Steps to becoming a more flexible leader
Over the last few years, the way we view leadership has shifted. One effect of the coronavirus pandemic is that jobs have been changing, evolving, contracting, and vanishing, while technology is evolving quickly.
Flexibility is necessary. Leaders need to be adaptable since change is frequent and unavoidable.
A lesson that many Master’s programs in leadership tend to leave out are the approaches to flexibility in management.
The three steps of leadership adaptability that create a flexible leader are formed from the themes of growing your Cognitive, Emotional, and Dispositional Flexibility.
The first step to becoming a flexible leader is changing your cognitive approach when it comes to taking responsibility. This “refers to our ability to disengage from one task and respond to another or think about multiple concepts at the same time.” (Stenger,2017).
Cognitive flexibility is crucial in both educational and professional contexts because it helps people learn more rapidly, solve issues more creatively, and adjust and react to new situations with a higher skill level.
In 7 Ways to Develop Cognitive Flexibility, Marianne Stenger provided tips to help you expand your cognitive flexibility:
- Alter your everyday routine.
- Seek out new experiences.
- Practice thinking creatively.
- Don’t always take the easy way.
- Go out of your way to meet new people.
- Transfer your learning.
- Challenge your morals.
Using these seven tips will improve your thinking, which can lead to becoming a successful leader.
The second step is creating more emotional flexibility. If you can adapt how you handle your emotions, you can serve others more effectively.
When I learned to show empathy and was able to adapt to how those around me coped during hard times, I was able to reach a whole new level of understanding. I have been team captain for my collegiate tennis team for three years, and I can say that this skill is vital.
Without the initial trust from those around you, you cannot get through the front door. People need to feel safe in order to share, grow, and learn.
Leaders who have emotional flexibility are at ease with transitional processes, including grief, whining, worry, and resistance. They can take the lead when others around them are in these times of distress.
On the other hand, leaders who lack emotional adaptability dismiss the worries and emotions of others.
The third step to increase your flexibility comes from investing in your disposition. This is an attempt of being both hopeful and realistic at the same time.
If you can be more open-minded, you will view change as an opportunity rather than a threat. This will increase your adaptivity. It can help you see new opportunities.
I recommend using daily routines to help flip negativity. Exerting physical energy toward tasks you must complete, such as cleaning, running errands, paying bills, or just checking off the little things, will help divert your attention and provide a reprieve from the current circumstance.
Sometimes the finest answers come to me when I am running errands, on a run, or working.
Incorporating these three themes will provide a new mindset for how to influence, conquer, and adjust to help you become a more flexible leader.
Tiffany Pyritz is a student-athlete at Charleston Southern University. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and financial management. She is currently working toward a Master of Business Administration.
References
Leading Effectively Staff. (2022, May 27). Adapting to Change Requires Flexible Leadership. CCL.https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/adaptability-1-idea-3-facts-5-tips/
Martin, K. (2020, December 13). 5 ways you can improve your disposition – I’ve Decided – Our mission is your success! I’ve Decided – Our Mission Is Your Success! https://ivedecided.org/blog/2020/11/5-ways-you-can-improve-your-disposition/
Stenger, M. (2017, April 11). 7 Ways to Develop Cognitive Flexibility. InformED. https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/7-ways-develop-cognitive-flexibility/
