There's one absolutely predictable consequence of the rapid and complex changes taking place in business and industry: the ever-increasing number of new problems that need to be solved. As Prof. Abraham Zaleznik of Harvard University points out, "No matter how much you plan, when you get to the workplace there are unanticipated problems." Moreover, most of these problems can't be solved effectively in an old, familiar or straightforward manner. Hence, the quality most necessary for business and career success these days is flexibility.
The notion of flexibility is broad. Psychologist Harrison G. Gough defines it as "the ability to shift and to adapt, to deal with the new, the unexpected and the unforeseen." According to late psychologist Carl R. Rogers, "Flexibility means lack of rigidity and permeability of boundaries in concepts, perceptions and hypotheses. It means a tolerance of ambiguity where ambiguity exists. It means the ability to receive much conflicting information without forcing closure upon the situation."
How Flexible Are You?
As a rule, highly flexible people are able to stay loose and to choose and explore a wide variety of approaches to problems, without losing sight of the overall goal or purpose. During problem solving, if new developments or changed circumstances demand, flexible people can easily drop one line of thought or an unworkable approach and take up another.
They show resourcefulness in their ability to shift gears, to discard one frame of reference for another, to change perspective and to adapt quickly to new developments or requirements. As the late professor John E. Arnold of Stanford University put it, "Flexibility is obviously facilitated by having a great many tricks in your bag, knowing lots of techniques, having broad experience."
Flexible Search Strategies
It also is interesting to note that flexible people rely not only on employment agencies and local newspaper ads to search for jobs, but also pursue more informal strategies, such as personal contacts, word-of-mouth sources, friends, relatives and direct applications to prospective employers. Job hunters with less flexibility tend to use only a few formal sources for gaining employment, such as employment agencies and local newspaper ads. And as a rule, flexible people tend to make more favorable impressions at their job interviews.
Also known as "uptight," "rigid" or obsessive-compulsives, inflexible people tend to see changes or challenges as threats, not opportunities. They have little openness to the new, the unexpected or the unpredictable. As a result, they aren't readily able to adapt or adjust to new situations and are reluctant to abandon old ways of thinking or do things differently. Some even prefer to freeze the world of flux and make believe nothing is changing.
It must be pointed out, however, that since inflexible people are strongly committed to the presentation of the status quo, their use of traditional information and accepted methods allow them to solve most kinds of routine business problems efficiently and effectively. But when it comes to problems where innovative solutions are called for, their chances of succeeding are slim. Since their thought processes are jammed with stereotypes, they lack the capability to look for new directions, new perspectives and new ways to approach problems where no precedent for solution exists.
Are You Flexible or Uptight?
To learn whether, or to what extent, you tend to be flexible or uptight take this quiz.
