Modern Craft Skills: Agility

 
Photo credit: Ma Tim Ebbs via Flickr

Photo credit: Ma Tim Ebbs via Flickr

 
 

The ability to perform consistency in any setting.

 

Consistency is a controversial term. Consistency in performance is not the same thing uniformity. To be consistent means we are agile enough to perform consistently under pressure amidst changing conditions, in any setting.

Agility will become an increasingly important skill.  Conditions are always changing. Goals shift, desire change, trends evolve. We develop and advance. To want our worlds static would be suicidal. The safety of uniformity is an illusion. Success comes with our ability to meet change with consistent results.

As we become more and more globally connected, our skills become more and more ubiquitous. If skills in one place are the same as skills required in another, we need to be able to operate in whatever environment we find ourselves, with consistency. How we respond to changing circumstances and sense new contexts impact the quality of our results and, ultimately, our success.

Our ability to reckon with diversity and changing conditions and perform with consistency in any setting will become an increasingly important skill. Agility impacts our ability to work cross-culturally, not just with different ethnicities but in various working environments. Organizations claim diversity as a driver of innovation, yet they still have a tough time cultivating it and managing it. Research suggests that what makes a group or team truly smart and creative is the combination of different ages, skills, disciplines, and working and thinking styles that members bring to the table. Scott E. Page, professor, and director of the Center of the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan demonstrated that groups displaying a range of perspectives and skill levels outperform like-minded experts. We can conclude that a highly functioning team depends just as much on collective differences as it does on individual talents.

PRACTICE

To be successful, identify and communicate points of connection (shared goals, priorities, values) that transcend differences and enable us to build relationships and to work together effectively.

COMMIT

[ ] I commit myself to seek the bigger picture in any situation in order to perform consistently and achieve quality results.


Alongside technical skills, people who can master a range of subjective skills are better able to influence, deal with ambiguity, bounce back from setbacks, think creatively, and manage themselves successfully in their pursuit of mastery. Learn more about applying craft skills in the modern world.