Adaptability – The most important personality trait
It might not be the first thing that pops into your head when you think about the most important personality trait, but let’s think about it for a second.
Pay attention, because it’s all tied to one fact: 99.9% of all the species that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct.
So, how about the 0.01% that survived? Well, a key trait that ensured their survival was their ability to adapt.
And the same goes for us today. It’s just a different game, but the rules never changed. Keep reading to learn how to stand out from the crowd and stay ahead of the curve!
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to read the article, you can enjoy the video below or watch it on YouTube:
How do we define adaptability?
In a nutshell, it is the ability to deal with expected and unexpected changes and uncertainty in a good way.
It’s the most important trait because it lets us handle the challenges and opportunities of life with ease and resilience.
How well we can adapt directly affects how we deal with stress, solve problems, make decisions, and get along with others.
You might wonder why being able to change is so important in this day and age.
Here’s the thing: we live in a time when technology, globalization, and social changes all happen quickly.
Because of this, the environment is always changing, and every day brings new opportunities and challenges.
To do well in this kind of world, we need to be able to change our thoughts, feelings, and actions quickly and well.
William von Hippel, an evolutionary psychologist, explains in detail in his book “The Social Leap” why being able to change and adapt is so important to our survival and success.
Von Hippel says that our ancestors had to deal with many problems. Everything from social changes and lacking resources to the need to work together in larger social groups.
As a consequence, it became essential to learn how to adapt well.
Von Hippel’s theory underlines the importance of two main areas of adaptability:
Cognitive Flexibility and Social Adaptability
Let’s break them down as simply as we can:
Cognitive flexibility
It is the ability to think in new ways, solve problems, and change plans when new information comes up.
Our ancestors learned how to deal with dangers like predators, wars, and not having enough food.
By being more flexible, they were able to come up with new ways to deal with these problems and stay alive.
Today, being able to adapt is just as important. It helps us deal with the complicated world we live in now.
We have to deal with new tools, new skills, and new problems every day. It’s just a different context.
Based on von Hippel’s theory, you can do the following to improve your ability to think differently:
- Engage in activities that challenge your brain; such as puzzles, learning a new language, or taking up a musical instrument.
- Practice creative thinking exercises; brainstorming or mind mapping are options to help generate new ideas and solutions.
- Encourage yourself to view problems from multiple perspectives. Make a habit of viewing situations from various angles.
Social adaptability
We call this the ability to act, talk, and interact with other people in different ways to fit different social situations and get along with different kinds of people.
Von Hippel’s theory shows how important this trait was to our ancestors. To stay alive and have children, they had to work together and make deals.
This personality trait is just as important now as it was then. Our social lives at home and work are both complicated.
To get along with people better, try to:
- Watch and learn from people who are good at getting along with others.
- See how they change how they talk and act in different social situations.
- Engage in a variety of social situations;
- Meet people of different ages, backgrounds, and social circles.
- Develop your sense of empathy and your ability to actively listen.
- Understand the needs and points of view of others and how to respond to them.
In January 2018, von Hippel spoke at the Fred Rhodewalt Social Psychology Winter Conference in Park City, Utah, about his “behavioral flexibility” model.
Von Hippel says that flexible behavior is made up of five different but related elements.
And just for fun, his research shows that these things are very important to becoming more charismatic and successful.
We made a video about it, and we think you should check it out.
Everyone needs to have more charisma. Anyway, back to the subject.
These elements are:
- Attunement to social contingencies
- Impulse control
- The ability to generate alternative responses
- Making the right choice
- A quick response
Von Hippel’s research shows that being quick-witted is a better predictor of charisma and competence than having a great personality or being smart.
In one study, quick thinkers were seen as more charismatic by their friends than those who were smart and had strong personalities. And we know already that charisma is among the most important personality traits.
We mention charisma a lot because it’s a huge indicator of success.
To improve your adaptability based on von Hippel’s theory, focus on developing the following skills:
Adapt to subtle changes
Train your mind to recognize and adapt to constant change. In 2014, von Hippel and another researcher wrote a paper for Social Psychological and Personality Science.
In a business negotiation, for example, it’s important to take advantage of the moment and say the right thing.
Researchers applied a method called “reverse learning tasks“.
Participants are taught how to do a certain task, but then the rules are changed quickly. The subject’s performance is then judged by how quickly they learn to follow the new rules. This task is a way to find out how well a person can adapt to new situations.
People who were good at computer tasks involving reverse learning also seemed to be better at solving problems with their romantic partners.
In a different group of participants, MBA students, how well they did in reverse learning tasks showed how good they were at negotiating.
Those who did well on the computer task were usually happier with how their mock negotiations with their peers turned out. This is a clear indicator that adaptability is the most important personality trait.
The researchers concluded that being able to change how you act in a social environment that is always changing makes you more socially competent.
This ability to change makes people better at handling conflicts and negotiating to get what they want.
Keep your cool amid distractions
Learn to keep your cool and control your impulses, even when you’re distracted or faced with unexpected challenges.
You can improve adaptability by doing exercises like deep breathing, meditating, or practicing self-discipline in different parts of your life.
You should practice these exercises daily. And to keep you engaged and interested, we recommend using our performance-enhancing app – The Alux app.
Use it for just 10 minutes per day and experience all the benefits that come from high performance. Everyone who uses the app has found it a game-changer, and we couldn’t be prouder!
Be quick-witted
In 2015, there was a study in Psychological Science.
In it, Hippel said that, contrary to what he thought, having a quick mind was a better sign of competence than being smart or having a great personality.
Experimentally, people who processed information quickly were more likely to be seen as smart by their friends than people who did well on reliable tests of personality and IQ.
Von Hippel said in a press release that it seems to be less important to know the right answer to a hard question than to be able to think of a wide range of social responses quickly.
This doesn’t mean that you should speak before you think.
Some of you will get this wrong, we’re sure.
This means that the more flexible you are, the easier it is for you to come up with better and faster solutions.
You can improve your mental speed and ability to think on your feet by doing things that test your cognitive agility. Join a debate club or play fast-paced strategy games to improve your ability to think on your feet.
These exercises are bound to help you quickly improve your most important personality trait!
Generate alternative responses
When you need to make a decision or solve a problem, make it a habit to look at things from different angles.
You can work on this skill by brainstorming new ideas. Moreover, engage in activities that require you to think creatively and come up with more than one solution.
Choose the right option and deliver it quickly
Learn how to quickly compare your options and pick the best one.
To get better at this skill, you can do exercises that help you make decisions, practice public speaking, or take part in simulated negotiations.
You can use von Hippel’s ideas and improve your ability to change by focusing on these five parts.
This will not only make you more interesting and skilled. Moreover, it will give you more tools to deal with the complex and changing world we live in.
Remember that the best way to do well in our always-changing society is to be able to change.
It helps us fight off unwanted urges, understand how things change in real-time, and act quickly and wisely.
As von Hippel says:
“To get along with other people, people must adapt their responses to the specific people, situations, and histories involved.
To meet these needs, you have to be able to act in different ways.”
Closing thoughts
Here’s what you should take away from this article as a whole:
There is enough evidence to show that adaptability is the most important trait you need to build. We all have it, but if you are a high achiever, you should work every day to get better at it.
If you think about it, your ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome is the key to solving any problem you might face.
Thank you for reading through to the end. Now you know why we consider adaptability to be the most important personality trait! It’s your turn to act on it.
