The following steps can help you become more flexible:
Look for opportunities to be more flexible. It is easy to fall into routine in many parts of daily life. And often, the opportunity to be flexible is overlooked or unrecognized. Leaders can learn to identify situations in which flexibility might be a valuable resource. An example of this could be when a familiar situation changes, or when new problems arise. Before facing new situations or challenges, consider what your initial response to this challenge would be. Is this behavior chosen because it is the most effective approach? Or is it chosen because you often approach new situations in the same way? Try to tailor your responses to the actual situation at hand. Over time, leaders can become more comfortable with ambiguity. This subsequently allows them to not only display flexibility, but to also do so with ease and comfort.
Listen to the advice of others. While flexible leaders are open to trying new approaches, it is not necessary for the flexible leader to generate all the new solutions themselves. The experience, knowledge, and skills of individuals can be leveraged to help leaders consider, evaluate, and implement new approaches to problem solving. Flexible leaders should be open to the input of others. Additionally, they should understand that the best solutions don’t need to come from the top.
Check your progress. As leaders have more responsibilities assigned to them or multiple deadlines approaching, it can be tempting to fall back on old behaviors or strategies to problem solving that have been successful in the past. Remember to pause before making decisions or starting new assignments to consider if the path you’ve outlined is really the best approach for your current project. Reflect on why you chose the strategy you did, and consider some alternative methods. In short, dedicating this time for reflection can encourage leaders to be not only more flexible, but also creative and innovative in their work.
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Answer:
The following steps can help you become more flexible:
Look for opportunities to be more flexible. It is easy to fall into routine in many parts of daily life. And often, the opportunity to be flexible is overlooked or unrecognized. Leaders can learn to identify situations in which flexibility might be a valuable resource. An example of this could be when a familiar situation changes, or when new problems arise. Before facing new situations or challenges, consider what your initial response to this challenge would be. Is this behavior chosen because it is the most effective approach? Or is it chosen because you often approach new situations in the same way? Try to tailor your responses to the actual situation at hand. Over time, leaders can become more comfortable with ambiguity. This subsequently allows them to not only display flexibility, but to also do so with ease and comfort.
Listen to the advice of others. While flexible leaders are open to trying new approaches, it is not necessary for the flexible leader to generate all the new solutions themselves. The experience, knowledge, and skills of individuals can be leveraged to help leaders consider, evaluate, and implement new approaches to problem solving. Flexible leaders should be open to the input of others. Additionally, they should understand that the best solutions don’t need to come from the top.
Check your progress. As leaders have more responsibilities assigned to them or multiple deadlines approaching, it can be tempting to fall back on old behaviors or strategies to problem solving that have been successful in the past. Remember to pause before making decisions or starting new assignments to consider if the path you’ve outlined is really the best approach for your current project. Reflect on why you chose the strategy you did, and consider some alternative methods. In short, dedicating this time for reflection can encourage leaders to be not only more flexible, but also creative and innovative in their work.