Happy October!
To support you in being F.I.R.S.T. (Future-Ready. Innovative. Relevant. Strategic. Trusted.), here’s 1 tip and 1 quote.
The F.I.R.S.T. Tip
In today’s workplace, change is the only constant. Roles evolve, industries transform, and technologies disrupt faster than ever before. According to the World Economic Forum, 44% of core skills will change within the next five years, making adaptability not just a nice-to-have, but a critical career skill.
Adaptability isn’t about survival. It’s about turning uncertainty into opportunity.
One of our clients in the financial services sector shared that after running an adaptability and change leadership workshop with us, their managers began reframing disruption as a chance to grow. Instead of resisting new compliance tools, they encouraged their teams to explore features, ask questions, and share learnings. Within months, productivity improved and employees felt less stressed because they were empowered, not overwhelmed, by change.
3 Ways to Build Adaptability at Work:
1. Stay Curious. Curiosity is the antidote to fear.
When faced with something new, replace “I can’t” with “What can I learn here?”
For example: “I’ve never tried this before, what’s one safe way we can test and learn?”
Curiosity turns fear of the unknown into a chance to discover new skills.
2. Reframe Uncertainty. Shift your mindset from “disruption is a threat” to “disruption is a filter.” Ask: What is within our control, and what is not? Then focus energy on what you can influence.
For example: A leader in one of our retail client organisations told us they reframed, “This change is hard,” to, “The issue we need to resolve is hard, so what’s in our control that we can work on right now
That subtle shift helped their team stop spiralling about ‘the change’ and instead channel their efforts into solving the parts they could control. That build resilience and confidence in handling uncertainty.
3. Invest in Learning. The most future-ready professionals make learning visible and consistent. Micro-techniques include:
· Learning minutes: dedicate 10 minutes a week to share a new tool or insight.
· Peer-led upskilling: invite team members to run quick “show-and-tell” hacks in meetings or “Lunch & Learn” sessions.
This normalises learning as part of work, not as an afterthought.
From Coping to Career Advantage
Adaptability is not just about coping with change. It’s about building career resilience, the ability to stay relevant, agile, and confident in uncertain times.
At Influence Solutions, we’ve seen the most adaptable professionals share three common traits:
· They anticipate change instead of reacting to it.
· They treat disruption as data, to learn from, not as a threat.
· They embed learning habits so skills evolve continuously, not reactively.
When adaptability becomes a mindset, professionals don’t just survive disruption. They use it tounlock opportunities and gain a career advantage that endures.
At Influence Solutions, we partner with organisations to help professionals translate uncertainty into clarity, and change into impact. We equip leaders and teams to build adaptability as a mindset, one that strengthens careers and future-proofs businesses.
👉 Want to help your team build career resilience and adaptability in the workplace? Book a strategy session with us.
The F.I.R.S.T. Quote
