The failure rate of leaders of newly appointed leader is high and many don’t succeed in their new roles, often failing during the first 12 months of their new tenure. This is widely written about with failure rates cited as anywhere from 30 to 60%.

This got me thinking about a particular skill that I think truly separates the great from the good in management and leadership. Now while I’m not saying that this one area is a silver bullet that will fix all our productivity problems, I firmly believe this one trait can make a significant difference – both to personal and organisational performance.

Let me start with a definition (see if you can guess what it is!): “Recognising when circumstances dictate that you need to do something different to thrive or survive, then having the courage and willingness to follow through and steer your organisation toward success.”

Before the big reveal, a few words about leadership models. These tend to be very prescriptive as to what leaders need to be and what good leadership is. Now I would argue that the vast majority of organisations are basically looking for the same fundamental set of skills in their leaders, which are transferable.

No matter the size of organisation or the industry, leaders are there to drive results – it’s what they get paid and are accountable for. They do that by helping organisations achieve their strategic objectives by building, leading and inspiring their teams to achieve that vision. And those leadership requirements are pretty standard across all organisations.

Why adaptability can be a differentiator
Where the subtlety comes is how those leaders apply their qualities to the particular scenario, context, vision and strategy that they are confronted with, for example they could be faced with a corporate turnaround or start-up scenario. And I would argue that the hallmark of a great leader is the self-awareness to realise that they need to adapt to the different situations and environments.

As per my definition above, it’s that ability to recognise what those changes need to be, both at a personal and organisational level and then having the courage and conviction to execute.

How do I need to change to be effective in this new environment? How do I modify my leadership style within this new culture? The key here is to understand their new reality, which could be a change in the macro environment, as we’ve recently found with the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict. What may have previously worked for a former employer won’t work here given the many differences likely to be encountered, given factors such as industry, company history, culture etc.

Clearly, your remit gets wider the more senior you get, the breadth of issues you need to think about and the decisions you have to make and respond to are very different as your sphere of influence increases. The stakes are much higher, the risks and burden are greater too, as getting it wrong can have a catastrophic effect on an organisation’s reputation, share price etc.

Examine the evidence
If I can turn my attention to leadership assessments, one of the first things I look for are signs of adaptability. Now this could come in many different guises, whether it be moving roles or business functions, managing underperforming teams, building new teams from scratch or leading in different territories. It’s that breadth and depth of experience that’s so vital.

That exposure to new challenges will fuel new thinking and ideas while demonstrating agility and courage to step out of their comfort zone. It says a lot about the individual’s open mindedness, their empathy, appetite for risk taking, self-confidence, willingness to interact with a diverse group of people and challenge their own thinking.

So while there is no such thing as the perfect leader, looking at adaptability should be an integral part of the assessment process, as it reveals the likelihood of that person’s potential to develop and bridge the gaps that have been identified as part of the process. In other words, the chances of that individual being able to improve on the skills gaps identified (with support, development and feedback) are far greater if they are agile.

And this is especially relevant in today’s world of today when the rate of change – technology being a prime example – is far quicker than it has ever been. And that pace of change is only likely to accelerate even more! Therefore, the speed at which organisations and leaders need to flex is also that much faster.

Here are some top takeaways:

1) A change of direction
The leadership fundamentals are the same role to role, industry to industry, company to company. What separates the truly great leaders is their ability to adapt at a personal level and change their behaviours. What might have worked in previous roles, won’t work now. And they also need to make tough decisions depending on the new strategy and operating environment.

2) Give exposure early on
There’s no point waiting until someone becomes a CFO or CMO and then provide them with leadership training when they’re probably already failing. It’s too late. Experience in general management should start early and variety of experience is critical. Highly learning agile leaders who have been thrown in at the deep end early on will be better equipped to deal with external shocks.

3) Provide action learning
Stretch assignments and secondments to different functions, business units or territories, owning a P&L or revenue number will help build resilience and adaptability. Any challenge that comes their way will be far less likely to faze them. Use action learning to create different environments for these individuals to work on projects alongside their day jobs.

4) Greater focus on adaptability
A few final thoughts…

Leadership development often comes under criticism for not being fit for purpose as it doesn’t prepare leaders sufficiently for real world problems. Theory will only get you so far. Yet why is it that adaptability rarely gets a mention in these programmes? And let’s not forget that being adaptable encompasses many other qualities such as open-mindedness, self-confidence, courage, risk taking, resilience and adopting a fresh lens.

A lot has been written about the need to review leadership models in 2023, especially in terms of how leaders manage performance, which is a valid argument. And of course there are many other leadership qualities and areas to focus on such as empathy and listening to employees, as well as cultural drivers such as encouraging feedback, which fosters trust and employee engagement.

But for me assessing and developing adaptability is arguably the most important one. Those who are not able to adapt will fail. It should not just be assessed during the hiring process, it should be an integral chapter of any leadership development intervention. You’ll be creating a cohort of leaders who are better able to manage disruption and move from one issue to the next with dexterity. Focusing on adaptability takes time and focus but the rewards are huge.

It might even give a much-needed lift to the UK’s productivity rankings.