Book Review: The Leader's Ultimate Guide to Successful Transformation

Book Review: The Leader’s Ultimate Guide to Successful Transformation

“As leaders we have the responsibility to envision and create a future where we would rejoice in the playground we have built for our children” Ross Thornley

In times of crisis, we tend to look for leadership. Ross Thornley asserts that although the world has been in crisis many times before, it is now at this time that the crisis the world is facing is unique in the history of the planet.

He asks, is the unprecedented access to information and connectivity a useful tool or a hindrance to finding solutions. Whatever, it is at times like these that humanity rises. We give birth to the greatest leaders amidst the greatest challenges.

According to a 2020 World Economic Forum report, and, 2021 research by McKinsey and Company, owing to the pandemic’s acceleration of automation:

→ BY 2025, 85 MILLION JOBS WILL BE LOST.
→ BY 2025, 97 MILLION NEW JOBS WILL BE GENERATED.
→ 40% OF TODAY’S EMPLOYMENT WILL NO LONGER EXIST IN TEN YEARS.
→ 375 MILLION INDIVIDUALS MAY NEED TO CHANGE JOBS AND OBTAIN NEW SKILLS.

Ross points out, We’re seeing more change in ten years than we saw in the last one-hundred, and we’re swiftly approaching the “singular-ity”. This pace of change has further widened the adaptability gap—the speed at which we are able to radically re-invent, let-go, and re-imagine the processes, behaviours and skills we re-quire to thrive in this new world.

The book explores the adaptability gap and gives hope in harnessing the superpower of adaptability. Just about every major study—from the World Economic Forum, to Deloitte, to Mckinsey, Linkedin and PWC—is placing ‘adaptability’ as the #1 essential skill of our time.

Ross points out that adaptability is the key to swimming in the waters of life and change, and the good news is that it can be learned.

The book introduces the AQAI model and the methodology used to create it. It explores change and why we often resist. It offers solutions to adapting to change, how to move from a reactive mode to responsive mode, asking powerful questions for teams to consider regarding building resilience.

It includes:

A primer on the data-driven and scientifically valid A.C.E. model of AQ / adaptability
Pragmatic techniques for using adaptability muscles in leadership scenarios
Techniques for overcoming the corporate immune system response and integrating AQ in your teams
Case studies on the financial and opportunity benefits of introducing AQ into your toolset And more!

The promise of AQAI to your organization are:

By introducing AQ into your workplace , you can:

→ connect to your employees on a deeper level than transactional – aka, on an emotional level, leading from the heart and connecting with what your people care about.
→ gain access to data that allows you to continuously map your employees through their adaptability or change journey – embracing continuous learning.
→ unlock your employees’ full potential by giving them actionable self- insight.
→ and cultivate an environment of continuous improvement , optimism, and future-proofing by ensuring everyone is change-ready, and no one is left behind.

Ross Thornley: linkedin.com/in/rossthornley

Author & Keynote Speaker on Adaptability & The Future of Work. Serial Entrepreneur. Co-Founder of AQai – The World’s Largest Community of Adaptability Certified Coaches. Host of DECODING AQ podcast