Putting Adaptability Quotient at the heart of future ready

For teams to be ready for what comes next, they need to be responsive, flexible and adaptable.

Rigid structures and sticking to what’s always been done is a sure-fire way to lose touch and lose ground. Future ready BD teams, particularly in the legal sector, need to anticipate and thrive on change.

That’s why the adaptability quotient is so crucial when it comes to hiring and retaining the right people. By cultivating an environment and people who are ready for the next disruption we can ensure your firm is always on and always ready.

What is Adaptability Quotient?

The term adaptability quotient (AQ) has been used for the last ten years or so, but it’s becoming more influential when it comes to the workplace. When you review the events of the last decade, maybe it’s not a surprise that employers are starting to sit up and talk about adaptability.

AQ can be characterised by the ability to cope, flex, thrive and respond to change.

Increasingly, it’s thought that an individual's AQ level will determine how effectively they can lead others and rise to success in the face of adversity.

From IQ to EQ to AQ

Most of us are familiar with IQ - the measure of traditional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is also fairly well known. It’s the ability to understand and manage your own emotions while being aware of other people’s emotions. EQ has lately been touted as the marker of success with more emphasis being placed on authentic leadership and soft skills.

Moving from IQ to EQ to AQ highlights changes in our society. No longer are we looking at business as numbers in a spreadsheet with people treated as necessary cogs rather than individuals.

Instead, we’re stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. We’re realising that prioritising adaptability, resilience and flexibility is the best way to create the right environment for success.

We’re also realising that we live in a far more volatile society, with more politics, divisions and advancements disrupting our everyday life. That isn’t going to change, so it follows that those who handle change in the best manner will be the ones to come out on top.

AQ isn’t only being discussed in industry publications, it’s being talked about by firms themselves as a way to enhance their BD teams. At the end of last year, I joined a panel discussion at The High Tide Conference, Toronto, to talk about things AQ in legal marketing.

There were so many ways that AQ showed up as a value-add from anticipating client needs in fast-moving environments to diversifying away from traditional hires and experiences to broaden perspectives to cultivating and building on existing AQ levels to help people feel valued, purposeful and inspired to grow.

AQ isn’t a fad, legal firms have woken up to the many business benefits that come with having a highly AQ skilled team, and this is only the beginning.

Challenges facing the legal industry

The legal industry is at a crossroads. It’s facing monumental challenges and needs the right people to push things forward, but firms can be quite rigid in their way of working. The lack of flexibility and even progression is damaging employee retention rates with many leaving for a more forward-thinking environment.

Many firms need modern, tech-enabled processes and inclusive leadership. Those with rigid hierarchies, a lack of progression, limited recognition and ineffective feedback structures will fall behind.

To build future ready BD teams, change has to happen. For leadership, that means looking at the way they work. For current employees it means being ready to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in to making change happen. For new hires, it means some uncertainty and hard work.

All three groups need to be adaptable. Embracing change, driving it forward and wading through the messy middle. That’s where AQ comes into its own.

When it’s embedded in the hiring process and current employees are guided through improving their own AQ, everyone feels involved, valued and are far more likely to get stuck in and stay, rather than bowing out because things have changed.

Managing change

Other disruptors of the status quo in the workplace that law firms are grappling with, are hybrid working and managing multigenerational teams.

The debate over hybrid working is still very much alive and kicking. While many feel they’ve already been through it and adapted to this change, it’s only on a surface level. There’s still a disconnect between what the younger generations want and what the decision-making partners, who are typically Gen X, want.

While the debate continues the lack of clarity and increased likelihood of further change is detrimental to retention rates. If people don’t feel secure or seen in the discussion, at some point they’ll jump ship.

For firms looking to navigate this scenario, transparency is key. The biggest threat with change is the unknown. When people don’t know what’s going on, when or why, they become nervous, rumours spread and no amount of AQ can overcome that.

Unpacking the reasoning behind decisions and, where possible, being as honest as possible at all times will give people the information they need to digest what’s going on and, hopefully, will reassure them. Communication is key.

When it comes to retaining top performers, transparency and purpose go a long way. Then when you add in mentoring and career development, like working on their AQ, it all comes together to create a place where people want to work.

AQ isn’t just for individuals

Measures such as IQ or EQ are often seen as individualistic. However, AQ can be applied at a firm level. Building flexibility, training, and support into basic systems and processes can position the firm to respond effectively to change.

This might be through understanding that values, motivators, and expectations vary by region, e.g. UK vs. US vs. Canada, and flexibility needs to be applied to hiring practices in each region.

It’s also about how firms connect their values with their employees, creating a personal sense of purpose that resonates across cultures.

After all, while AQ is often focused around negative change, it should also be applied to any part of your job that requires adaptability.

It might be dealing with clients, collaboration with a global team or simply the natural ebb and flow that comes in busy firms.

AQ is absolutely something that should be assessed in hiring processes via behavioural and situation questions but it’s also something the firm should reflect on at an organisation level.

How was that change managed? What should we do differently next time? How do we better support our team during this time?

Future ready teams with high AQ levels will only flourish in firms which have high AQ levels. When those two come together, that’s when the magic happens.