Decades have passed since I first became a leader. Over the years, many things have changed. From years before fax machines and pagers, to present-day computers and smart phones, technology is advancing quickly, and our world is being transformed.
Technology isn’t the only thing changing; but no matter the changes, they demand flexibility. Countless examples exist of leaders and organizations whose inflexibility and failure to embrace change ultimately led to their downfall (think Kodak, Blockbuster, and RadioShack).
In contrast, I believe the lasting success of inspirational leaders and organizations is due in part to their flexibility.
Here are three key ways in which you can demonstrate flexibility as a leader:
- Seek innovation and remain open to beneficial change, no matter how difficult.
- Gracefully adapt to disrupted plans and unexpected circumstances.
- Appropriately adapt your style and policies to fit individual situations, realizing that not everything fits neatly into the parameters of corporate policy.
Bottom line: to be a more effective, inspirational leader, you must be continuously growing and looking for better and more efficient methods and strategies, remaining flexible and open to important and beneficial changes for yourself, your direct reports, and your organization!
[This article is excerpted and adapted from chapter 9 of my book, Be An Inspirational Leader]
