Do You Know Why the Adaptability Quotient Is Critical to Success? [Video]

by Chuck Garcia

Adaptability Quotient is thinking ahead to impact business and the job market.

In part four of this ongoing series Latin Biz Today advisory board member Chuck Garcia shares why…the Adaptability Quotient is critical to success Parts one, two and three in the series can be found here: Part 1 Career Q’s: Redefine What It Means to Be Smart [Video]  Part 2 3 Traits of the Most Admired C-Suite Professionals [Video] Part 3 What’s Your Creativity Quotient? [Video]

In a March 2018 article in Talent Economy, Lauren Dixon, the author, posed a daunting question, “Is it possible to hire for adaptability?

This question has bigger implications if you are soon joining the workforce. For better or worse, you are likely a product of the American educational model which led you to cram, exam, and regurgitate your way to academic success. But along that path, did anyone teach you how to become more adaptable? Did your teachers mention you are being prepared for jobs that don’t even exist? Sadly, there is a titanic mismatch between what you learned and the skills that the modern, ever-changing world of work will demand from you.

Flash forward to 2021 and societies across the globe are recovering from a pandemic that seemed inconceivable eighteen months ago. If there is a silver lining in this proverbial gray cloud, it is that you ,. Heighten the contrast between 2018 and today, and note that mask wearing, social distancing, and communicating on Zoom underscore your need to change, even if you resisted it along the way. While adapting to a Covid world was not part of your plan, isn’t it amazing how adaptable you have become without even knowing how?

But what if learning to be adaptable was a part of your college or professional development curriculum? What if you could learn this subject alongside English, biology, and history. While it may take one generation to fold into conventional models of education, you have a bigger subject to ponder: How do you prepare for ambiguity in a job market that bears little resemblance to what it looked like five years ago? Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, advised employees under his charge as far back as 1990 to, “Change before you have to.” His words have never been more prescient than in a job market besieged by the Covid19 crisis.

Whether intentional or not, Welch was a champion for what social scientists call the Adaptability Quotient (AQ). AQ is one component of a bigger picture called Career Q’s and stands alongside Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Creativity Quotient (CQ), Communications Quotient (CCQ), and Execution Quotient (XQ).

While this series examined EQ and CQ these past two weeks, AQ is quickly emerging and continues to garner attention as a critical career skill. Your ability to adapt might include how to manage change, learn from your mistakes, overcome challenges, and adjust to an uncertain job market that continues to be in flux. In the business world of “disrupt or be disrupted” many Silicon Valley companies include AQ training as a core piece of employee training.

Think about your future for a moment and try to visualize where you see yourself in a few years. Don’t just plan what you intend to do, but what skills you will need to learn to get there? If you are resistant to change, the journey will be more formidable than you ever imagined. It will be challenging to watch the world transform around you, unable to continually adjust to changing news cycles and disruptive job markets.

When I consider people in my circle who are more adaptable to change, their attitude is that change is inevitable. It is the only constant. They don’t fight it but embrace it. They ponder the future and understand that if they are not thinking ahead,  hey will likely watch the job market transform right before them.

Having a high Adaptability Quotient does not mean you can predict the future. Instead, it contains a continual set of exercises that help you to visualize possible career outcomes. ‍AQ will help you to develop a mindset and skillset in a world where career success will be highly dependent on your ability to adapt.

The most startling part? We have known this for a few hundred years. As Charles Darwin, a naturalist and biologist best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, once said, “The world will not be inherited by the strongest. It will be inherited by those most able to change.”

EQ Series Part 1 Career Q’s: Redefine What It Means to Be Smart [Video]  

EQ Series Part 2 3 Traits of the Most Admired C-Suite Professionals [Video]

EQ Series Part 3 What’s Your Creativity Quotient? [Video]

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