The (Not-So) Secret to Thriving in a Rapidly Changing World

Running an organization today is exceptionally challenging. From economic fluctuations to rapid technological advancements and shifting cultural expectations, the responsibility to stay ahead of the curve seems almost daunting.

So what is the "secret" to be able to not only survive and tread water, but thrive and sail the waters successfully?

In my view, it is the capacity for organizations to adapt.

That is why the ability to adapt in your organization has never been more critical. This is hardly a secret, but it hardly gets talked about in the proper context. Being able to provide the latest and greatest experience is expected from consumers and clients. Yet, amid the chaos, organizations must also remain steadfast in their commitment to their values and purpose. This is where a framework like adaptive leadership becomes essential.

Understanding Adaptive Leadership

For those who are not familiar with the term, adaptive leadership is a framework (developed by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky at the Harvard Kennedy School) that offers a roadmap for tackling complex challenges. In fact, I'd argue it offers a whole new way of thinking about challenges!

There are two key distinctions to understand in adaptive leadership: Authority versus Leadership, and Technical vs Adaptive challenges.

Authority is what is bestowed upon a person/group/institution/et. al in order to make decisions on behalf of a person/group/society. We authorize people everyday to make decisions Examples range from the CEO of a company, to your doctor, to your state representative in congress. Most of what we understand about leadership is confused with authority, as we presume leadership must come from the head of the boardroom table or at the podium of our houses of government.

Leadership is an action/activity that mobilizes people to take action on complex challenges. Leadership is not a position or a title. Leadership is centered around the work that is required for change, not around people or the tools and tactics they use. The Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s comes to mind as an example. In the modern world of work, examples of leadership organizations face might include the remote work debate, advancements in DEI initiatives, navigating multi-generational workforce challenges, or the cultural challenges of a merger between companies.

Technical challenges are those that have known solutions. They are challenges that an expert and/or a person with a position of authority can solve. A surgeon can fix a heart valve, or a CEO can sign the papers to close on an M&A deal. Technical challenges can still be difficult to solve; think of the years of training a doctor must go through, or the years of experience a CEO will need to comfortably handle those examples above. But in our terms, the "complexity" of a challenge is skewed towards the definition of adaptive challenges below.

Adaptive challenges are those that have no known solutions. They are challenges authority and expertise alone cannot solve. Adaptive challenges lie in the values, beliefs and behaviors of people, and therefore require a shift in them. In this context, adaptive challenges are also known as leadership challenges.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's required a shift in the values, beliefs, and behaviors of white Americans by asking them to live up to the principles the country was founded upon (amongst many other important discrepancies). The lessons learned and the policies and law in place show we have developed some technical expertise on the matter, but the challenge may still remain adaptive as new issues arise.

In modern work context, the remote work debate calls into question the beliefs, values, and behaviors of both an organization's management and its employees. What seems like a technical fix for CEOs and managers has turned into a values and belief conflict amongst entire organizations. The solution is still not known to this day - but the lessons learned in what values or beliefs may have to change or be compromised upon will have an impact for the future of modern working environments

Navigating Complexity with Purpose

So how do you adopt adaptive leadership principles in your business or organization? Here are 3 ways you can start:

1. Distinguishing Core Values from Strategies. Adaptive leaders understand the difference between what is essential and what can evolve. Your mission and values are the bedrock of your organization, but the strategies you use to achieve them may need to change.

   
   

   For instance, a health and wellness company committed to accessibility may need to shift from in-person services to digital platforms to remain relevant. The technical work there might be building the digital infrastructure with IT expertise, while the adaptive work might be the shift in patient and employee expectations while adopting this new digital platform.

   
   

2. Engaging Your People. Adaptive challenges require collaboration. Employees, stakeholders, and even customers hold valuable insights into what’s working and what isn’t. Leaders must create spaces for honest dialogue and feedback while aligning their teams around a shared mission. By involving others, leaders not only generate innovative solutions but also strengthen their culture of trust and inclusion.

   
   

   An example of this might look like a software company holding a team meeting on a project that is starting to show bugs and defects in the process. The team lead might use their authority to call the meeting and set the structure of it. The leadership actions (in conjunction with their authority) would be to hold space for an honest conversation, engaging all voices, and protecting people with dissenting views - all while navigating the conversation towards a collaborative environment,

   
   

3. Experimenting and Learning. The road to adaptation is rarely linear. Leaders must adopt a mindset of curiosity and resilience, willing to test new approaches, learn from failure, and iterate quickly. Staying true to your values doesn’t mean avoiding risk—it means taking risks that honor your mission.

   
   

   This might look like a start-up company adopting a culture of experimentation to honor its value of innovation. The adaptive challenge here might be to adjust the expectations of the team from a mindset of perfection and fear of failure (likely due to past work experiences) to an expectation of learning from failure, and taking smaller and smarter risks.

Key Takeaways:

• Adaptive leadership is a way of thinking about organizational/systemic/societal challenges in a non-conventional way

• Adaptive leadership looks at challenges from the differences in authority and leadership, and the differences between technical and adaptive challenges

• Instilling adaptive leadership principles in an organization might look like distinguishing core values from strategies, engaging your people more, and instilling a culture of experimentation and learning.

Building adaptive capacity is what we do at Well Led Strategies. Follow us and subscribe to The Intentional Leader for more insights!