One interpretation of personal agility is that it is a self-management concept consisting of three main attributes: adaptability, proactivity and resilience. The profile of an agile person, then, is someone who is:
1. Adaptive – able to adjust to different organisational conditions (new equipment, new ways of working, projects, teams);
2. Proactive – able to respond promptly and to look for opportunities in the changed environment, and
3. Resilient – able to cope under changing or unknown conditions or when facing difficulty or failure.
How does one develop personal agility? Adopting these behaviours can help:
3. Learn to reframe your thoughts
4. Accept failure and learn from mistakes
5. Be curious
6. Develop a can-do attitude
7. Distinguish between two main groups of stressors: those that are out of your control and those that you can confront
Being agile does not mean saying ‘yes’ to everything. On the contrary. And while this may be a self-management concept, whether one is agile or not will be influenced by the organisational context.
Nevertheless, there is plenty we can do to become more agile. We have gathered some resources for you below. In addition, find inspiration in those, who more easily adopt an agile mindset, like children.