In case you haven’t spent any time around Marines, our motto is Semper Fidelis which means Always Faithful.
Once you have been in the Marines for about five minutes, you hear the slightly derogatory version of the motto, Semper Gumby (Always Flexible).
This is because things often (especially when you are a young Marine) go wrong.
You are told to be at the armory to draw weapons at 0430. When you get there, you are told that the armory doesn’t open until 0500.
Your Platoon Sergeant sends you to the chow hall at 0650 only to learn that it closed at 0630.
You arrive at the rifle range at 0730 to find that the necessary ammunition, targets, or safety structure is not in place to allow you to train, so you hike back to the barracks and sit in your room waiting for hours for “the word” and after waiting until you have missed dinner at the chow hall the word finally comes, and it is:
“Be at the armory at 0430 tomorrow.”
I may be exaggerating (slightly) but it is accurate to say that when you are at the bottom of the food chain, shit rolls downhill. As a young Marine you are at the whim of every leader above you, most are good, many are great, but a few are not, and so we learn to be flexible.
And while this trait is learned often through failures in leadership it is still a valuable skill that comes in handy.
And as legendary basketball coach, John Wooten said, “Flexibility is the key to stability.”
We learn how to make things happen, how to stay focused on the objective despite the setbacks, and how to accomplish our mission even when the cards are stacked against us.
This level of flexibility, if nurtured, turns into adaptability
Adaptable people thrive when things change. They excel in chaos. They can “keep their heads when all about you are losing theirs and blaming you.”-RK
So even if your misspent youth hasn’t equipped you to be adaptable, you can develop it by focusing on the following:
Develop a Growth Mindset: (Read Carol Dweck on this) If you assume that you’ve lost as soon as the situation changes, you have.
Build learning agility: Seek honest feedback, especially on your failures. Be open to criticism and ask WHY? – A lot. And, the more frequently you put yourself in uncomfortable positions, the more opportunity you will have to practice your adaptability.
Keep your emotions in check: Blowing a gasket when something changes will not help you adapt.
Recognize that the time for pointing fingers is after the fight is won. When the situation changes you must:
- Recognize that it has changed
- Identify with has changed
- Deal with the new situation
Getting to the bottom of why the situation changed can be useful, but not until you have dealt with the current situation.
The more often you put yourself in the lead of volatile situations the better you will get at dealing with them.
Before long, you will be the Sempert Gumby leader people look to in crisis.
John
Thanks, Pete for the topic recommendation!
