Versatility is a skill that can be learned, and people who have it find it far easier to work together with others toward shared organizational goals. Versatility is defined as the ability to understand differences in communication preferences and to adapt to make others more open and receptive-creating more effective and productive relationships. Versatility-The Answer to Performance Sapping Relationship Tension and Stress Yet, there is a powerful tool available that can reduce these barriers to productivity and therefore profitability-Versatility. This relationship tension, unless addressed, will breed conflicts, misunderstandings, and overall failures to communicate that weaken performance just when the company needs the highest levels of performance to attain the results required to thrive in a down market. These tensions have a direct impact on organizational performance.Īlthough organizational leaders can do little to control the external economic factors driving the need for these internal changes, something can be done to alleviate at least one of the biggest causes of day-to-day stress in an uncertain and changing work environment-the relationship tensions that result from adapting to restructured work teams and unfamiliar colleagues and managers. Managers suffer from similar stresses as they are asked to fill in gaps left by layoffs, do “more with less” as budgets are slashed, and take on new work teams or individual employees as a result of restructuring and downsizing.
Why? Because there is an inevitable increase in stress, anxiety, and relationship tensions experienced by employees who must rapidly adapt to changes in reporting relationships, work assignments, and ongoing concerns about job security. While these kinds of changes have been necessary for survival, they can wreak havoc on overall performance in unexpected ways. How has your organization responded to falling consumer demand and slower sales in the current economic climate? If yours is like most, you’ve probably experienced a variety of cost cutting measures: layoffs, downsizing, restructuring and reorganization, and hiring and pay freezes. “The more I learn about myself, the more I am able to understand others, the more I am able to bridge the gap between us.”