This article was written for forward-thinking leaders navigating change fatigue, post-pandemic transformation, and leadership challenges in 2025. I hope it speaks to what you’re facing today. Prefer to read this on Medium? Check it out here.
Leaders everywhere are saying the same thing: We’ve been through the wringer, but we’re ready to thrive again.
Yet, despite this eagerness, the hard truth remains—most organizations are ill-equipped to navigate the future effectively. A World Economic Forum report found that 84% of leaders acknowledge their companies are unprepared for future disruptions. Meanwhile, a McKinsey study shows that only 16% are actively investing in adaptability training.
In other words, most leaders know they aren’t ready for what’s next—but they aren’t doing much about it.
And that gap? It’s an opportunity.
Beyond Resilience: The Next Competitive Advantage
Many leaders believe they’ve already adapted. They point to the fact that they made it through the pandemic, economic shifts, supply chain chaos, or whatever their latest disruption was.
But survival isn’t mastery.
The reality is that most people adapt reactively. They pivot when circumstances force them to. They adjust because they have no choice. But the leaders and organizations who will win in this next era of disruption are those who adapt proactively—before a crisis forces their hand.
This is what I call radical adaptability.
Radical adaptability isn’t just about resilience. It’s not about simply absorbing shock after shock, gritting your teeth, and muscling through. And it’s certainly not about adding more—more initiatives, more tools, more layers of strategy—every time disruption hits.
It’s about knowing when to end something.
The Unspoken Skill of High-Performing Leaders
Steve Jobs understood this when he returned to Apple and slashed the company’s product line by 70% to focus on what truly mattered.
Howard Schultz did the same at Starbucks—closing 900 stores to get back to the company’s core values.
Great leaders don’t just ask, What do we need to add? They ask, What do we need to stop?
Yet, most of us resist endings.
Think about it:
- How many times have you held onto a role that no longer energized you?
- Stuck with a strategy that clearly wasn’t working?
- Clung to a belief that kept you playing small?
Why? Because endings mean change.
Change means uncertainty.
And uncertainty means fear.
So, in pursuit of safety, we hold on—even when it holds us back.
From Theory to Practice: A Case Study in Radical Adaptability
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak to over 800 managers at a leading healthcare company navigating significant organizational change. Like many companies, they’re balancing ambitious growth goals with the realities of post-acquisition integration and change fatigue.
In our session, I introduced the idea that the key to navigating uncertainty isn’t just adding strategies or grinding harder. It’s choosing what to let go of. That message struck a nerve.
By the end of our workshop, participants weren’t just nodding along—they were taking action. Each attendee wrote down a brave decision they were committing to make: an intentional ending to clear space for what matters most.
And these endings weren’t all massive career moves or life overhauls. Sometimes the most powerful change comes from what I call a micro ending—something subtle but significant. For example:
- “Today I choose to end micromanaging and start trusting my team.”
- “I’m ending the habit of avoiding conflict, so I can lead with clarity.”
- “I’m letting go of self-doubt and stepping into my role fully.”
These weren’t abstract reflections. They were bold, personal declarations of change that can ripple outward across entire teams and departments.
The Cost of Avoiding Endings
Most companies and professionals don’t have an innovation problem. They have an accumulation problem.
They keep stacking new strategies, technologies, and initiatives on top of what’s already there—without questioning whether the foundation is still solid.
That’s why so many organizations feel sluggish, bloated, and reactive. They haven’t built the capacity for change because they haven’t let go of the old to make space for the new.
The result?
- Burnout—for employees and leaders alike.
- Stagnancy—where teams get stuck in a cycle of action without real progress.
- Lost opportunities—because they’re too busy maintaining the past to create the future.
The best companies—and the most effective leaders—don’t just adapt to change. They create it. And they do it by mastering the skill of intentional endings.
Choosing Your Endings—Before They Choose You
The biggest breakthroughs in your life and business—haven’t they often come on the other side of an ending?
So doesn’t it stand to reason that the breakthrough you’re seeking right now may also be on the other side of an ending?
The challenge is that most people don’t actively choose their endings. They wait until life forces them—until the market shifts, the revenue declines, or burnout becomes unbearable. But what if you could be proactive? What if you could design your evolution on your terms?
That’s what we did in that session. And it’s what every organization can do.
For the past 15 years, I’ve studied neuroscience, psychology, and organizational behavior—not as an academic, but as someone who’s had to apply these lessons in real life. Through bankruptcy, divorce, economic crises, a global pandemic, and more, I’ve learned a truth that’s difficult but freeing:
- Resilience isn’t enough.
- Holding on keeps you stuck.
- Growth happens when you let go.
Mastering the skill of intentional endings isn’t just about personal growth—it’s a business imperative.
How to Start Applying Radical Adaptability Today
If you’re a leader looking to future-proof your organization, the question isn’t just, What do we need to build? but also:
- What no longer serves us?
- Where are we clinging to outdated strategies, beliefs, or practices?
- What are we willing to end in order to create space for what’s next?
These aren’t easy questions—but the most successful leaders ask them regularly.
Radical adaptability is the difference between struggling to keep up and leading the way forward.
The question is: What are you ready to let go of?
Want to bring this conversation to your team? I’m currently booking keynote sessions and workshops on Radical Adaptability. Let’s talk.