While adaptability is not a newfound concept in the business world, there are still many companies and leaders who continue to be stuck in rigid hierarchical structures and cringe at a new employee with out-of-the-box ideas. If we’ve learned anything in 2020, it is that adaptability is more important than ever in our personal and professional lives. In order to find further success, leaders need to continue to foster organizations that value adaptability, whether that’s innovatively leading at the c-suite level, collaborating cross-departmentally in new ways, or listening to colleagues at a meeting shaking up how finances have been done since inception. Why exactly is adaptability so important and how can it drive business? Here are 5 reasons why adaptability is fundamental for business success, whether you’re in the healthcare industry or own a small family business.
Adaptability promotes experimentation
When your team is housed in an environment where change is encouraged and failure is celebrated, it creates an ebb and flow that is necessary to maintain adaptability. With experimentation comes curiosity, trial and error, sudden change, and innovation which all require some form of adaptability whether that be mental or structure-related. If your organization never experiments with new ways of doing things or unique measures to arrive at your goals, you will never be able to reap the benefits of innovation.
Creates an environment of growth
Your employees’ personal growth requires movement, learning, and an understanding that growth is not only praised, but encouraged. With growth comes change, and when your team understands that change is something that their company can handle, it’s that notion of adaptability that can push team members to step outside of their comfort zones in order to be the best versions of themselves. According to the Harvard Business Review, “organizations need to create environments that encourage the knowledge flow, diversity, autonomy, risk taking, sharing, and flexibility on which adaptation thrives.”
Gives your people space to excel
Once your team understands that they have a safe space to grow, they will be more apt to bring a big idea to the table, show off what they learned last week, and take a chance at a big sale even though it comes with personal risk. When your employees are surrounded by leaders who are adaptable, and an organization that has taken a stance on pro-adaptability, they will excel and perform at their peak for your company. When your employees grow, your organization is better for it, and it’s adaptability that gives them the true chance to alter their career path and really make a splash.
You gain skills by being adaptable
Whether you’re a small, family business or a larger corporation, there is much to be learned from change. When leaders and employees are able to self-correct, ask for feedback, accept failure, and have the humility to adapt and move forward, new skills come along with the journey. When your executive team decides to take the management of finances in a new direction or alter the structure of the organization, key learnings are sure to follow. When you’re a truly adaptable organization, that is moving according to outside change, responding to internal revelations, or pushing to stay ahead of your competitors, you will be smarter than you were the day before.
It’s important for relationships
Adaptability is directly related to relationships. Not only will your connections with colleagues and employees be enhanced, but adaptability is also inherent for successful relationships with investors and potential clients. When employees see the adaptability of their managers and leaders, they will be more honest and creative, which strengthens teams and builds a strong rapport. Prospective customers will also appreciate the notion of adaptability, when they know that they’re working with an organization that won’t get stuck in the face of a challenge and who can handle (and push through) anything that comes their way. Clients aren’t looking to work with a rigid and nonconforming organization; they feel comfortable and safe with adaptability.
Adaptability in business sometimes gets a bad rap. It is never about altering who you are at your core, changing your values due to an outside circumstance, or being so weak that you can’t hold your ground. Adaptability is the freedom to be whatever you want and to create an organization that isn’t afraid to look different tomorrow than they did yesterday, if that means happy employees, impressed clients, increased revenues, and true sustainability.
At Prosper RCM, we are built on adaptability. With more than 60 years of combined experience in the anesthesia industry, we provide proactive and creative solutions, deliver innovative and practical alternatives, and offer reliable and trustworthy services to help our clients improve the patient experience. We help our clients find adaptability, improve their processes, and use it to make their practices better.
Call (913) 599-9304 for more information about Prosper RCM.