VOIS - Area 2 - Module 6

  1. MODULE TITLE

Module 6: Adaptability and flexibility
  1. AUTHORS

CWEP
  1. SHORT DESCRIPTION

Adaptability and flexibility are considered as examples of soft skills supporting Open Innovation. Employees who deal with the innovation process in the company should have this competency developed at a high level. The complexity and dynamic of the working environment put every employee in a situation that requires these qualities to cope with working conditions . For managers adaptability and flexibility are the must-have skills. To understand the meaning of adaptability and flexibility for managers who deal with Open Innovation you need to be aware of the conditions that influence competencies requirements. Adaptability and flexibility are necessary soft skills for dealing with new or different situations, ideas, or problems in the workplace. These competencies are important to effectively deal with innovation.
  1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    Upon completing this module, you should be able to:

  • Explain the link between the adaptability and flexibility of their employees and themselves and company innovativeness
  • Self-evaluate their own adaptability and flexibility
  • Describe the role of adaptability and flexibility in a competency model for Open Innovation
  • Describe the resource-based model of adaptability
  • Prepare and apply their strategy for developing adaptability and flexibility skills
  1. Training Content
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The importance of managerial skills for company’s innovativeness

Source: https://pl.freepik.com/

In conditions of uncertainty, high complexity, and volatility of the environment, where it is difficult to plan and predict the future, innovation is considered as the best way to build organizational stability. Creating and implementing innovation based on the model of Open Innovation refers to ​​engaging in this process not only own R&D department but also it involves external partners. This process increases uncertainty for the company and its employees, bringing requirements of greater openness to cooperation, both within the organization and with external stakeholders, and influencing working conditions and expectations for both employees and managers. Thus, the social context of innovation, which is created by employees and teams of employees involved in the innovation process, is of great importance. Developing the company’s innovativeness based on the Open Innovation model, in which internal innovation generation capabilities play an important role, but also the use of cooperation networks with external partners requires specific skills from its employees and managers. For a company to be innovative, its employees must also have such a feature.

Fig. 1. Determinants of competency requirements for managers and employees

Source: own schematic example.

Innovative companies need to manage more complex business processes, adapt solutions to market requirements, and quick-changing technology. Meeting these demands requires special attention to the competencies of employees and managers. From an organizational perspective, it means creating and improving a competency management system, as well as providing employees with a reasonable working environment that inspires creativity and unconventional work and allows them to break the routine and enter new paths. However, from the employee’s perspective, this means not only the need to constantly learn and improve competencies, but also requires the ability to flexibly adapt to changing conditions. The flexibility of the employee’s behavior means the flexibility of the company.

Why managers’ adaptability and flexibility are important to company innovativeness?

Before you answer the question you can take 3-5 minutes and think:

Which elements of a job specification of a managerial position are connected with adaptability and flexibility?

Could you give some examples of how the company management system enhances managers to work on their adaptability and flexibility?

How is the company strategy connected with the adaptability and flexibility of managers?

Now you can answer the question.

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