Adaptability is the capacity to change one's behavior, attitudes, and communication style to conform to new or changed circumstances. Every business and organization today needs their people to have this quality keenly developed. Leaders must be especially skilled at adaptability in order to keep up with the changing market and to be an active example for others in the organization.

Sounds simple, but adapting requires much more than vision and flex. First and foremost it requires self-awareness. Daniel Goleman, in his recent book Working With Emotional Intelligence, speaks of self-awareness as "having a deep understanding of one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives." There is recognition among the self-aware of how their feelings affect themselves and others. Self-awareness is not something people question in their youth, ponder deeply, and then proclaim to have achieved with no need to look at it again. It is fluid, just like everything in our Universe. The challenge is to look and re-look at self-awareness regularly. Question yourself. Take time to identify your own changes within. Most assuredly in a world that is changing at such an accelerated pace, it's a sure bet you are changing too.

This is good. Change keeps us vital and fresh. Companies that welcome change flourish. A management style that emphasizes change as a core value improves the company's chances to sustain high performance over time, and achieve successful transitions. When the message is sent and modeled that the ability to adapt is valued, people will embrace it. Practice is essential for true adaptability to evolve. It's not just something we can claim to have and have it. It begins with self-awareness and continues as we practice adapting in our ever new and changing circumstances.

To look at a practical example, imagine there is a new manager being hired to replace a highly respected woman who has retired after 13 years with the company. The new manager is young, vibrant and full of enthusiasm. The CEO expressly hired him for his strengths to usher in timely changes for the department. When people first meet him, they quickly identify how different he is from his predecessor. This is a natural human response. How we can go awry is by becoming emotional about the changes and assigning significance to them. The more significant we interpret the event or decision to be the more emotional energy we give it. Highly charged situations lead to resentment and resistance which drain peoples' energy and derail them from their true mission.

Adapting means we recognize our emotions-Goleman's definition of self-awareness-and seek to find a balance with them. At the Institute of HeartMath® in Boulder Creek, CA, they have done extensive research on the electrical energy of the heart and heart rate variability (HRV) which is connected to one's emotions. This energy of the heart is 40-60 times more powerful in amplitude than that of the brain. When we utilize the electromagnetic field of the heart to balance and stabilize our emotions, the outcomes are powerful and quick. The simple act of shifting your focus to the area around your heart-the electromagnetic field-can change your heart rhythms in such a way as to bring you a wider perception of the situation you face. It is in this wider perception that clearer vision and wisdom are found.

Key points to remember:

• Recognizing when things change, what behaviors need to be adopted, and what feelings come up in the face of change are all signs of self-awareness.

• Assigning significance to change stirs up emotions which need to be managed. How significant something becomes is directly proportional to the amount of emotional energy you assign to it.

• Shifting your awareness to the area around your heart offers you a doorway to access the best part of yourself—the wiser you, where confidence and security can be reclaimed.

• By using both the powers of your mind and your heart, you can make significant strides in your ability to adapt to all the changes that abound.