Adaptive Leadership

LEADERSHIP Adaptive Leadership
Adaptive Leadership
LEADERSHIP Adaptive Leadership 2
Overview
Adaptive Leadership
Description
Amodel of Adaptive
Leadership
How does Adaptive
Leadership work?
Strengths, Criticisms,
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Description
Adaptive Leadership
Focuses on the adaptations required of people in
response to the changing environments
Stresses the activities of the leader in relation to the
work of followers in the contexts in which they find
themselves
Encourages effective change across multiple
levels: self, organizational, community, and societal
Framework developed largely by Heifetz and his
associates
Definition
“The practice of
mobilizing people to
tackle tough challenges
and thrive.”
Adaptive leaders help
others by:
Mobilizing them
Motivating them
Organizing them
Adaptive Leadership in Practice

Company Merger: A midsize family-
owned company merges with another
similar company. The merger creates
tensions between the employees
regarding job titles and duties, pay
scales, overtime, and vacation pay. The
new owners must bring the employees
together to have the new company
function successfully.
Adaptive Leadership in Practice

Merit Pay: In an established engineering
company, a small group of young, high-
achieving engineers, wants to change the
way merit pay is given by removing
seniority and years of service as part of
the criteria. Longtime employees are
resisting the change. Company leaders
must find a way to address this issue
without alienating either group.
Incorporates Four Different

Viewpoints
Systems Perspective – Problems are complex with
interconnected parts
Biological Perspective – People develop and evolve by
having to adapt to internal cues and the external
environment
Service Orientation – Leadership serves people by
diagnosing their problems and prescribing possible solutions
Psychotherapy Perspective – People adapt successfully
when they face problems directly, distinguish between
fantasy and reality, resolve internal conflicts, and learn new
attitudes and behaviors
Subset of Complexity Leadership

Theory
21st century organizations have knowledge
and information as core commodities
rather than production of goods
Theory includes administrative, adaptive,
and enabling leadership
Focuses on strategies that encourage
learning, creativity, and adaptation in
complex organizations
When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

Situational Challenges
1.Technical problems: Problem that are clearly
defined with known solutions that can be
implemented through existing organizational
procedures.
Example: Some new software at accounting firm
isn’t working.If the accountant has authority to address the
problem (e.g., contact the software company and have
program modified to meet the company’s needs), this is a
technical problem.
1. No Need for adaptive leadership

1.Technical problems: Problem that are clearly

defined with known solutions that can be
implemented through existing organizational
procedures.
 No Need for adaptive leadership

2.Technical and Adaptive Challenges: Challenges
are clearly defined but do not have straightforward
solutions. Leader and followers both tackle problem.
Example: Hospital wants to change from traditional
approach to a patient-centered culture. Administration can
offer training on how t involve patients in their own care.
Medical
staff, patients, and families need to accept the change and
learn how to implement it. .
2. Need for adaptation by many different people

2.Technical and Adaptive Challenges: Challenges

are clearly defined but do not have straightforward
solutions. Leader and followers both tackle problem.
2. Need for adaptation by many different people

2.Adaptive Challenges: Problems that are not clearly
defined or easy to identify, and which do not have a
clear solution.
Example: A hospital wants to begin hospice care for
terminally
ill patients. The patients and their families will face immense
uncertainty about how and when the patient will die. The
staff, patients, and families will face many issues about the
dying process, what the loss means, how to prepare for
coping with it.
2. The challenges facing
Northouse - Leadership Theory and the
Practice,organization arePublications,
Seventh Edition © 2016 SAGE not clearlyInc. defined nor

2.Adaptive Challenges: Problems that are not clearly
defined or easy to identify, and which do not have a
clear solution.
2. The challenges facing the organization are not clearly defined nor
are the solutions. These challenges require adaptive leadership
Adaptive Challenges are Value-laden and stir

up people’s emotions
 Technical Challenges can be fixed with leader’s
own expertise and authority
Effective leaders use adaptive leadership

behaviors for adaptive challenges and technical
leadership for technical challenges
Six Adaptive Leader Behaviors

(No specific order to them)
1.Get on the Balcony
Understand the big picture and all that is
involved in the situation. Don’t get swept in
the field of play. Move back and forth
between action and balcony. (Get a
wholesome view)
•Identify Adaptive Challenges
Distinguish between technical and adaptive
challenges
Four Types of Adaptive Challenges

a.A gap between espoused values and
behavior
b.Competing commitments/goals (quality
vs cost)
a.Elephants in the room
b.People avoid work

3.Regulate Distress
Help others recognise the need for change but not be
overwhelmed by it. The leader must …
•Create a holding environment (safe atmosphere
to discuss everything).
•Provide direction, protection, orientation, conflict
management, productive norms.
•Regulate his or her own personal distress and the
distress levels keeping it in the productive range.

4. Maintain Discipline Attention

Encouraging people to focus on the tough
work they do.
5. Give the Work Back to the People
Avoid micro-managing, Support people;
encourage risk-taking; people should know
that they can work out their own solutions.

6.Protect Leadership Voices from Below

Consider the ideas of people who may be at
the fringe, marginalized, or even deviant in
the group or organization. Protect whistle-
blowers.
Adaptive Work
What adaptive leaders want to see happen.
Adaptive work grows out of the
communication between leaders and
followers but is primarily the work done by
followers.
A holding environment is essential.
How does Adaptive Leadership Work

A complex process of multiple dimensions incl. situational
challenges, leadership behaviors and adaptive work;
Mobilizing individuals in doing adaptive work.
•Leader steps back from a challenging situation for a view
from balcony.
•Determine if the change creates technical or adaptive
challenges
•If the challenges are adaptive, the leader engages in
several specific leader behaviors to move the adaptive
process forward.
How does Adaptive Leadership

Work
Leadership behaviors
Creating a holding environment
Regulating stress
Providing direction
Keeping people focused on important issues.
Empowering people
Giving voice to marginalized and
unrecognized
Strengths
 AL takes a process approach; leadership is a
complex transaction between leaders and
followers.
AL is follower centered.
Helps followers deal with conflicting values that
emerge in changing work environments.
Prescribes useful leadership behaviors
Introduces the concept of a “holding
environment” as an integral part of the
leadership process.
Strengths
In contrast to other leadership theories, AL takes a
process approach; leadership is a complex
transaction between leaders and followers.
AL is follower centered. Adaptive leaders
mobilize, people to engage in adaptive work.
Helps followers deal with conflicting values that
emerge in changing work environments.
Prescribes useful leadership behaviors
Introduces the concept of a “holding environment”
as an integral part of the leadership process.
Criticisms
Very little empirical research
has been conducted to test the
claims of the theory.
Complex processes are difficult
to test and
measure.
Too wide ranging and abstract
Application of Adaptive
Leadership
For the leader, AL provides a conceptual
framework that help us determine what type of
challenges we face and strategies for managing
them
AL can apply in a wide variety of settings
For organizations, AL can be used as a model to
meet a variety of challenges incl. change and
growth.
AL is of special interest to people in nonprofits,
Application of Adaptive
Leadership
For the leader, AL provides a conceptual
framework that help us determine what type of
challenges we face and strategies for managing
them
AL can apply in a wide variety of settings
For organizations, AL can be used as a model to
meet a variety of challenges incl. change and
growth.
AL is of special interest to people in nonprofits,

Adaptive Leadership

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LEADERSHIP Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive Leadership in Practice

Adaptive Leadership in Practice

Incorporates Four Different

Subset of Complexity Leadership

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

1.Technical problems: Problem that are clearly

 No Need for adaptive leadership

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

2.Technical and Adaptive Challenges: Challenges

2. Need for adaptation by many different people

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

When is Adaptive Leadership Relevant

Adaptive Challenges are Value-laden and stir

Effective leaders use adaptive leadership

Six Adaptive Leader Behaviors

Four Types of Adaptive Challenges

Six Adaptive Leader Behaviors

Six Adaptive Leader Behaviors

4. Maintain Discipline Attention

Six Adaptive Leader Behaviors

6.Protect Leadership Voices from Below

How does Adaptive Leadership Work

How does Adaptive Leadership

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