Are You Ready for the Layoff Storm? How Staying Adaptable and Flexible Can Save Your Executive Career

Already, 2023 has brought multiple rounds of layoffs.

While this downsizing started in the tech sphere, with Meta and Microsoft announcing mass layoffs, companies in other fields are also responding to the slowing economy, says The Wall Street Journal.

“A stream of companies have announced layoffs in recent months as they recalibrate head counts and tighten belts amid concerns about a slowing economy,” the newspaper reports. 

Over the last few years, the corporate world has been anything but consistent. From peak hiring to layoffs in such a short time, you might wonder feel like you’ll never know what’s coming next. 

The reality is you can’t know what the future holds for your executive career.

That’s why staying flexible and adaptable ensures that you’re always prepared for whatever the job market might throw at you.

 

✅ Defining Flexibility and Adaptability

 

Flexibility and adaptability are often perceived to mean the same thing, but this isn’t the case.

Flexibility means that you can fit yourself into shifting “circumstances, requirements, or influences.” Successful workplace flexibility also includes compromising with others while ensuring you get what you need in every situation. 

The three types of adaptability include cognitive flexibility, social flexibility, and behavioral flexibility.

“Adaptability, on the other hand, means you’re able to fit into an entirely new environment or set of regulations. It might be abandoning your previous way of doing things to start over, like being in a new role or position,” Elizabeth Perry of BetterUp explains.

❓ Why Are Flexibility and Adaptability So Important at Work?

 

These qualities are so important in the workplace because circumstances change frequently and are often beyond your control.

For instance, you might be laid off and have to look for a role that is different from the ones you’ve held in the past simply because those positions are open while you’re looking. Or perhaps you’re assigned to a project that requires all of your attention, so you have to leave other projects on the back burner in a way you’re unaccustomed to. 

Certainly, over the past three years, we’ve all had to change our work habits. Perhaps we had to work at our kitchen tables or learn to use Zoom and Slack. 

But more than just responding to any specific circumstances, flexibility and adaptability afford you the mindset that there will be a change in your workplace, and you’ll be able to handle it. Instead of viewing change with fear or skepticism, you’ll be able to perceive it as a welcome challenge.

 

❓ How to Stay Flexible and Adaptable

 

Here are some strategies for becoming a more flexible and adaptable employee: 

1️⃣ Remove ambiguity in your problem-solving.

We may think of challenges as so complex we can’t solve them without agonizing over them. But this isn’t the case. Instead, break down the issue into an easily-understood issue. Alicia Raeburn explains how to simplify the steps of problem-solving: 

• Identify the problems that need to be solved.
• Brainstorm multiple solutions. 
• Define the solution.
• Implement the solution.”

 

2️⃣ Avoid catastrophizing.

If you’re not used to being adaptable and flexible, you may be afraid of challenges and view them negatively before really examining the situation. Instead, focus on bolstering a calm mind so you don’t make problems out to be more dramatic than they really are. 

“Make it a priority to listen to and understand the views of the other people involved. If your manager asks you to help out on an urgent project, for example, consider how it will benefit the team or your career rather than simply thinking, ‘Oh no, not more work!'” MindTools suggested.

 

3️⃣ Cultivate a willingness to try new things.

If you feel safe in an unchanged environment, then you may try to hold onto the same environment at all costs.

In response, you may be unwilling to take risks that draw you out of your comfort zone and, at the same time, make you less afraid of novel situations. 

Yale University suggests asking questions and researching if you’re presented with new information that surprises you. They also suggest taking on new roles or responsibilities when you have the chance, as well as taking part in personal development projects that boost your flexibility and adaptability long-term. 

 

4️⃣ Don’t let your ego lead the way.

If you’re able to stop thinking about changes as being about you, then you’ll be better able to accept changes.

For instance, if you are laid off, you can realize your downsizing was about the company, not about your performance or value. 

Raeburn shares an example of letting your ego go in practice. 

“Your team recently hosted a creative brainstorming session, but your idea didn’t get chosen. It’s normal to feel disappointed. But instead of staying sad about it, you can choose to let it go. Leave your ego at the door and embrace the idea your team decided to move forward with. In doing so, you’re making it safe for others to express their creativity with even more unique ideas.”

 

Staying Flexible and Adaptable Can Make or Break Your Career

 

In a time of ever-shifting expectations, staying flexible and adaptable can help you respond to challenges like layoffs.

Developing these qualities can also make you a more successful professional. 

If you’re concerned about how quickly the world of work has been shifting, developing your flexibility and adaptability can make you feel on a more even footing. Read more about how these qualities can benefit you in our article, “How To Lead In A World That Will Never Stop Changing?”