There is a lot of talk about resilience these days. And for good reason. You don’t have to look far to see that this VUCA* world is taking a serious toll on people...on their health, their relationships, their jobs, their communities.
Most of us know that resilience is a critical a skill set for survival. But we need more than resilience to actually thrive in our lives and organizations and communities. And shouldn’t that be our objective, to thrive?
So what can we strive for beyond resilience?
How about nimbility?
SO WHAT IS NIMBILITY?
Jacques (not his real name), a PhD chemist and arguably the most openly cynical client I have ever experienced, created the term over a decade and a half ago as he was evolving the culture of his team. Surprisingly enough, nimbility is now listed in Wiktionary (as a nonstandard word)!
Resilience is about rebounding, about springing back from hardship or crisis or forced major change.
Our focus with resilience is survival and recovery.
Nimbility is about moving easily with lightness and quickness; it is about being agile.
Our focus with nimbility is forward movement.
* VUCA is a concept that originated with the students at the US Army War College to describe the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of the world after the Cold War.
Image credit: Eyeem
HOW DO WE DEVELOP IT?
I believe there are five basic characteristics required for nimbility:
- Clarity
- Courage
- Curiosity
- Commitment
- Connection
That's my conclusion based on 40+ years of learning and working intimately with people--first as a therapist, then as a leadership trainer, and finally as an executive coach.
If you would like to fortify your nimbility, you can do so by focusing on any one of the five characteristics. I invite you to take your pick and give it a try!
CLARITY
This is about personal clarity, what makes a great life for you.
It's also about organizational clarity, what direction you are going and why.
Exploring your mission and values, your strategy and who is responsible for what are ways to build clarity where it really counts...at the foundation of everything you do.
CURIOSITY
Curiosity has at least two sides to it--the 'innocent curiosity' that is naturally fueled by wanting to learn something you don't know, and the 'intentional curiosity' that you decide to employ to replace negativity and judgment or having to be 'right.' The innocent version fuels lightness, creativity ,and innovation while the 'intentional' version builds relationships and opens up opportunities.
COURAGE
Courage involves establishing clear boundaries. Boundaries are basically making conscious choices about and communicating your yes's and your no's. It requires discovering the 'brutal facts' of a situation without trying to soften or deny that reality, and speaking up for the greater good, particularly when others are silent.
COMMITMENT
Commitment is built on consistent and deliberate practice toward a particular objective in a way that is absolutely grounded in your most important values. Angela Duckworth identifies the dual traits of passion and perseverance as the ingredients of grit. And Jim Collins, in Good to Great, describes the most effective leaders as having “compelling modesty and ferocious resolve.” Both are dimensions of commitment.
CONNECTION
Meaningful and supportive relationships are necessary for nimbility. As difficult as relationships can be, no one can sustain lightness and agility without the love and support, or at least the respectful and ongoing involvement, of other people. We are creatures who can not thrive without connection to others.
Image Credit: Lexi Ruskell
COACHING QUESTIONS
- QUESTION ONE:
What one area in your life or in your organization would benefit you most by an increase in nimbility? - QUESTION TWO:
What existing patterns of thinking and/or behavior would need to be disrupted and changed to make way for new levels of nimbility? - QUESTION THREE:
What is most needed for you or your organization to become ready to do the work of building nimbility?
What better time to focus on thriving than the entrance to a new year...a time represented by possibility and opportunity?
We invite you to explore and experiment, to allow the quest for greater nimbility to be your guide!
We would love to hear what you discover...
