On Adaptability and Resilience: Learning with Intent

The only thing constant in this world is change. Adaptability and resilience is one of the essential skills for the future, calling for the need to learn with intent instead of absorbing knowledge.

Apr 04, 2025

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The Adaptability and Resilience module in the McKinsey Forward program reminded me of Vice Admiral Grace Hopper's quote, “The Most Dangerous Language in the English Language is ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ “

This quote is so relevant now that the world is changing rapidly. This calls for a learner mindset and adaptability but not to the point of simply absorbing knowledge quickly without understanding the why. Instead, learning with intent plays a role in staying relevant.

Main Takeaways

💪🏼 Mindset is everything

Gone are the days when knowledge itself was power. As new business models and technological landscapes emerge, a shift in mindset is called for. You have two choices: fixed or growth mindset.

It’s one thing to say that you have a growth mindset, but putting it into action is a different story.

Reflecting on how you react to certain scenarios, such as sudden changes, challenges, and failures, is a good way to gauge your mindset. As a sample guide, here are some questions I ask myself to reflect and get back on track [1]:

1. Do I view sudden challenges as:
   a. a learning opportunity (growth); or 
   b. a chore (fixed)

2. Do you take failure and feedback (constructive and actionable!) as: 
   a. a learning opportunity and temporary setback (growth), or
   b. as a permanent hit to your reputation and psyche (fixed) 

Note: To be clear, it’s perfectly healthy to grieve when you fail. However, that grief is best healed through action once you are ready.

3. Do you see milestones and learnings as something worth celebrating?
   a. Yes (growth)
   b. No, success as only the shiny prize waiting in the end (fixed)

4. Do you see asking questions as: 
   a. curiosity (growth)
   b. a sign of incompetence (fixed)?

To keep tabs, I keep a journal to reflect on how I applied a growth mindset at work, my previous MBA coursework, and my personal goals like Crossfit.

🧘 Setting learning intentions = setting yourself for success

Now that you know how to work towards a growth mindset, the next step is to set learning intentions before jumping into the water. Think about what you want to learn and why it matters.

Intentional learning builds resilience and self-efficacy. Reflection is one of the important practices embedded by intentional learners to supercharge learning outcomes and optimize learning opportunities (i.e., time available and learning resources available to you). In turn, self-efficacy, the confidence in one's ability to achieve learning outcomes, lowers resistance to change and encourages one to take on challenges such as certifications or projects with confidence and resilience [2].

Let me illustrate my point with an example. You are a risk professional who wants to learn about AI because you believe it may affect your work and know that new trends mean new risks.

From this example, a learning intention would look something like this:

What: Artificial Intelligence

Why:
- To understand what AI is and what it’s composed of.
- To understand why businesses and society will benefit from AI and its equivalent risks.

🥬 Laying the groundwork: Habits over big chunks

There is always a saying that Rome was not built in a day. Becoming the empire it was known for took years. This emphasizes that any significant achievement is built through thoughtful planning, dedication, and work. Yes, that includes learning!

Writing this post reminded me of my early 20s, when I jumped on the certifications and job titles bandwagon based on perceived prestige. Thankfully, I learned the hard way early on that jumping mindlessly on current trends will only work against you.

My wake-up call came when I saw the “Failed” results when I attempted the first part of the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) test in 2017. I was devastated at first, but I was thankful for this lesson.

I passed my first industry certification, the Certified Information Systems Auditor (ISACA), in 2019 by recalibrating my approach. Looking back on my experience and the McKinsey Forward program, here’s how I was able to set learning intentions and set myself up for success [2]:

Break down the big goal into smaller chunks (aka mini goals). These mini goals should have actionable and tangible results. For example, if one of the mini goals is to complete a practice test, you would say, “at least 80% of practice exam questions correct.”
Gather all necessary resources that you have and still need to look for. You can always
Remove the noise! Put all distractions out of reach.
Reflect and recalibrate your approach as needed as you discover more mini goals along your journey. More on this on the next section!

🏁 Focus on the journey and celebrate small wins

Finally, remember to celebrate small steps and keep going. Though important, over-fixation with the shiny thing (i.e., the finish line) could lead to frustration during the journey.

This is when setting mini goals (or sprint goals, if you prefer) becomes relevant. It’s wise to track your progress and reflect on how far you’ve come on your journey. Here are some ways to stay on track:

Proactively seek feedback

Constructive and actionable feedback should be considered a healthy challenge for your betterment. As in CrossFit, your peer will serve as your spotter (second pair of eyes) to watch out for any blind spots. When seeking feedback, it’s good to probe for more details and try to understand the giver’s point of view [2].

Example: Your colleague pulled you aside and said you discussed technical details, but your stakeholder did not understand the issue you needed them to address. You can ask what instances this happened and what I should not have spoken about during the presentation.

Building on this example, your colleague mentioned that you delved too much into the technical aspect of a finding or issue related to your audit. This shows that your audience does not have the same knowledge as you, so your communication style needs to be adjusted. Finally, you can brainstorm with your peers for ways to improve moving forward.

Reflect!

It’s good to keep track of your progress in writing to create a benchmark as you progress through your learning goals. As mentioned earlier, reflecting positively impacts self-efficacy [2].

Reflecting means being confident that you can learn, improve, and take action to achieve your learning goals. In turn, confidence builds your drive to take on more challenges, enrich existing skills, and learn new ones.

Reflecting can be done through a journal or a note based on your learning goals. There are also different frameworks where you can put a structure on your reflection. In my case, I use the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework to compare my predicted vs. actual performance in every mini goal. The results will serve as a data point to determine whether my approach works or requires calibration.

Sources:

[1] Cote, C. (2022, March 10). Growth Mindset vs. fixed mindset: What’s the difference? Business Insights Blog. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset

[2] McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). The most fundamental skill: Intentional learning and the career advantage. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved April 3, 2025, from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-most-fundamental-skill-intentional-learning-and-the-career-advantage

Career Reflections and Personal Development (Stephen's Version)

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