Forget “Be More Resilient.” Be More Octopus

In the top 10 fastest growing skills by 2030 according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, sitting just behind, AI, big data and tech literacy is Resilience, Flexibility and Agility.

Now most people when you mention resilience these days either roll their eyes (literally or in their heads) and think ‘easier said than done - my org wants more for less!’

Nevertheless, in a workplace of great change, we all do need to have these three skills.  

The good thing is that you already have them, you just have to clock them.  

What do I mean?  Well, let’s think about what they really mean:

Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from setbacks and adapt to change which ensures sustained progress and growth.

Flexibility: Being adaptable in approach which allows for innovative solutions and better response to evolving environments.

Agility: Rapidly adjusting strategies and actions which enables organisations to stay competitive and responsive.

Now think about you or your team and ask yourself the following:

Resilience:  what’s a time life or work knocked you sideways?  How did you respond and what got you through it?

Flexibility:  what’s a time when your original plan fell apart?  How did you adapt?

Agility:  think about the last few years.  What’s the one thing you’ve learned to do, understand or become you couldn’t have imagined before?

If you’re reading or listening to this, you will have many examples to remind yourself that you already have these skills.

And if you want more, then I want you to picture an octopus - not on your plate for dinner but the living breathing animal.  

Why?  Partly because it’s my favourite animal but also because I think it personifies these skills:

Resilience – It can regenerate lost arms and recover from injury.

Flexibility – With no rigid skeleton, it can adapt its shape to fit through impossibly small spaces and change strategy as circumstances change.

Agility – It moves with remarkable speed and precision, both physically and mentally, constantly solving problems and responding to its environment.

We have similarities to an octopus!

• We learn by experience

• We solve problems creatively

• We can reinvent ourselves

• We recover after setbacks

• We succeed through flexibility

So my message today is clock the evidence that you already have these important future-fit skills and….

Be more Octopus!

Take care

Tracy