our own experiences.
The more perspectives we encounter, the more we have to draw from when circumstances require us to adapt.
Adaptable Leadership Means Understanding People
Adaptability isn’t only about responding to changing circumstances. It also affects how we work with people.
Leaders interact with people who have different experiences, responsibilities, priorities, and approaches to problems. We can’t assume every person or situation will respond to the same leadership style.
That doesn’t mean our values or expectations have to constantly change. We can remain consistent in what we value and what we are trying to accomplish while being flexible in how we communicate, listen, and help people move toward a shared goal.
How Leaders Can Anticipate and Prepare for Change
Recently, I’ve been thinking about how I can get better not only at responding to change but also at anticipating where I may need to adapt.
I can become very focused on what I’m trying to accomplish. That focus is valuable, but it can also make it easy to miss what is changing around us. Part of leadership is learning to look up from what is immediately in front of us and try to see around the corner.
- What should I be paying attention to?
- Where might circumstances be heading?
- Is there an opportunity developing that we should be prepared for?
We won’t anticipate everything. But we can remain curious, pay attention, and become more intentional about preparing for what could come next.
Adaptability Helps Leaders Continue to Evolve
My career has required me to adapt in ways I couldn’t have anticipated when I first entered the NBA. I’ve played basketball and worked in various leadership roles in the game. Each experience has required something different from me and given me something new to carry into the next.
I don’t think we ever become experienced enough for adaptability to stop mattering.
The world around us will continue to change. We can’t prepare for every possibility, but we can continue to broaden our perspectives, pay attention to what is changing, and remain willing to adjust when a new approach is needed.
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