Adaptive leadership is a practical approach to solving business issues, guiding leaders in identifying and focusing on the important aspects of a business operation and discarding what it can do without. Adaptive leadership theory was introduced by leadership experts, Harvard professors, and authors.
Adaptive leadership is specifically focused on leadership in complex systems or situations and is helpful when thinking about how to respond to change, uncertainty, and crisis. This approach emphasizes the importance of adaptation to a complex and rapidly changing environment and creates the organizational conditions to achieve agreed goals. Adaptive leaders succeed by adapting to changing environments, leading with empathy, learning through self-correction, and creating win-win solutions. They are those who can take a perspective from outside or above the situation or organization.
Adaptive leaders create an environment in which every member of the organization can be heard. Organizational input is integral to adaptive leadership. Here are some principles of adaptive leadership that can inspire leaders to become more adaptive :
- Ensure evidence-based learning and adaptation: Adaptive leadership means teams and organizations need to constantly assess their actions, recognizing that they will have to continuously iterate and adapt their interventions as they learn more about the outcomes of decisions. This requires clear processes for determining the best options for action.
- Stress-test underlying theories, assumptions, and beliefs: Leaders need to be willing to challenge their assumptions and beliefs about what works in their organization. This requires a willingness to embrace uncertainty, try things differently, and adjust as needed.
- Build collective action: Collective action might be in the form of coordination among businesses, partnerships among different interest groups (e.g., businesses and communities), or dialogue across a range of stakeholders. Adaptive leadership has a crucial role to play in helping to identify opportunities for collective action.
- Create an environment where every member of the organization can be heard: Adaptive leaders create an environment in which every member of the organization can be heard. Organizational input is integral to adaptive leadership.
- Be authentic: Authentic leaders proactively seek a range of perspectives on issues and demonstrate that they value and listen to those around them. Authentic leaders are more likely to inspire trust among their followers.
- Diagnose, interrupt, innovate: Adaptive leadership involves diagnosing, interrupting, and innovating as a means of creating capabilities that align with the aspirations of the organization.
- Lead with empathy: Adaptive leaders lead with empathy by understanding the needs of their followers and responding appropriately. They can put themselves in their followers’ shoes and see things from their perspective.
- Learn through self-correction: Adaptive leaders learn through self-correction by being open to feedback from others and being willing to make changes based on that feedback. They can recognize when something isn’t working and take steps to correct it.
- Create win-win solutions: Adaptive leaders create win-win solutions by finding ways for everyone involved in a situation to benefit. They can identify common ground among different parties and work toward solutions that benefit everyone involved.
In conclusion, adaptive leadership is an approach that emphasizes adaptation to complex and rapidly changing environments. It requires leaders who are willing to challenge their assumptions and beliefs about what works in their organization, build collective action, create an environment where every member of the organization can be heard, lead with empathy, learn through self-correction, and create win-win solutions. By following these principles of adaptive leadership, leaders can inspire their teams to become more adaptive and better equipped to handle change and uncertainty in today’s fast-paced business environment.
