ADAPTABILITY ASSESSMENTS · CASE STUDY
| INDUSTRY | ORG TYPE | ENGAGEMENT | SCOPE | CLIENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology · SaaS | Global enterprise | February 2026 | 17-person leadership team | Global SaaS company (anonymised) |
Entering an AI transformation, a global SaaS company's leadership team built a shared language for adaptability, and a standing rhythm of innovation.
| SITUATION |
The company builds cloud platforms for customer service and support, a market being redrawn by AI and agentic AI. As it accelerated AI integration and restructured roles around it, a 17-person leadership team faced relentless change: continuous upskilling, flattening structures, and uncertainty about future roles. The real pressure was not adopting AI tools, but sustaining the people expected to absorb that change.
| IMPLICATION |
Left unaddressed, the gap between a bold AI strategy and the team's readiness to execute it risked stalling transformation. Enthusiasm for innovation was colliding with change fatigue, and technological readiness was outpacing the human readiness needed to turn it into customer value.
| APPROACH |
AQ® Certified coach Sheila Drum ran the AQme™ assessment across all 17 team members, then built a team-level analysis around the four Advanced Metrics: Explore & Transform, Utilise & Improve, Reskill Index, and Change Readiness. Sheila delivered the team debrief at the start of a global leadership offsite, giving the group a shared language to name both their adaptability strengths and their change fatigue, and to apply the findings directly as they set strategy for the week ahead.
WHAT AQ® REVEALS AQ® measures adaptability — the capacity to navigate change, complexity, and uncertainty — across three dimensions: Ability, Character, and Environment. Unlike engagement surveys or personality tests, AQ® measures what people can do when the ground shifts, not how they feel or who they are. It is the only validated framework that lets leaders predict, develop, and scale adaptive capacity. |
What the data showed: a team receptive to change, with 47% scoring high in mindset, but not yet resourced to execute it: 47% scored low in Change Readiness and 59% low in both grit and unlearning.
| RESULTS | |
▸ Leaders gained a shared language for adaptability that normalised change fatigue, letting the team openly discuss where they were struggling and support one another. ▸ Across the offsite's AI workshops and innovation labs, members shifted from passive concern about change to actively proposing and presenting solutions. ▸ To sustain momentum, the team introduced monthly innovation-sharing sessions, and leadership recognised that transformation depends on supporting people through change, not just implementing it. | “Sheila provided great insights and engaging coaching sessions … guiding us through actions to help drive adaptability and grit for the road ahead.” — VP, global SaaS company NPS 9 / 10 |
PRACTITIONER SPOTLIGHT
Sheila Drum · AQ® Certified Partners · Level 2 Specialism: Accredited Personal, Leadership, Executive and Team Coach. Sectors: Leadership and Organisational Development As an AQai Professional Certified Practitioner, Sheila Drum is passionate about helping individuals, teams, and organisations develop the capabilities needed to thrive in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Using AQai’s scientifically grounded framework, she helps organisations understand how their people respond to uncertainty and identify opportunities to strengthen resilience, adaptability, and performance. By combining AQai insights with executive and team coaching, Sheila supports leaders in creating cultures where people feel empowered, engaged, and equipped to navigate continuous transformation. |
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