My understanding is that Nadal didn't really switch to being left handed. When he was a child (was it age 8?), he had two handed strokes off both sides, which

My understanding is that Nadal didn't really switch to being left handed. When he was a child (was it age 8?), he had two handed strokes off both sides, which is common for kids. Young tennis players often drop the non-dominant hand on the forehand when they get stronger. His uncle, noticing that he was as strong off the left as the right, encouraged him to play as a lefty. He perfected this over countless hours for the next 11 years, winning the french open at age 19. This is vastly different from taking a seasoned pro and suddenly telling him to play with complete different tactics with his non-dominant hand! In fact, if Nadal were required to play with Federer's strokes tomorrow (ie., use his right hand, and hit a one handed backhand), my guess is that he'd get bageled in his next pro match, and I doubt he'd ever be in the top 100 again (that's an extremely conservative estimate, there's a good chance he'd permanently collapse in the rankings). That said, I do think that Nadal is an excellent example of how to be adaptable. Take a look some time at how he approached hard courts after his initial success on clay. Rather than staying way back, he moved much closer in on the court, taking the ball on the rise, and taking his opponent's time away. It was a big adjustment for the former clay court specialist, but it worked, and it's why Nadal is now one of the few players with a career slam, and titles on every surface. So yes, you need to adapt, but (and I know I'm stretching a sports analogy a big far here) it demonstrates how the truly top players go about change. They do adapt, but they're highly strategic about it, they leverage existing strengths, and they don't do it on a whim (and they especially don't do it on someone else's whim). I actually think that technical leaders are also very organizationally savvy people. They adapt and learn new things, but they don't get jerked around from task to task - and they'll say no and fight strategically about it if need be. They understand how to align their projects with their strengths, and what they want to learn next. This way, they don't waste time or mental energy, and they play from a position of strength.