Have you ever experienced being on the brink of a new challenge or even an opportunity, and you get hit by a wave of self-doubt and fear? Finding the adaptability muscles to move out of the familiar and what’s worked before, into unknown and uncertain territory doesn’t necessarily come easily.
As we start to return to the workplace, it’s more important than ever to focus on building connections and fostering relationships with our colleagues. When you’ve only ever connected on screen as “headshots in a box”, it takes time, initiative and intention to rebuild a sense of trust and community.
As the flowers emerge after a long cold winter, there’s a lot of preparation that’s happening below the ground that we don’t see or even appreciate. Growing, stretching and realizing your highest potential isn’t something that happens overnight because you attended the right workshop, or had a great coaching conversation, or you read an inspiring book.
Putting on a community musical theatre production is a great laboratory to learn about leadership, creativity and decision-making in action. I often wonder how it might be possible for leadership teams to have a micro-experience of live performance as a way of gaining new insight and appreciation for what it takes to develop and lead high performing teams.
We all face change and uncertainty every day, and it seems like it’s coming at us faster and fiercer with each passing moment. Our ability to adapt and respond effectively – both individually and collectively – will determine whether we sink or swim. When the pressure is on, it’s common to reach for the familiar.
Adaptability is your organization’s golden ticket to future-proofing your people and company. Our current levels of adaptability are being tested in real time as we design life and work, post-pandemic. The history of business is littered with the tombstones of companies that failed to recognize and respond effectively to disruption and change. In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, adaptability has become a critical factor in success.
Let’s face it, the beginning of a new year seems like it’s a blank slate. We’re sort of programmed into thinking that we should have lots of resolutions and new plans, and make sure that we’ve got that clean slate. Mapped it out just exactly the way we want our year to go. The fact is that only 8% of people actually do what they say they were going to do. By about mid-January everybody’s fallen off the wagon
Focus, attention and time are all very scarce resources. We live in a world where change, complexity and an overwhelming amount of choice, information, data and opinion bombard us on a daily basis. It’s so easy to spin out in busyness and confusion, so it’s important to have something to anchor you.
That’s where the power of a theme, focus or “Big Word” comes in.
Where did the year go? How can it be that we’re getting ready to ring in a New Year when it seems like just a few months ago we were ringing in the last one?
The pace of life seems to get faster and faster. Change is truly the only constant. That may be unsettling to some, but facing the unknown and learning how to engage fully in life despite the pace of change is how we grow and step into the next great evolution of ourselves.
Truly, I love the holiday season. Celebrating, relaxing with family and friends, appreciating the year and happily making plans for the New Year. At least that’s the theory.
The reality is that this time of year can be so stressful and frenetic. I’ve been talking to a lot of folks recently and there’s a theme of “Uh oh, the year is almost over and I haven’t done everything I set out to do. Argh, I failed.”
Copyright © 2025 www.CarolynBEllis.com Designed by Virtual360
By signing up and providing your email address, you’ll also receive the weekly “Bits of Brilliance” newsletter which contains resources and strategies to help leaders navigate change effectively. All emails include an unsubscribe link. You may opt-out at any time. See our Privacy Policy.
