How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Adaptability®

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

Your CliftonStrengths^® can empower the 5 elements of your wellbeing -- career, social, financial, community and physical. But how does this happen if you are struggling in one or more of these elements? If you have Adaptability, Appendix 1 of Gallup's Wellbeing at Work book has Strengths Insights and Action Items that can move you from struggling to thriving as you apply your Adaptability talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

Thriving in life for this person [with Adaptability] is probably when they're free to live in the moment, both in their personal and professional life.

Jaclynn Robinson, 2:49

Anytime there's organizational or department change, [people with Adaptability] can bring comfort and stability. ... They can be ... that calming presence that helps lead the team to say, "Hey, we've got this!"

Jaclynn Robinson, 5:13

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and welcome to the CliftonStrengths Podcast. On this podcast, we'll be covering topics such as wellbeing, teamwork, professional development and more. Now enjoy this episode.

Jim Collison 0:10
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast, we'll look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning Items from Appendix 1 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Adaptability. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in the chat room. There's a link right above me there. You can click on that and sign into the chat room. If you have questions after the fact, we'd love to have you send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant and as the primary -- and was the primary contributor to Appendix 1 in the Wellbeing at Work book. Jaclynn, always great to see you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:48
Thank you, sir. Good to be here.

What's the definition of Adaptability?

Jim Collison 0:50
We, we want to spend some time talking about Adaptability today. Let's start with the theme definition. Can you dive into that for us?

Jaclynn Robinson 0:57
Yes, Adaptability is very much the, in-the-moment, live-in-the-present type of individual if you lead with this high. And they tend to take, you know, looking at their future one day at a time; let's just build that brick one day at a time, and see where the road takes us.

Jim Collison 1:16
We want to look at it as kind of how it relates to you. So let's look how it relates to an individual and then how it relates to others.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:23
Yeah, so I think someone high with Adaptability adjusts really well to numerous or competing priorities. They continue to remain responsive under pressure. So the last 2 years, they've probably really been able to shine. And they're often considering that most immediate need. So whatever's in front of them is, "OK, let me focus on this." If I think about how they relate to other people, they can adjust with ease when it comes to those changes that arise in the workplace or even personally. So they're really good at helping teams -- or, if we go to the personal perspective, family members -- navigate through any changes and really do so with a sense of calm and comfort. And then that creates more stability for those around them.

Jim Collison 2:07
I love how you ended that. I was gonna lean on that -- this idea of stability amidst chaos, in that providing folks with high Adaptability can provide that environment to, to, I think sometimes to stay calm. I double that with Arranger, which is a very powerful, those two working together.

Jaclynn Robinson 2:26
That's so neat that you have that combo!

Jim Collison 2:28
Yeah, work really, really powerful together. Now, my long-range planning is terrible. But in the moment, there's --

Jaclynn Robinson 2:35
I'm your person; lean into me in the moment!

How does Adaptability look when it's thriving versus struggling?

Jim Collison 2:38
There's nobody better. What, as we think about this, this theme of Adaptability, when it's thriving versus when it's struggling, let's talk a little bit about that.

Jaclynn Robinson 2:47
I think about firing on all cylinders. And thriving in life for this person is probably when they're free to live in the moment, both in their personal and professional life once more. So whether they're helping, you know, a team adjust to a return to work or hybrid situation right now or, you know, if they just want to try out different fitness classes throughout the month, and maybe they have a class pass. That's when they're at their best is when they can just kind of be in that present moment.

Jim Collison 3:14
We, in the book, in the Appendix, we've got some sections you can kind of focus on, based on the 5 elements. Can you give me an example of one of those from the book?

Jaclynn Robinson 3:22
Yeah, I think about financial wellbeing. So for someone that lives in the moment -- I think you just hit the nail on the head -- it can be hard to start planning more long-term, whether it's, you know, a work responsibility or financial responsibility. So if we look specifically at financial wellbeing, it might be difficult, you know, sometimes to think about major life expenses, like buying a home or saving for retirement or a family vacation. So a financial planner could be a really good partner for someone with Adaptability high that can, you know, really help them think about short-term expenses and memorable experiences they want to make, but also those long-term savings plans too.

For those with Adaptability, how can it be used to support others?

Jim Collison 4:05
Financial wellbeing at work is a difficult conversation to have sometimes, I think. And for folks with high Adaptability, they may be able to provide some additional alternative ways to talk about it, to think about it, to live with it, to work with it that may ease that in, right. I mean, and, you know, I think when, during the early days of the pandemic, we were very, very worried about that. And I think in, within teams, we needed that skill, because I think we, nobody knew, right? We're like, What's going to happen to the economy? What are we going to, what are we going to do? So I love that you picked financial for this one. I think folks with high Adaptability have that opportunity to bring those kinds of, those kinds of things. We have 4 other elements and examples in there, right, for folks if they want to go in there and take a look at that. So we'd encourage you to do that there in Appendix 1. So for those with Adaptability -- this is my favorite part -- how can you use it to help others?

Jaclynn Robinson 5:06
If we think about using it to help others, let's go to, like, if they're a manager leading a team. So one thing they can do is anytime there's organizational or, you know, department change, they can bring comfort and stability to that team. You know, they, because they think one step at a time, one day at a time, they can be that, that, let's say that calming presence that helps lead the team to say, "Hey, we've got this! This, there's a path that we can take; let's, let's focus on it. We can, we can adjust. We've got this. No problem at all!" So they can bring, again, that sense of stability and hope. I think if they were on a team, and we're just thinking from a colleague-to-colleague perspective, they're really good. Like, you're one of those individuals with high Adaptability that I could lean into, and there's another in the workplace. But if you're that colleague, and you just get anxious, maybe something was, you know, just landed on your plate, or you have a new work responsibility.

Jaclynn Robinson 6:02
Someone with Adaptability is really good at serving as that thought partner, to just really help them think through that plan and bring a sense of cadence, and -- I'm going to use the word "calm" again -- but calm back to their life. And it makes them feel more confident moving forward. From an individual perspective, and I'm thinking individual, but again, they're so good. I love that it's Relationship Building theme, because we see that come forward. But from the individual perspective, you know, they get energy from being able to live in the moment or, you know, needing to think and be on their feet quick. So that enthusiasm, coupled with the sharp thinking they have when they're in the moment, I think it helps other people see that, you know, Hey, things are good. Things are OK; we've got this! They're not running around, spinning in circles, so I don't think I need to either. The excitement you have for change just helps everyone else go, "Oh, OK. Things aren't so bad. after all!"

Jim Collison 7:02
In the early days of Called to Coach, this was not as easy as it is today. I mean, we have lots of great tools that really just kind of make this easy. I don't have to work that hard anymore. But in the early days, it was really, really difficult. We were bringing a couple different systems together, and they wouldn't, oftentimes wouldn't work. And I would, you know, there, it'd be going, it'd be crazy in a behind the scenes of things happening. And I always got a lot of comments from folks, like, "You always seem calm when things are, you know, going crazy." And, and I love the word -- you used it earlier -- "stability," right? I think in all three of those, whether you're leading a team, you're a team member, or individually, I think that gift of Adaptability, we often think of it as bringing chaos, but I think it actually brings stability, right? It's the ability to handle that chaos and bring stability in to provide that, you know, we talk about those in the 4 Needs of Followers, right? In bringing that in.

Jim Collison 8:04
So I really love, I love the fact that you emphasize this. I think this is that, this is the superpower of Adaptability is to be able to bring that stability. We, in Appendix 2, which I think is just as important as Appendix 1, there's a frame, there's a framework there. I want you to apply this to that framework as we kind of think through those, those, those three. We have a whole bunch of questions back there for you. But walk us through those three questions.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:29
One thing we think about is, Ask Yourself. So if you lead with Adaptability, and we circle back to the financial wellbeing piece, one thing that you could just kick off with is, What are my financial goals? Just lay that out there: What are my financial goals? What do I want, short term or long term? So that accountability partner you do have or that system you put in place or that financial planner now knows what they're working towards, or what you're working towards. And then another section is Ask Your Team Members. So do we encourage each other to have these enjoyable experiences, such as a great vacation? It's a financial wellbeing piece, but, you know, that's looping in so many other elements of wellbeing. You're in a community, if you're, you know, vacating somewhere. You're probably, if you're with family or friends, you're getting that social piece in. From the career aspect, you're just encouraging each other.

Jaclynn Robinson 9:20
So as we go back to wellbeing and this burnout that people are experiencing in the workplace, you know, really being there for each other to say, "Hey, have you taken a break yet? When's the last vacation you had? Go out there. Have that memorable experience," I think is something that we can all bring to the table. But for Adaptability, that might also be encouraging and a way of holding even themselves accountable to making sure they've got the right systems in place to have that, that vacation they, they desire with family or friends.

Jim Collison 9:50
What about that, what about that last section of Taking Action in there?

Jaclynn Robinson 9:53
Yes. So if I think about Taking Action, let's call out one of those -- drumroll. I think it goes back to establishing default systems, whether it's automated savings, or, you know, a budget tracker where it just does all the budgeting for you, there's a lot of good websites where it just starts to funnel in how much you're spending on entertainment or groceries, etc. That could be a really easy way to start to reduce any, you know, worries about finances, particularly for somebody high with Adaptability, so it's not going to feel really droll or boring. You just, you know, you have different ways of accounting for your financial wellbeing.

Jim Collison 10:34
Yeah, no, I love that. Coaches, a great opportunity, as you're working through with someone on this. Take their, take a theme; talk about an area of wellbeing they may be struggling in, and then head over to Appendix 2. And there's some questions to say, OK, let's ask these questions about yourself. Let's ask them about your team, team members, those that you're working with. They, if they're a leader or not, everybody leads something, right. And then I love the Action items that are in there.

Jaclynn Robinson 11:00
Me too!

Jim Collison 11:00
Just some, just some opportunities to do some, some great things. Jaclynn, any other final thoughts before we wrap it up?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:06
You know, I would turn this over to you. This is my, I think, my 33. I love people with Adaptability. Arranger is a little higher, so there's some flexibility there, but I'm almost the, the other end of the spectrum with Discipline. So yeah, just --

Jim Collison 11:21
Well, I've put myself in a role to, to make this work. Like that's my role, as a community manager, as a brand ambassador, the world's chaotic -- I get questions all the time, right. I get, it's different every day. I try to have some -- I love, by the way, I love your automatic systems advice on this. Like yes, we who are high in Adaptability need automatic systems to make things work for us. So think some great opp -- by the way, automatic systems help have a higher wellbeing for me, because I'm not worried about them happening or not; they just do. Right? They just do, and it takes that worry away from me. So I think that's what I would add there. Well, great.

Jim Collison 12:03
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the CliftonStrengths Podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. And if you're really enjoying this podcast, please leave a review. This helps us promote strengths globally.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

Gallup^®, CliftonStrengths^® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup. Copyright © 2000 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.