Adopt adaptive thinking

The vaccination across the world is in full swing ensuring that the pandemic is no more looming over us.  Look around you and observe the people, what has made them survive this long bleak period? What made people change their business overnight? What made people do chores they never attempted before? What made technology so accessible and augmented overnight? What made people embrace skills they never had in a short span? 

Well, all those who endured the pandemic showed one common attribute,' Adaptive thinking'. 
According to psychologist and expertise researcher Anders Ericsson, Adaptive Thinking involves the ability to “recognize unexpected situations, quickly consider various possible responses, and decide on the best one.”This attribute was showcased by every member irrespective of age, gender, caste, or creed.

 Jeff Boss mentions that there are three main characteristics of adaptive thinkers. 

1.     Adaptive Thinkers Show Impulse Control - Do you remember our parents not giving in to our demands and making us wait. Well, it brought in resilience within us. The Marshmallow test stands testimony. https://jamesclear.com/delayed-gratification.

2.   Adaptive thinkers leave ego at the door - One needs to unlearn to relearn and that can only happen when one embraces humility. 

3.   Adaptive thinkers are curious - Curiosity makes one question, conduct problem-solving exercise which yields results. 

So, the prevalent question is, ‘How does one build this most crucial skill in students within the school and home?

The Harvard Business Review Article, ‘Five principles to Guide Adaptive leadership’ mentions the four A’s:

v    Anticipation of likely future needs, trends and options.

v    Articulation of these needs to build collective understanding and support for action.

v    Adaptation so that there is continuous learning and the adjustment of responses as necessary.

v    Accountability, including maximum transparency in decision making processes and openness to challenges and feedback.

Modifying these principles in schools, it can be expressed that we need to design a robust curriculum which anticipates future needs and trends and that is possible only when school’s liaison with Industries through internships and Industry-teacher mentorships and reviews the latest research and developments. It regularly invests in the training of teachers and Heads to support implementation of vocational subjects, activities, events which help students hone skills and attributes. It articulates the curriculum to varied stakeholders like Management, parents, students, and experienced educators to garner constructive criticism and support. It continuously adapts its curriculum to suit the needs of the society and students as per needs and expectations and finally holds itself accountable to streamline the vision and mission of the school to achieve the goals.

At home, the parents need to follow the 3R’s in their day to day interaction with their child

1.     Restrain

2.   Resilience

3.   Reflect

Restrain – Love your child but know when to give in and when to restrain. Instant gratification is not the solution but instant ‘NO’ can help.

Resilience – Very often our love for them makes us fight all their obstacles and challenges and in return weakens them. Let them fall and offer your hand to them to get up. Let their journey be their OWN.

Reflect – Allow the children moments to realize the implications of their actions whether positive or negative at the end of the day and categorize them. Help them work on converting the pain into a learning experience for it will build within them empathy and mutual respect.  

As Yann Martel, Life of Pi says “All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.”

Together, we develop a positive mindset, adapt and overcome. 

Thanks and gratitude to Ms. Sita Murthy and IPN as the talks inspired me to write on the topic. 

References:

1.     Jeff Boss, Three characteristics of Adaptive leaders, Forbes, Jul 1, 2015,07:15am EDT, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2015/07/01/3-characteristics-of-adaptive-thinkers/?sh=721f4f0de179

2.     Ben Ramalingam, David Nabarro, Arkebe Oqubay, Dame Ruth Carnall, and Leni Wild, 5 Principles to Guide Adaptive Leadership, Harvard Business Review, September 11, 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/09/5-principles-to-guide-adaptive-leadership