There are four critical adaptive capabilities for leaders
diagnose what's really going on
Mobilise others to work on the issue
Manage yourself in the face of challenges
Intervene skilfully
diagnose what's really going on
Understand how your organisation works as a system – the political landscape, people’s assumptions about the challenge, and the ripeness of the challenges you’re facing. Because it is a system that has prevailed for some time, your organisation will defend attempts to change it.
Distinguish adaptive challenges from technical problems. Often leaders will respond with technical solutions – a new system, a wellbeing program, a training course – which always fail in the face of adaptive challenges.
Despite the inclination to take immediate action, resist the urge to rush to conclusions. Instead, persistently pursue the truth. The truth can be uncomfortable and individuals can be skilled in distancing themselves from it. If you encounter resistance while interpreting the situation, it may point to an uncomfortable reality that needs to be addressed.
WHAT TO DO
considerationS
Get a deep understanding of your stakeholders, including their interests, loyalties and the losses they may suffer from a transformation initiative. Create a trustworthy process for working together, rooted in a common purpose. Facilitate learning at an individual, team and organisational level.
Getting agreement on how you will work together is the first step in establishing an environment where people can share their perspectives on the adaptive challenge and interpret its causes – and how to address them. You don’t need to agree on the issues, but you do need to agree on the process for dealing with them.
This means you need to make it safe for others to learn. The absence of conflict and appearance of compliance may indicate that people do not feel comfortable raising hard truths or admitting mistakes. But being open to challenges is a pre-requisite for growth.
As organisational psychologist Adam Grant notes, blaming and shaming does not stop people from making mistakes – it stops them from admitting mistakes. If people cannot share their missteps, they cannot learn from them, and neither can the rest of the team.
WHAT TO DO
considerationS
Mobilise others to work on the issue
Go beyond just knowing yourself; know how to manage yourself when facing prolonged uncertainty and conflict. Understand your vulnerabilities and triggers. Be ready to experiment with ways of working and being that are beyond your comfort zone.
Without self-knowledge, self-control and awareness of how others perceive you, you will struggle to energise others to make progress on important challenges.
This requires emotional intelligence, an understanding of your own vulnerabilities and triggers, being comfortable with not having all the answers and not having total control, tolerating conflict and uncertainty, and being prepared to be unpopular when you challenge the status quo. Overcoming the fear of being disliked is a significant step.
None of this is easy, so taking care of yourself is critical for sustaining effort.
WHAT TO DO
considerationS
Manage yourself in the face of challenges
Be ready to make hard choices. But make sure they are informed by your common purpose and provoke people enough to become curious about why they need to change. Challenges without easy answers demand experimentation and learning. So act experimentally, facilitate learning and hold fast to the common purpose behind the initiative.
There’s a common assumption that as leaders, we must always have the perfect solution to any problem. This notion is unrealistic and counterproductive when it comes to addressing our most difficult challenges. Rather than obsessing over whether we possess exceptional leadership qualities, we should focus on intentionally adopting behaviours that promote effective experimentation with new ways of working and learning for ourselves and all parties involved.
Real change begins with individuals who are passionate enough to put in the effort and take inevitable but essential risks.
WHAT TO DO
considerationS
Intervene skilfully
BACK TO TOP
