Leadership Adaptability: Leading Through Change When Everything Falls Apart

The board fired my boss.

He was sitting right next to me in a meeting when strange things started to go down. And then the floor dropped out.

There was a recess following that bomb dropping. A few minutes for the shock to settle in. Then we had to figure out what came next.

The next week, a new type of leadership existed. We formed a group effort. Four directors teaming together to move the organization forward.

Handling the change in leadership, the change in structure, those were challenges. Developing the message and how to convey the change to the public, our personnel, and the shareholders. Ensuring accuracy, detail, appropriateness. Everything changed. How the organization was run. Who made decisions. How we communicated.

Some people were happy with the change. Others were devastated. Many somewhere in between.

We had to be empathic to all sorts of feelings while moving the organization forward. We started out asking many questions, learning and growing with each day that passed.

That's adaptability. Not having all the answers when everything changes but being willing to figure it out as you go.

What Adaptability Actually Means

Adaptability isn't about being a pushover. It's not about abandoning your values or flip-flopping on important decisions. It's not about saying yes to every change that comes along.

Adaptability is your ability to adjust your approach when circumstances change. To stay effective when the plan falls apart. To lead through uncertainty without pretending you have it all figured out.

It's recognizing when the path you're on isn't working anymore and being willing to find a different one. Even when that different path wasn't in your original plan. Even when it means admitting your first approach was wrong.

When Your Plan Completely Falls Apart

"If I had my blinders on and ambled along with the plan, the team would have wasted their time."

Before I work with teams, I ask lots of questions to make sure I understand the unique challenges they have so we can work in the most productive way possible.

Well, like I explained in the post about communication, communication is hard. And I got it wrong.

Luckily, I picked up on some differences in what I was expecting early on. I then took a chance to ask more direct questions to gauge the differences. From those questions, I was able to change my entire plan for the team on the spot. I adapted the entire program.

The end result was amazing. The workshop was immensely successful and I was invited back to continue along their journey.

If I had my blinders on and ambled along with the plan, the team would have wasted their time. I would have presented something they already knew. It would have been horrible.

That's adaptability in action. Recognizing when your plan isn't working and being willing to change course immediately, even when you've put time into preparing the original approach.

The Slowness of Government Change

Change is slow and the tolerance for change is low

Change in government is like steering a ship in the ocean. Change is slow and the tolerance for change is low.

I've worked in the public sector for more than 20 years. If you're looking for an environment that loves change and moves quickly, government isn't it. The systems are designed for stability, not speed. The processes exist to ensure accountability, which means more steps, more approvals, more time.

But here's what's interesting: even in an environment resistant to change, change still happens. And as a leader, you still have to navigate it and in most cases, lead it.

Recently, we discovered we weren't perfectly in line with safety standards regarding our boot requirements. Impressing the need for the change was difficult. Some took it in great stride. But many were very frustrated with needing to change.

The agency funded the change well, but there was a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the true need. While we're still mid-implementation, explaining that it wasn't an agency specific requirement but specifically a construction standard nationwide seemed to help.

In this case, explaining the why in multiple ways was effective. That's part of adaptability too. Recognizing that one explanation doesn't work for everyone, so you adapt your approach to help different people understand.

When People Dig In Their Heels

When people dig in their heels about change, I find it's helpful to first figure out how the digging in really affects others. Sometimes it's so insignificant it's best to let go. If not, then it's important to address.

The Five Whys method is helpful to start getting to the bottom of resistance. Figure out the situation. Ask why it's important or why the change needs to occur. Get your answer, then ask why again. Repeat the process five times, drilling down to the root cause.

This technique, developed by Sakichi Toyoda and used within the Toyota Production System, helps you get past surface level resistance to understand what's really driving the pushback.

Sometimes you discover the resistance is actually reasonable. There's a legitimate concern you hadn't considered. That's valuable information that should change your approach.

Other times you discover the resistance is based on fear or misunderstanding. That tells you what you need to address to move forward.

Either way, being adaptable means being willing to dig deeper rather than just pushing harder.

The Biggest Leadership Change I've Made

"Being willing to try a completely different approach even when the old way is familiar and comfortable."

I think my biggest leadership change in the last 10 years has been to ask more questions and make fewer assumptions.

As in the example of the boots, instead of making assumptions regarding how or why the change was difficult for individuals, I asked why. In the past, I might have used prior experiences to make inferences about the resistance.

In similar fashion, when negotiating our latest contract, when we had difficulties in agreeing, we had discussions and asked questions. In the distant past, we would have sat on other sides of the room, made declarations, put proposals in writing and passed them across the room. Then we would caucus, admin in one room and union in the other. We would come back together and a proposal would come from the other party. It was really formal. Very little conversation. Very ineffective, inefficient and impersonal.

This change has been over 20 years rather than 10, but the change has been far more productive than the old way.

That's adaptability over the long term. Recognizing that the way things have always been done isn't necessarily the best way. Being willing to try a completely different approach even when the old way is familiar and comfortable.

What Happens When Leaders Can't Adapt

I've watched leaders struggle because they couldn't adapt. They had one approach and they stuck to it regardless of whether it was working.

When the environment changed, they didn't. When their team needed something different, they kept doing the same thing. When feedback indicated their approach wasn't landing, they doubled down instead of adjusting.

The result? They became less effective. Their teams became frustrated. Problems that could have been solved with a different approach festered and grew.

Because here's the hard truth: the world doesn't stop changing just because you're uncomfortable with change. Your organization will face new challenges. Your team will need different things. The external environment will shift.

You can adapt and stay effective, or you can dig in and become irrelevant. Those are your options.

Being Adaptable Without Losing Yourself

Don't lose yourself

Here's what adaptability doesn't mean: abandoning your core values or principles every time something gets uncomfortable.

When I talk about asking more questions and making fewer assumptions, that hasn't changed my core belief in fairness and accountability. When I talk about adapting my workshop approach on the fly, that didn't mean compromising on quality or depth.

Adaptability is about methods, not values. It's about how you achieve your goals, not what those goals are.

You can be deeply committed to your principles while being flexible about how you apply them. You can have non-negotiable standards while being open to different paths to meet them.

That's the balance. Staying grounded in what matters most while being willing to adjust everything else.

Building Your Adaptability Muscle

"Questions open up possibilities. Assumptions close them down."

Adaptability is like any other skill. You can develop it through practice.

Start small. When something doesn't go according to plan, instead of forcing it, pause and ask yourself what needs to change. When you get feedback that your approach isn't working, actually adjust instead of explaining why they're wrong.

Ask more questions. I keep coming back to this because it's that important. Questions open up possibilities. Assumptions close them down.

Stay curious about why people resist change. Use the Five Whys. Dig deeper than the surface explanation. Often the real issue isn't what people first tell you.

Be willing to look foolish. When I had to completely change my workshop plan on the spot, there was a moment where I had to admit my original plan wasn't going to work. That's uncomfortable. But it's necessary.

Learn from every change you navigate. What worked? What didn't? What would you do differently next time? Every organizational change, every pivot, every adjustment is data you can use to get better at this.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

The pace of change isn't slowing down. Technology keeps evolving. Generational differences create new dynamics. External pressures shift. Unexpected crises happen.

The leaders who thrive aren't the ones with the best original plans. They're the ones who can adapt when those plans meet reality.

When your boss gets fired in the middle of a meeting and your entire organizational structure changes overnight, you need adaptability. When your carefully prepared workshop doesn't match what the team actually needs, you need adaptability. When safety standards change and your team resists, you need adaptability.

You need the ability to stay steady when the floor drops out. To adjust course without losing direction. To lead through uncertainty without pretending you have all the answers.

That's what adaptability gives you. Not the elimination of challenges, but the capacity to navigate them effectively no matter what form they take.

And in leadership, that capacity might be the most valuable skill you can develop.

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Next in the series: Accountability - Taking Ownership (Even When It Hurts)