Sami Alnafea on Why Adaptability Starts With the Leader

After three decades of academic experience in clinical practice and health promotion, I started exploring the world of consulting. I began serving organizations and hospitals through consulting, training, and coaching and discovered my passion for people development.

I became a coach focused on leadership, productive teams, organizational development, and entrepreneurship. I am also certified in a number of psychometric tools, including the Adaptability Quotient (AQ), BELBIN Team Roles, Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ 360), Lumina Assessments, Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP), and Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile (EMP).

In my corporate training, I incorporate real-world examples to engage the audience by linking theory to practice. My approach draws on evidence-based training and current research.

Leaders need to learn how to adapt in order to lead through uncertainty. In my work with clients across different industries, I use the Adaptability Quotient (AQ) to help assess and understand the characteristics and environmental factors that affect how people and organizations respond to uncertainty, new information, and changing circumstances.

My work as an executive health coach and consultant also showed me the pressure clients face to keep pace with changes in healthcare and business. I want to empower my clients to lead through those changes, and that motivated me to continue learning myself.

Continuous development is important in my work because I am asking clients to adapt and keep pace with evolving trends. I need to continue learning as well.

BeforeLeadership Essentials (Online), I completed Columbia Business School Executive Education programs in Digital Health and Strategy, Smart Investing in Digital Health, Digital Therapeutic Approvals, and AI & Health Data Science. I also studied Narrative Medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Leadership Essentials was another opportunity to develop knowledge I could bring back to my work with leaders and organizations.
 

The program provided an effective mix of interactive sessions, microlearning, peer discussions, and practical tools to suit different learning styles. The short videos helped maintain attention and interaction, and I found the group meetings valuable for discussing the material with other participants.

Having prerecorded videos published every Monday also allowed me to plan my client appointments around the program. I gave priority to my study time by allocating approximately one hour a day, four days a week.

The group brought diverse experience and multicultural, global perspectives to the different themes we studied. The Zoom meetings gave us an opportunity to discuss the material together, and I found those conversations productive because participants came from such varied backgrounds.

The combination of self-paced learning and live virtual interaction created an effective balance between independent study and collaborative engagement.

Professor Joel Brockner's work on change had a deep impact on me. One of the questions I kept coming back to was: What can you actually control that affects whether people respond favorably or adversely to change?

I also found the Change Implementation Survey useful because it helps you examine your own strengths and weaknesses as a change agent. When your work is centered on helping people and organizations change, you also have to understand how your own behavior affects that process.

Emotional intelligence was another important piece. Leaders need to be able to acknowledge shortcomings and admit mistakes. I have encountered leaders who viewed changing their minds as a weakness, even when the evidence pointed in another direction. The program reinforced for me that being willing to recognize a mistake and reconsider a decision is a sign of self-awareness.

Working with different organizations, strategies, visions, and methodologies gives me exposure to ideas and tools that may be useful in other consulting engagements. As an outside consultant, I can also look at an organization from a bird's-eye view and aim for a more unbiased, holistic perspective.

One challenge is developing a deeper understanding of an organization's vision, mission, and goals beyond what is publicly stated. That understanding helps my team provide training and consulting that is more customized to the organization.

I would advise leaders to approach the program with an open mind to the new strategies and ideas they will encounter, as well as the opportunity to learn from other participants.

They also should not feel overburdened by the time commitment. The program is designed so that participants can work through the material alongside their professional responsibilities. Making time for the content, additional reading, and individual study allows you to benefit fully from the experience.