Founder and CEO, Luminary | Former Banking Executive | Inc. Female Founder 100 | Business Leader | High Performance Team Builder | Authentic Storyteller | Board Director
Adaptability. Not just for leaders or founders and "successful people,' but I believe for anyone navigating their career paths, from the traditional workplace to entrepreneurship and every journey in between. Most organizations spend a lot of time focused on employees in the senior ranks (e.g., they don't want them to leave) and junior ranks (you just got here, let's make you into [hopefully] great employees). Yet they have tended to place less of a focus on the pipeline and those in the middle of their careers, still navigating = the majority of the workforce, of which over 50% is women. I think being adaptable is critical, in particular for women, in what Luminary has coined "The Power Middle." Regardless of role/title/tenure, and whether or not you're climbing the corporate ladder, leveraging adaptability we can also build and expand our influence. Building and leveraging influence, investing in relationships, choosing to be a leader at any stage of our career/path, acting as a culture carrier and adapting to any given environment gives the power middle the power to navigate. Early in my career and throughout it, I learned that adaptability was key for me to continue to grow, lead and manage but also build that influence. As I made a switch from tech start-up to banking, roles in multiple countries and a few banks over the course of 20+ years, these skills helped to accelerate my path. Now as an entrepreneur, being adaptable has helped to keep Luminary centered, expand, scale, and ultimately stay in business, with the same mission we started with 5+ years ago: to advance women and allies regardless of the professional journey, with a relentless focus on our community and how we serve them. How has adaptability helped your journey? #genderequity #womenintheworkforce #womeninbusiness #community #careeradvice #leadership https://lnkd.in/gZEbKN8y
Embracing change is such an underrated superpower. I love this topic and talk quite a bit about it, but I rarely use the term adaptability because it sounds like "settling" for less or fitting in. I am a stand for celebrating having the courage to stand up and stand out. But thinking about adaptability as the gift of embracing change appeals to me quite a bit! The aspiring authors I teach to write books to change lives, including their own, are, at their essence, promoting and encouraging adaptability-moving the human experience forward. I adored watching Luminary adapt quickly to rapidly changing circumstances during the Pandemic and saw how the change created a much more dynamic and expanded community! In my own experience, I saw how embracing change and adapting quickly through multiple traumas and rapidly changing work environments did not necessarily reap "quick" rewards but always reaped incredible life experiences. While I love looking forward rather than backward, when I do look back, I see how embracing change rather than fighting it and stagnating is what keeps you moving forward and growing internally and externally. Great topic, Kate!
Melissa Blatt
2mo
"The only constant in life is change," - Heraclitus If I didn't have a strong foundation of who I am and what my "why" is, I would fear the unknown instead of embracing it. The phrase, "It's happening for me, not to me," has helped me gain perspective on situations. Each event or moment is brought into my life to help me grow and be part of my journey. I can either learn from it and move on, or I can waste my energy on things outside of my control.
Helkin Berg
2mo
Yes! Adaptability has served me well and has certainly let me navigate a lot of tricky situations. I'd say one downside to being adaptable is that you can make situations "work" that you should actually walk away from. To avoid that, in a perfect world, I see the superpower combo as: adaptability + boundaries (setting and maintaining, though they too can change and adapt) + resources (writ large as money, time, network, etc).
Mara Smith
2mo
100% Cate Luzio. I have found that adaptability is key to startup life. As you know things rarely go according to plan so you need to be willing to shift courses. I also believe that skills you attain in one career can adapt to another one. Both you and I made major career pivots but we can apply what we learned in previous jobs. I hope more women recognize that one of those jobs you hone skills at that can adapt to another career, is being a caregiver.
Jacqueline R.
2mo
Cate Luzio, thanks for promoting the concept and adapters. Indeed, if I hadn't welcomed unexpected opportunities and embraced change, I wouldn't have had the career journey that I have had that primes me for what I have passion for and do today. There is something divinely inspired in the magic of adaptability where something better unfolds then one could have imagined. Also thanks for being the perpetual celebrator of those that have been bold enough to be adaptable while also leading by example...it requires strength and determination, and #Luminary exemplifies that.
Jennifer Cronin
2mo
So many great comments! I wonder how many of our jobs existed 5, 10, 20 years ago? The fact that we are here is testament. I also think of adaptability a hedge against disappointment, which is the difference between expectations and reality. If you expect (or THRIVE on) change and adjustment, your definition of success becomes the catalyst for more of it. ;-)
Cate Luzio, I cannot agree more with you and those who already commented. Adaptability allows me to follow my curiosity and passion in life. It helped me carve out an unconventional and rewarding path in clinical medicine and take a leap into the exciting world of entrepreneurship.
Aliya Thomas
2mo
Cate Luzio love this post. Adaptability is so key for so many things in life, personal and professional. I think i started building that “muscle” when I was young, and our family moved to a different state every four years and through playing sports most of my life!
Tamara Laine
2mo
Adaptability truly shines as a cornerstone of success across diverse roles and industries. Your journey is incredibly inspiring! 🙌
Founder and CEO, Luminary | Former Banking Executive | Inc. Female Founder 100 | Business Leader | High Performance Team Builder | Authentic Storyteller | Board Director
2moTagging some of our Luminary community who I have seen adapt over and over Jessica Richard Ginny Couvillon William Karczewski Susan Chapman-Hughes Aundrea Cline-Thomas Kiersten Acevedo Leisse Wilcox Susan Raisch Dorothy Holtermann, Author Love Food that Loves You Back Anahi DeCanio Sandra Campos Aliya Thomas Carmen Bryant Susan McPherson Erica Lerner Mara Smith Dafna Mizrahi Nancy Rhodes Nancy Ruzow Felicia Stingone Tatiana Havryliuk, MD Mark Monchek Sehreen Noor Ali Jourdan Guyton Melissa Blatt...