Mr. Rajesh – the adaptable BDO

    A business development officer transferred four times across Maharashtra never once resisted — and became the star his company could not do without. Here is what his flexibility teaches about the EQ side of the Winning Kite.

    Mr. Rajesh – the adaptable BDO

    Mr. Rajesh – the adaptable BDO

    Some professionals fight every transfer order like it's a personal insult. Mr. Rajesh signed four of them without a single complaint — and turned every one into proof of why his company couldn't do without him. This is the story of what real flexibility looks like on the job, not in a textbook.

    In short

    Where this sits on your Winning Kite

    Flexibility is Trait #7, and it lives on the EQ — the left — side of your Winning Kite (KITE Leadership Framework). EQ is one of three sides — alongside RQ (Relationship Intelligence) and PQ (Productivity) — that hold up the kite's top panel: Success. A kite with a strong EQ side but no flexibility is like a kite with a torn left edge — it may still fly in still air, but the moment a gust of real-world change hits it, it tears further. You rise on balance, not on strength alone, and flexibility is one of the panels that keeps you balanced when the wind shifts without warning.

    The Story of Mr. Rajesh

    Let me tell you about a business development officer I'll call Mr. Rajesh, from a reputed company. He didn't start at the top. He started as an intern — the kind of entry point that gives you no leverage, no seniority, nothing but the work in front of you. He climbed the ladder the honest way: hard work, and a quality most people underrate until they see it in action — a strong ability to adapt.

    Over the years, Mr. Rajesh's company moved him. Not once. Four times.

    First from Latur to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Then, before he'd even fully settled, to another office within Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) — a different branch, different team, different set of expectations. Then to Pune, a bigger market with a completely different pace and client profile. And finally to Jalgaon.

    Think about what each of those moves actually demands of a person. New city. New house-hunting. New schools if there are kids. New landlords, new local language rhythms, new grocery shops, new commute. And on top of all of that — new colleagues, new managers, new customers, new sales territory to learn from scratch, new competitive landscape.

    Most professionals would resist this. And they'd have a point to make while resisting: "Why are they moving me around so much? I just settled in this city. My family is comfortable here. I built my network here." These are not unreasonable complaints. They're the complaints of someone who has invested in stability and is watching it get pulled out from under them.

    But Mr. Rajesh never voiced them. He didn't fight the transfer orders, didn't lobby to stay put, didn't drag his feet on the handover. Each time, he adapted to the new environment with ease — new colleagues, new culture, new city, new challenges, absorbed one after another without drama.

    His colleagues noticed. They admired him for exactly this quality — his willingness to embrace change and handle different roles effectively, wherever the company needed him. They said, in as many words, that it's rare to find someone so willing to embrace change. That word "rare" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. It tells you that most people don't do what Mr. Rajesh did — which is precisely why the ones who do stand out so sharply.

    Today, Mr. Rajesh is a true star in his workplace. Not because he was the most brilliant salesman on paper, but because in an ever-evolving work environment — one where companies constantly face market fluctuations, changing customer needs, and plain disruption — the ability to adapt quickly is what actually separates a star performer from the rest of the pack.

    And here's the part I want you to sit with: Mr. Rajesh's example clearly shows that being adaptable isn't just about managing physical moves from one city to another. It's about a mindset that welcomes change and treats it as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat to be managed. That mindset is what let him not just survive the shifting landscape of his career, but thrive in it and eventually lead in it — becoming, in the process, an asset his company genuinely could not afford to lose.

    The Three Types of Professionals

    In my work training organisations across India, I've come to see that every workplace has three types of professionals when it comes to change.

    Type C professionals are resistant to change and refuse to adapt to new situations. They can be stubborn, unwilling to even consider new ideas, and it eventually catches up with them in their careers. You see this pattern at the company level too. Kodak was once the undisputed leader in photography — and was slow to embrace digital photography, so it fell behind. Blockbuster refused to acknowledge the rise of streaming and went bankrupt as a result. Nokia, once the largest phone manufacturer on the planet, struggled to compete once Apple and Samsung redefined what a phone was supposed to be.

    Type B professionals are willing to change, but only under pressure. They resist at first and adapt only when there's genuinely no other option left. They lack the initiative to take risks or embrace opportunity early, which quietly caps how far they can go.

    Type A professionals proactively seek out and embrace change. They're constantly evolving, constantly adapting to new situations, and that's exactly what makes them stand out as stars in their organisations. Companies behave this way too — Airbnb and Uber disrupted entire industries by embracing technology and new models instead of protecting an old one. Amazon constantly seeks out new business opportunities and adapts to shifting consumer demand rather than defending its original bookstore business.

    Mr. Rajesh is Type A in human form. Four transfers, zero resistance, and a reputation that grew stronger with every move rather than weaker.

    What Adaptability Actually Means at Work

    Adaptability means accepting change — and sometimes learning to float against the current when the situation demands it. It's about dealing with uncertainty and accepting a basic truth: life, from birth to death, is full of change. Our bodies change. Our relationships change. Our companies change constantly. Professionals who understand this and know how to face it well can take the best course of action when it matters, instead of freezing or fighting.

    Here's a smaller, everyday version of the same idea. Imagine a trainer at a software training company who is suddenly told: from tomorrow, teach management software instead of the civil software you were hired to teach. One kind of professional says, "No, I wasn't told this in the interview," and digs in. A star professional says, "Come on, let's learn something new" — and adapts, because the change is a growth opportunity dressed up as an inconvenience.

    The Case of MS Dhoni

    If you want to see flexibility in action at the highest level, look at MS Dhoni's career. In the early phase (2004–2011), he was a hard-hitting middle-order batsman who scored mostly through boundaries — sixes and fours. His strike rate in that period was 86.26, with 16 hundreds and 51 fifties in 248 innings. Aggressive. Explosive. Fearless.

    But as Dhoni took on more responsibility — becoming captain, becoming the team's anchor — his game evolved completely. In the second half of his career (2012–2019), he shifted to playing the anchor role, scoring through singles and doubles instead of chasing boundaries. His strike rate actually rose to 89.84, and though his hundreds dropped to 8, he became one of the finest finishers limited-overs cricket has seen.

    That's flexibility. That's evolution. Dhoni didn't cling to what had worked before out of nostalgia. He read what the team needed, understood his role in that moment, and adapted his game to it — leading India to the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy along the way. Stars evolve. Losers resist. It really is that simple.

    The IT Professionals Who Got Left Behind

    I've met many software developers who built strong, successful careers on C, C++ and Java. Good careers. Real skill. But when the industry shifted toward Python, AI, machine learning, big data and cloud computing, some of them refused to move with it.

    "I'm comfortable with Java," they told me. "Why should I learn Python now? I've been using C++ for years."

    They stayed in their comfort zones. And slowly, quietly, they got sidelined. Younger professionals who embraced the new technologies walked away with the best projects, the promotions, the recognition. Today, those who didn't adapt are struggling to find good opportunities, while those who evolved are thriving in the same industry, on the same clock.

    Why Flexibility Matters — Beyond the Individual

    Think about nature for a second. Summer becomes the rainy season, then winter, then summer again. Everything around us adapts on schedule. A small child cries on the first day of school because they're resisting a change — but the moment they adapt, they move forward happily. A woman who moves into her in-laws' home after marriage faces enormous change — new environment, new culture, new priorities, even new food habits. The ones who adapt quickly settle in and thrive. The ones who resist, struggle for years.

    Workplaces run on the same physics. Roles change. Job descriptions change. Goals change. Technologies change. Work locations change. Priorities shift without notice. If you resist all of this, you get left behind. If you adapt, you build an aura of confidence around yourself — and that confidence earns you the trust of your colleagues and your managers. You become someone the organisation can genuinely count on, the way Mr. Rajesh's employer clearly counted on him.

    Look at India Post. It was once the single most important organisation in the country for sending parcels and letters — branches in every district and taluka in India. But when private courier companies like Blue Dart, DTDC and FedEx arrived with faster, more reliable service, India Post failed to adapt quickly enough, and lost enormous market share to companies with a fraction of its reach. Compare that to companies like Netflix, Philips, Apple, Amul and Amazon, which changed the moment the market demanded it — and stayed relevant because of it.

    The Emotional Root of Resistance: The Need for Certainty

    Here's what I've observed repeatedly in my training rooms: flexibility, or the lack of it, is deeply tied to our emotional needs — not just our attitudes. One of the six core emotional needs that drive human behaviour is the need for certainty. People with a strong need for certainty crave stability. They want predictable routines. They don't like risk. They feel safe only inside their comfort zone.

    There's nothing wrong with wanting certainty in itself. But when that need grows strong enough to block you from accepting change, it becomes a real problem. When a new rule is introduced, or a new strategy launches, or the work location changes, people with a high need for certainty experience that uncertainty as pain. And to avoid the pain, they resist. They dig their heels in, they complain, they become adamant — not because the change is objectively bad, but because their nervous system is reading unpredictability as danger.

    This is where I find it useful to bring in a related idea from Daniel Goleman's work on emotional intelligence: self-confidence is essential for adaptability. When you genuinely believe in your own ability to learn and grow, change stops feeling threatening. You start telling yourself, "I've learned new things before. I can do it again" — and that one sentence does more to unlock flexibility than any pep talk about "embracing change" ever will.

    Here's the truth I try to drive home in every session: you cannot stop change. But you can absolutely change your perception of it. The moment you shift from "why is this happening to me" to "how can I adapt to this, what can I learn from this, how can this help me grow" — everything shifts. Adaptation gets easier. Growth becomes natural instead of forced.

    Seven Practical Steps to Build Flexibility

    Flexibility isn't something you either have or don't have. It's a skill, and like every skill, it's built in layers.

    1. Recognise your own need for certainty. Ask yourself honestly — do I fear uncertainty? Do I resist change simply because it's uncomfortable? Naming it is the first step to loosening its grip.
    2. Challenge yourself to embrace uncertainty. Instead of running from it, lean in. Ask: what's the worst that can happen, and what's the best? Usually the fear is far bigger than the reality.
    3. Start small. Take on a task outside your usual responsibilities. Learn a new tool. Volunteer for a project in a different department. Every small step strengthens the adaptability muscle.
    4. Stay updated with your industry. Read the news in your field, attend webinars, take short courses. The more you know about where your field is headed, the less any single change can blindside you.
    5. Be genuinely open to feedback. Flexible people listen without defensiveness. If a manager or colleague suggests a different way of doing something, try it before you dismiss it.
    6. Build self-confidence deliberately. Remind yourself of the times you've learned something difficult before and succeeded. That evidence is your best defence against the fear of the unfamiliar.
    7. Change your perception of change itself. Stop seeing it as a disruption. Start seeing it as a chance to learn something new, prove your range, and make yourself more valuable to the people who depend on you.

    This is exactly the muscle we build in our leadership and behavioural training programs — not abstract theory about "growth mindset," but the specific, repeatable habits that let a professional handle a transfer letter, a new tool, or a changed job description the way Mr. Rajesh handled four postings across Maharashtra: without drama, and with his reputation growing stronger each time.

    If you're building this in your own team, it connects directly to conversations we run in our corporate training sessions on emotional intelligence and change readiness — and if you'd like Mr. Rajesh's story told live to your people, with the psychology behind it unpacked in the room, that's exactly what we do.

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    Avinash Chate

    TEDx Speaker · Founder, The Future Corporate · Author of Stars at India Inc.

    Avinash has trained the Indian Army, BRO, RBI, BARC, JSW Steel and 1000+ corporate leaders across India. His work focuses on leadership, emotional intelligence and behavioural training rooted in Indian values and modern business needs.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What made Mr. Rajesh a "star" despite being transferred so many times?

    He never resisted a transfer. From Latur to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, to another office in the same city, to Pune, and finally to Jalgaon, he treated every new posting as a fresh chance to learn the market, the people and the culture instead of a punishment to be endured.

    Where does Flexibility sit on the Winning Kite framework?

    Flexibility is Trait #7 on the EQ (Emotional Intelligence) side — the left panel of the Winning Kite. It works alongside RQ and PQ; without it, the kite loses balance and struggles to rise when the wind of change blows.

    Why do some professionals resist change so strongly?

    It usually traces back to a high emotional need for certainty. Predictability feels safe, so any disruption — a new city, a new boss, a new tool — registers as pain, and the natural reaction is to resist rather than adapt.

    How can I build flexibility as a skill rather than wait for it to happen naturally?

    Start small — take on a task outside your job description, learn one new tool, volunteer for an unfamiliar project. Stay updated on your industry, welcome feedback without defensiveness, and consciously reframe every change as a question: what can I learn from this?

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