I’m currently finishing a professional development qualification on skills development training and facilitation. As part of my learning, I was exposed to a much-viewed TED talk by Natalie Fratto, a startup venture investor for whom the most important criterion in assessing which entrepreneurs to invest in is adaptability.
As Fratto describes, adaptability, the ability to change depending on the need or environment, is a more insightful predictor of success than IQ or EQ. In fact, Fratto argues for us to consider the salience of AQ (adaptability quotient) in responding to a fast-changing workplace environment, which resonates in our era of accelerated change, which includes a myriad of technological disruptions such as AI, climate change, shifting economic and geopolitical contexts. In the video, Fratto emphasizes that our brains are being forced to respond and react to ever more pressing change, and this acceleration impacts individuals, groups, corporations and governments alike.
Fratto offers insights into measuring our adaptability based on “three tricks” that she uses to assess adaptability when choosing to invest. These are:
1. What if…? Simulations to uncover the complexity, depth and agility of thinking and responded to a range of scenarios
2. Looking for signs of unlearning, where the person has sought to challenge what that they presume to already know
3. Looking for evidence of the infusion of exploration in their life or business
Fratto’s suggestions on measuring and strengthening our AQ resonated with me as an educator and researcher of the future of work skills. Moreover, her “tricks” to assess adaptability suggested a form of intelligence that combined curiosity with introspection, attitudes such as growth mindset, grit and motivation to push oneself to keep exploring, but also to be open to unlearning.
While Fratto is focused on defining a metric for entrepreneurial success, I can also see the benefits of her approach to adaptability and responding to change in several ways. This includes:
sparking personal growth and fulfilment
exploring and re-engaging with purpose and
the potentially deep reflection on unlearning patterns and habits that may no longer be adding value to one’s life and that may be holding us back or keeping us trapped.
This approach is supported by Gustavo’s Razetti’s insights into active unlearning. Razetti cites research into neuroplasticity and organizational psychology to explore this process. Razetti argues that unlearning is “not just about forgetting” our past ways of thinking and doing, but developing new mental models to respond to and adapt to conditions of change and importantly, build new avenues for improved and continual performance.
Razetti argues that this is not solely a personal or individual task for growth, but also necessary for teams and organizations to thrive and innovate in a world of rapid change and disruption.
Razetti outlines a process of how to actively unlearn, writing:
Unlearning requires challenging our upbringing, education, and culture. Start by rethinking five vital areas:
Purpose: why you do what you do
Beliefs: assumptions about yourself, others, and the world.
Mindsets: the filters you use to see reality
Habits: automatic patterns of behaviors that we follow regularly
Methods: how we do what we do
Of course, I am not naïve to think simply changing one’s outlook and shedding old mental models can magically surpass the economic, environmental, geopolitical, personal and societal challenges and inequities. However, it can help us cope and respond to these circumstances in more positive ways than cynicism, pessimism and disengagement in work, all of which are rampant today.
Indeed, bolstering our AQ and engaging in active unlearning may offer us new perspectives on our skills and abilities. That is, pushing ourselves to re-evaluate, unlearn and relearn can help build the emotional and mental agility to respond with confidence and competence, build self-efficacy and self-mastery, support resilience and growth, and help reorient us in a disorienting world.
