The Promise of 'Perpetual Adaptation' in an Era of of Disruption
For those of us who have spent most of our professional life leading transformation programmes and sifting through pages of project plans and Gannt charts, the idea of perpetual transformation sounds exhausting from the get-go. Yet, this is what we are being told is needed in an era of disruption. Change isn’t a project anymore!
This new language of ‘perpetual adaptation or transformation’ reflects a realisation that tinkering at the edges of organisational behaviour and performance is not enough. Just think about all the challenges that we faced in the last decade: a global financial meltdown, a pandemic of historic proportions, and the accelerating forward progress of technology, reinventing companies, markets, and the societies we live in.
But there’s a critical gap between recognising the need for continuous change and the ability to engineer this into an organisation’s DNA. According to Russell Reynolds’ Global Leadership Monitor research of over 3000 leaders, only 42% chose to reshape organisational culture as part of their transformation journey [9].
Our new series of LEADINGThought will be focused on how we preserve our humanity in reshaping our future. Adaptability is a concept that has featured prominently in change and so in this first issue we will explore:
The nature and “paradox” of adaptability
What it means to move from ‘episodic’ to ‘perceptual adaptation’
Ask whether this is inherently human and what may be the consequences for workplace wellbeing, productivity and performance.
The nature of adaptability
Adaptability is the ability to learn flexibly and efficiently and to apply that knowledge across situations. At this point, it’s important to draw a distinction between resilience and adaptability, which are sometimes used interchangeably but they are different in important ways. Resilience is about responding and ‘bouncing back’ from difficult situations whereas adaptability moves us beyond enduring a challenge to thriving beyond it.
Research has identified the leading indicators of adaptability as growth mindset, self-awareness, confidence to handle change, with higher levels of adaptability being associated with greater levels of learning agility and better performance, confidence, and creative output [8]. Self-awareness and reflection are critical components of adaptability.
McKinsey’s research shows that adaptability is a critical success factor during periods of transformation and systemic change [5]. Yet the same conditions that make adapting so important can also trigger fear, making us default to familiar patterns or whatever solutions worked the last time. This is called the “adaptability paradox”. Scientists have shown that a motivation brake comes in when we feel overwhelmed, and we enter a self-protection mode reverting to familiar ways, ultimately to prevent burnout.
At a time when we most need to learn and change, sticking with what we know can often stifle learning and innovation. So, recognising that adapting to ongoing change and disruption is not a natural skill- how can organisations nurture a better response and reset our relationship with change and uncertainty to achieve sustainable progress.
The era of ‘perpetual adaptation'[1]
We are all aware of the adage that ‘most change programmes fail’ (even though the often-cited figure of 70% has been challenged). Change management practitioners and academics talk about the ‘Death Valley of Change’, when longer-term change programmes can lose momentum.
If ‘episodic’ adaptation, with ongoing cycles of change programmes, no longer works in an environment of continuous disruption – what’s the alternative? Well, research has shown that when organisations emphasise adaptability and cultivate sustained adaptation as the natural state of business, that can result in better financial performance [3]. One of the reasons why that might have performance benefits over time, is because employees are more alert to the environmental changes and are committed to ensuring their company’s success.
‘Perpetual adaptation’ treats continuous economic or geopolitical shifts not as exceptional events requiring special responses, but as continuous changes to the business environment that require ongoing attention. In turn ‘perpetual adaptation’ frames risk in a different way, incorporating the ‘costs of inaction’ into the calculation, recognising that in rapidly changing environments, the cost of inaction exceeds the cost of failed experiments.
Experiencing the world through an adaptability lens means letting go of the “expert mindset”, and making the shift to an adaptable mindset, opening up to possibilities. Leaders have a key role to play in demonstrating an adaptive mindset and making it ‘safe’ to experiment and fail.
Is ‘perpetual adaptation’ inherently human?
When people are exhausted, they fall into a scarcity mindset and aren’t as adaptable or open to learning. Is then a shift to ‘perpetual adaptation’ a way to tackle the inevitable exhaustion that comes from constantly reorganising, reprioritising, and retraining which can negatively impact well-being and lead to burnout. And is it the most effective way to respond to the ongoing uncertainty and disruption?
According to McKinsey’s Talent Trends survey [7], 26 percent of 10,000 employees across the globe consider adaptability a top skill need for them, yet only 16 percent of global employers currently invest in adaptability and continuous-learning programmes.
Better Up Labs research tracking over 12,000 workers across 18 industries, has found that the managers’ adaptive mindset is key for a successful AI transformation [10]. Where managers exhibit agency and optimism about AI, their direct reports are also three times as likely to feel the same way, which gives them the confidence to navigate change. In turn they are more than three times more productive, and more than three times more loyal.
Cultivating adaptability is also crucial for psychological safety and physical well-being and is linked to higher levels of social support and overall life satisfaction [11].
Adaptability: a human response for an uncertain future?
Adaptability is key for equipping today’s employees to deal with a rapidly changing environment. Moving from ‘incremental’ to ‘perpetual adaptation’ recognises the potential harmful effects of lacking a sense of agency and confidence to respond to ongoing disruption. So, while this may not be panacea it moves us one step closer to transforming the workplace in a way that preserves our humanity and it orients as toward the opportunities ahead, not just the challenges.
Resources
Adapt or Die in the Age of Perpetual Transformation, Russell Reynolds June 2025. https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/insights/articles/adapt-or-die-in-the-age-of-perpetual-transformation.
Brassey, J., De Smet, A., Maor, D. with Rabipour, S. Developing a resilient, adaptable workforce for an uncertain future. McKinsey Quarterly December 2024. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/developing-a-resilient-adaptable-workforce-for-an-uncertain-future
Chatman, J. A., Caldwell, D. F., O, R. C. A., & Doerr, B. (2014). Parsing organizational culture: How the norm for adaptability influences the relationship between culture consensus and financial performance in high-technology firms. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(6), 785–808.
David F. Hoff and W. Warner Burke, Learning Agility: The Key to Leader Potential, first edition, Tulsa, OK: Hogan Press, 2017.
Future proof: Solving the ‘adaptability paradox’ for the long term. McKinsey & Company, August 2021. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/future-proof-solving-the-adaptability-paradox-for-the-long-term#/
Grant, A. (2021). Think again: the power of knowing what you don't know. Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
McKinsey’s Talent Trends Global Survey: employees, n = 9,920; employers, n = 3,118; August 2023.
Robert E. Ployhart and Paul D. Bliese, “Individual adaptability (I-ADAPT) theory: conceptualizing the antecedents, consequences, and measurement of individual differences in adaptability,” pp. 3–39, from C. Shawn Burke, Linda G. Pierce, and Eduardo Salas, eds, Understanding Adaptability: A Prerequisite for Effective Performance Within Complex Environments, Volume 6, St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Science, 2006.
Russell Reynolds Global Leadership Monitor, H2 2025. https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/insights/reports-surveys/global-leadership-monitor
The Next Evolution in Management: The Mindsets that Define success in the age of AI. Better Up Labs in partnership with Stanford Social Media Labs.
Weipeng Lin and Mi Zhou, “Adaptability and life satisfaction: The moderating role of social support,” Frontiers in Psychology, July 2016, Volume 7, Article 1134, frontiersin.org.