Adaptation
Long time high fivers will know that adaptability has always featured highly. Those who’ve been through our Coaching Circles programme will know we devote a whole session to building the skill of adaptability. It’s critical to shifting from survive to thrive mode, whether that be at work, home, or the island we’ve run off to as it all became too much.
Well now as we navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving, technology driven world, our adaptability becomes even more dispensable as a skill. By learning to adjust, grow, and embrace change we can harness the power of technology to augment our natural abilities and excel, in whichever arena we choose.
We seem to be at peak hype when it comes to AI, and like everything these days it appears to be polarising us as a society. I spend a lot of time talking with professionals of all ages, from all backgrounds, and working across a variety of disciplines, and the one thing that seems to be on everyone’s mind is “will I be replaced by AI”. The short answer is no. But a lot of the work we currently do will most likely be done by AI in the near future. Up to 80% of our work will be influenced by it. Which means we have an opportunity (that’s a euphemism for need) to adapt to AI, and fast.
The human species’ ability to adapt is arguably unparalleled, although there’s some stiff competition from some frogs, camels, water bears (really) and cockroaches (ew). Which is how I know you’ve got this – even those of you who’s much rather hide under the duvet until the machines have either taken over, or the hype fades NFT or meme stock style. If you haven’t embraced it already, it’s time to adapt and to get comfortable with augmenting your awesome self.
The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.
Adaptability meets augmentation
In the context of technology, augmentation refers to the process of enhancing human capabilities with the help of technology. In reality we’ve been augmenting ourselves for hundreds of years – bicycles, glasses, computers…it’s just that now it feels like we’re at a tipping point where the technology may actually do a better job at certain things than us. Resulting in some understandable feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, and aforementioned hiding under the duvet.
But when we combine our adaptability with augmentation, we become more efficient, productive, and capable of tackling complex challenges. Right from how to structure and deliver a great presentation at work (complete with speaker points and slides) to how to structure a dinner party menu incorporating the inevitable 3,068 dietary requirements across the average 6 people these days, augmenting ourselves with the tools available can lead to less stress, more effective outcomes, and more time to spend on the things we’d rather be doing with the people we’d rather be around.
Change is inevitable, especially in a world driven by technological advancements. Learning to adapt to new technologies and incorporating them into our lives is crucial for staying relevant and competitive in our careers. By embracing change, we can leverage technology to augment our skills and abilities, becoming more effective in every day life.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t scary. Adapting to new technologies requires vulnerability and the courage to learn, to push ourselves out of our comfort zones, and to put our egos aside. But in this case, facing into the temporary overwhelm of learning can have outsize impacts on decimating the everyday overwhelm once you’ve mastered how to augment yourself. So here goes, in three simple steps:
- Adopt a growth mindset: embrace the idea that you can learn and grow alongside technology. Be open to change and new experiences. Accept setbacks as opportunities for growth and improvement, and refine your approach. Didn’t check the references in your AI generated report? Should have known better, and you will next time…
- Develop digital literacy and seek opportunities for continuous learning: enhance your understanding of various digital tools and platforms, and stay informed about emerging trends. As a starter check out OpenAI, this LI Introduction to Prompt Engineering for AI, or IBM Learn & Play with AI.
- Collaborate and network: connect with others in your field to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices related to technology. Connect with others outside of your field to get diverse perspectives on how augmentation is changing the game elsewhere too. Inspiration comes in many forms.
What are the rewards of all this time outside your comfort zone? When we embrace adaptability and augmentation, we unlock numerous benefits, such as increased efficiency, productivity, and innovation. By staying adaptable, we can effectively navigate the challenges of a technology-driven world and create new opportunities for personal and professional growth. Adapting, augmenting, evolving means we can choose a future in which we can focus on the meaningful things in life. We just have to detach from the tendency to attach self-worth to doing and enjoy more time for just being.
On that note, a big thank you to ChatGPT for drafting the framework for this blog, having ingested previous High Five Insights. I may have augmented the output a lot (meta) but my edits include my poor, vernacular, use of grammar and I’m know my prompts could have been better.
And with that, I’m off to spend the time it saved me with real life humans. Until next time take care, stay safe and be kind 
As always if you have tips, tricks or feedback, share the love by contacting us. If you’ve been forwarded the High Five and want to sign up to your weekly pithy shot of piety subscribe here, and you can always join our growing community at LinkedIn Transform Perform.
