The most Agile people in the world

How ‘agile’ are you? Today I took one of those personality tests at work. One of the scores was about my ‘agility.’ I didn’t do too bad, but my agility wasn’t off the charts either. Still, I like to see myself as a pretty agile person. I have plenty of experience with working Agile. Also in general, I believe coping with change is an important trait. Now more than ever. But at 41 years old, I wonder how likely it is that I will ever become a master of agility.

There is one group of people who are masters of agility. I don’t know any other people who are more flexible, resilient and able to adapt.

I’m talking of course about kids.

Take my 7-year-old daughter. She’s been missing her two upper front teeth for months now. And another one in the lower row. But it doesn’t bother her. She’s just patiently waiting the arrival of her new teeth. Some things can be a bit difficult to eat, but we hardly ever notice. Not once did I hear her complain. I would probably be complaining about the huge gap in my mouth all time!

And when the schools closed last year she just accepted the fact that she got lessons via Teams on her tablet. She never made a big deal of it. Neither did her classmates. They just went with it.

In the world of kids, things change all the time. To them, change is their world. They have to learn and adapt every single day. New skills, new knowledge, new places, new tastes… I’m not saying it’s easy for them, on the contrary. Growing up is tough. Which means kids are tough. As a father, I’m supposed to be my daughter’s role model. But to me, she’s the role model.

So if you are looking for inspiration on how to be more Agile, just look at the little people. I’m fortunate to have one in my house. I hope she stays for a long time, so I can learn from her. Maybe if I pay attention, I can become a master after all.