Adaptability

Strengths

• Provides a “safe” environment where the team knows exactly what to expect
• Preserves organizational memory by sticking to core values and proven systems
• Highly efficient in stable industries where routine and precision are the goals
• Reduces the risk of “knee-jerk” reactions to temporary trends or stress

Liabilities

• May apply a “hammer” to every problem, even when the situation needs a “scalpel”
• Can become a bottleneck when the team needs to pivot styles quickly
• Risk of appearing “out of touch” when external conditions change radically
• Might struggle to manage diverse personalities who require different motivators

Development tips if you lean left

• Before a meeting, ask: “Does this person need me to be a coach or a director right now?”
• Practice “Active Observation”: look for signs that your current approach isn’t landing.
• Identify one small routine you can change this week to build flexibility.
• Ask a trusted peer: “When does my consistency start to feel like rigidity?”
• Debrief after a conflict: “Would a different version of me have handled that better?”
• Experiment with different communication channels (e.g., more face-time vs. more email).
• Read about Situational Leadership models to identify styles you rarely use.
• Try to say “Yes, and…” to a new idea before giving your standard critique.

Strengths

• Effectively manages a wide range of people, from juniors to senior experts
• Pivots quickly during “day-to-day” fires without losing momentum
• Highly resilient; treats setbacks as puzzles to be solved with a new approach
• Ensures the team stays relevant by adjusting tactics to meet the moment

Liabilities

• Can create “organisational whiplash” if the team can’t keep up with the pivots
• Risk of appearing “erratic” or lacking a core “north star”
• May overlook long-term organisational memory in favour of “the fix”
• The team may feel they have to “guess” which version of the leader they are getting

Development tips if you lean right

• Explicitly label your shifts: “I’m moving from brainstorming mode to decision mode.”
• Anchor your pivots in core values so the team understands the *why* behind the change.
• Maintain a few “Consistent Rituals” (e.g., the Monday huddle) to provide grounding.
• Document why a major tactical change was made to preserve the “why” for the future.
• Check in: “Is the pace of change helping the team or burning them out?”
• Ensure your “Core Brand” stays visible even when your tactics are shifting.
• Learn to say: “We are changing the plan, but we are not changing our goal.”
• Reflect on whether a pivot is a strategic necessity or just a response to boredom.

If you are consistent, you may:

• Have a “signature style” that everyone in the company recognises
• Prefer to master one way of leading before exploring others
• Value deep tradition, legacy, and established “best practices”
• Expect the team to adapt to your style and standards

If you are situational, you may:

• Be a “Chameleon,” naturally speaking the language of whoever you are with
• Change your level of “hands-on” involvement based on a project’s risk level
• Feel energised by the need to scrap a plan and start over
• View leadership as a series of experiments rather than a fixed set of rules

Adaptability helps when:

• Leading a multi-generational or culturally diverse workforce
• The company is scaling rapidly, and what worked yesterday won’t work today
• You are managing a crisis where the “old rules” no longer apply
• You need to bridge the gap between technical teams and executive boards

Adaptability hurts when:

• The team is exhausted and desperate for a period of boring predictability
• The leader pivots so much that they forget the original “Core Mission”
• Important organisational knowledge is discarded because “it’s old”
• No one knows who is truly “in charge” because the style keeps shifting