Happy Friday 👋 !

We're not even through January, and one thing is already clear: disruption isn't an issue you can put on the back burner. It's here, it's constant, and it's reshaping how leaders perform...right now.

The pace of change isn't slowing. But many organizations are.

According to the AlixPartners Disruption Index 2026, 51% of CEOs believe their company is not adapting fast enough—a sharp 10-point jump from last year. That's not a fringe concern - it's the majority view at the top, signaling a widening gap between the change leaders see coming and their organization's ability to respond.

And here's the critical insight: This isn't primarily a technology problem. It's a human problem.

What the Data Really Says

The numbers paint a consistent picture of where organizations are struggling:

• 52% of CEOs say their executive team lacks the agility to combat disruptive forces
• 72% say it's increasingly difficult to know which disruptions to prioritize
• 50% say employees are too set in their ways and not open to change

This isn't a failure of awareness. CEOs know disruption is happening. They see the pressure building. What they're struggling with is execution under sustained uncertainty, i.e. getting people aligned, focused, and moving forward when there's no clear endpoint.

The New Normal

Here's what's changed: disruption hasn't gone away. In fact, it's become normalized.

While overall disruption pressure has moderated slightly, leading organizations are building "muscle memory for change"—treating disruption as a permanent operating condition rather than a temporary challenge.

This distinction matters. Organizations that still treat change as an event (a transformation initiative, a rollout, a program) are falling behind those that treat adaptability as a core capability.

Why Some Organizations Pull Ahead

Only a small subset of companies consistently outperforms in disrupted environments. AlixPartners calls them growth leaders.

What distinguishes them isn't better forecasting or calmer markets. It's adaptability.

The data shows growth leaders are 5.4× more likely to drive disruption and set the pace for growth. They demonstrate greater optimism, faster execution, and a stronger willingness to pursue transformational change—even amid uncertainty.

In practice, they:

✅ Act without complete information

✅ Reprioritize quickly as conditions shift

✅ Absorb pressure without freezing or burning out

✅ Learn faster than the rate of change

That's not luck. It's the result of deliberately building adaptability at the individual, team, and system level.

The Hidden Cost

When adaptability is low, the symptoms are familiar: slower decision-making, leadership misalignment, change fatigue, quiet resistance. High stress paired with low momentum.

What's striking is how clearly CEOs can see this and how difficult it is to fix without the right inputs.

Adaptability isn't evenly distributed. Some leaders thrive in ambiguity. Others stall. Some teams lean in. Others disengage.

Without measuring it, all of that remains invisible.

You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure

This is where many organizations get stuck. They invest in strategy refreshes, AI pilots, and restructuring—without understanding the adaptability of the people expected to execute the change.

Consider this: when CEOs say their organizations aren't adapting fast enough, the breakdown almost always lives in one (or more) of these areas:

• Ability – mindset, resilience and other skills required to adapt
• Character – motivation, thinking style, emotional range and other traits that help you adapt
• Environment – whether systems, culture, and leadership enable or block adaptation

But guessing isn't a strategy.

Where Do You Go From Here?

If You're a CEO or Senior Leader

When 51% of CEOs say their company isn't adapting fast enough, the next move isn't another strategy deck. It's diagnosis.

1. Measure adaptability across your leadership and teams​
You can't fix what you can't see. Get the data. What's the current level of Adaptability Intelligence (AQ) across leaders and critical teams? Where is adaptability is strong—and where it's breaking down?

2. Identify where execution is stalling​
What's holding your team back? Is the constraint mindset (fear, resistance, overload)? Capability (decision-making, prioritization, unlearning)? Or environment (team support, systems, ways of working)? Different bottlenecks require different interventions.

3. Build adaptability as a leadership capability ​
The best-performing organizations develop it intentionally through coaching, reflection, skill-building, and system design, not through motivation alone.

Not on the CxO Team?

If your CEO believes the organization isn't adapting fast enough, that pressure doesn't stay in the boardroom. It lands with you.

Time to ask yourself:

📌 Which category do you fall into—those who thrive in ambiguity, or those who stall?

📌 Do you think you're adapting fast enough? If not, why not?

📌 Are you confident you're focused on the right changes whether they're a threat or opportunity - or just the loudest ones?

📌 When was the last time you genuinely embraced a major shift? How did you do it?

📌 What's holding you back: mindset, skills, energy, or environment?

The most proactive move? Take ownership of your own adaptability. Small, consistent actions—reflection, learning, experimentation—compound quickly and make you more resilient, relevant, and effective. Your CEO will notice.

The Bottom Line

The AlixPartners Disruption Index 2026 makes one thing unmistakably clear: Disruption is the new normal. Intentionally strengthening your adaptability is your competitive advantage.

The future belongs to leaders and individuals who can adapt—deliberately, measurably, and at speed.

You've got this.

Ann
​www.adaptsuccess.com​

🧠 Gear Up for Change is your weekly dose of insight on navigating and leveraging change — grounded in AQai’s science of adaptability. If you find it valuable, forward it to a colleague who’s also leading through change and they can subscribe here.

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Want to Gear Up for Change Faster? Here are Next Steps:

1️⃣ Measure Your AQ Take a 25-minute assessment to discover your Adaptability Quotient (AQ). Learn how to thrive in times of change and create a strategy for your growth. Gear up for the rest of 2026 using our companion AQme Workbook. (Tip: check with your manager -- you can probably expense this!) Hit reply and say "Tell me more!".

Issue #63, 30 January 2026