Adaptive leadership is a contemporary leadership that became popular because of its shift of focus on the issue of adaptability in the age of volatility. The adaptive leadership framework was developed by Ronald Heifetz for supporting leaders in the management of their organisations through significant changes. Adaptive leadership Heifetz deviates from the conventional leadership approaches of command, opting for more flexibility, learning and collaborative strategies for addressing problems that do not have clear solutions. Training courses in Leadership from the British Academy for Training and Development cover leadership principles and concepts, strategic thinking, and decision-making techniques.
This article discusses the adaptive leadership model, the principles of this model, phases and characteristics of this model with examples.
Adaptive leadership is a framework for leading people through problems that do not have clear, agreed-upon solutions.
It empowers adaptive leaders by prompting them to engage others with the purpose of solving challenging issues within organisations through cooperation, creativity, and adaptability. Unlike conventional leadership approaches that necessarily rely on decision-makers at the top, Heifetz adaptive leadership is about mobilising the participation of people of all ranks.
According to Heifetz and his co-authors, adaptive leadership theory is characterised by learning, growth and change. Leadership is especially essential in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous VUCA surroundings in which leaders perform regarding turbulent changes and adapt to unexpected conditions.
The six fundamental principles of adaptive leadership provide leaders with a proper direction of thinking as they tackle various intricate problems. These adaptive leadership principles make sure that leaders have a sense of direction about the change process while not compromising on essential values of the organisation. The principles are:
Leaders have to step back a little to get a broader vision. From a broader perspective, leaders are able to spot patterns and emerging problems in an organisation while also strategising appropriately.
Understanding the difference between technical and adaptive challenges is important. Whereas with the technical problem, it is clear what needs to be done, but for adaptive problems leaders need to think of new ideas and involve others to solve problems.
People are not fond of change most of the time. Leaders should work to reduce stress in the team through pacing the rate of change that does not put a lot of pressure in the system.
Leaders have to continue to work on adaptive activity and do not allow themselves to switch to familiar routines and start practising techniques that can guarantee short-term results.
Engaging workers to take ownership of issues is one of the core tenets within the adaptive leadership model. Leaders should provide opportunities where people can participate fully in problem solving activities.
It is crucial for leaders to get everyone involved, not only the senior managers of the organisation. Originally, those on the front line can better understand adaptive challenges.
These principles of adaptive leadership are useful and enable leaders to build a culture that is adaptive and inclusive.
The adaptive leadership process is divided into three primary phases: Diagnosis, Action, and Reflection. Every phase is carefully crafted to let leaders manage complex problems and organisational change in a structured manner.
During this phase, leaders assess the situation by information gathering to facilitate understanding of the dynamics and look for adaptive challenges. Leaders need to ask questions, listen to stakeholder concerns, and define objectives.
This phase includes proactively tackling the adaptive challenge. A leader initiates resources, ensures proper distribution of duties and seeks for the best from the team members. Adaptive leadership style requires the engaging of all the members of the team; hence leaders must ensure that they maintain an interaction within the system.
Reflection helps leaders in understanding the results of their actions and make necessary changes. This phase is equally important in the learning process. In fact, reflecting on successes and failures is significant in order to plan for the future challenges to be met.
These phases enable leaders to manage complex issues in a logical manner while keeping a flexibility in their approach.
Exploring adaptive leadership, we come across the characteristics which are flexibility, resilience, and empathy. Key characteristics and skills include:
Adaptive leaders possess insight of their own and others’ emotions so they can regulate stress and mediate conflict. This skill enables them to sustain good communication practices that allows all members of the team to be transparent and earn the trust of the team members.
Adaptive leaders are able to withstand issues that they or the organisation face and manage to come through the other side with composure. They make others succeed in roles that are demanding, showing in a way that creates a community of persistence.
Adaptive leaders are always willing to listen and are eager to explore new solutions. They never stop looking for lessons to be learnt from situations, mobilise creativity and adaptability within the members of the team in order to manage complex issues.
One of the key behavioural competencies of an adaptive leader is the ability to integrate multiple perspectives together to achieve goals. They promote togetherness, for it is easier to approach issues collaboratively and embrace diversity of ideas and talent.
Adaptive leaders can anticipate future threats and opportunities, and work from a forward-looking perspective in leading their organisation. It helps them to work proactively, avoiding uncertainty and being ready for transformations before they happen.
When these skills are worked on, leaders are well-placed to deal with adaptive challenges along with making the organisational culture successful.
The adaptive leadership model has been implemented in different fields such as business organisations, health sectors, and educational institutions. For instance, there are several propositions that organisations implemented during the COVID-19 outbreak to practise adaptive leadership. Leaders forged themselves having to make decisions at a fast pace, going for a work from home model and keeping their teams motivated in uncertain times.
In healthcare, there needs to be adaptive leadership in handling crises such as outbreaks and resource scarcities. One has to face a lot of competition and ever-changing environments while leading an organisation, cope up with the dynamic environments, cooperate with many stakeholders, and make decisions under pressure. Heifetz adaptive leadership is useful in managing crises in healthcare organisations, due to its flexible and teamwork orientation.
In conclusion,
By employing the adaptive leadership style, leaders can guide their teams to get through the volatility and come out victorious. This approach of leadership transforms organisations into more resilient, cooperative, and future ready organisations.