Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive leadership is the practice of mobilising members of a team to adapt, learn and grow into the change required to attain the high performance necessary for success. Here's six tips for team leaders to consider in transforming the team to higher performance.

Get up on the balcony. The concept of 'Get On The Balcony' – the need to gain perspective in the midst of action. Heifetz and Linsky describe as follows 'the skill getting off the dance floor and going to the balcony- an image that captures the mental activity of stepping back in the midst of action and asking – What’s really going on here? ' ' Effective leaders resist the tendency to be swept up in the action and are able to move back and forth from an active and reflective position. Looking at the problem from the balcony allows leaders to better observe patterns and identify the best move forward.

Identify the Adaptive Challenge. There’s a difference between a technical challenge and an adaptive challenge and it is critical for leaders to be able to discern the differences. A technical challenge is defined as those that can be solved by the knowledge of experts, whereas adaptive requires new learning. When the problem definition is clear, a technical solution is possible. Otherwise leaders need to together they learn their way toward solutions.

Regulate Distress. As the leader be mindful of not overwhelming but providing enough tension to maintain urgency. Challenge the unproductive norms you are noticing and ask questions to raise tension to an appropriate level rather than give answers

Maintain disciplined attention. People tend to slide back into old behaviors and unwitting leaders must be able to avoid the tendency to restore equilibrium.. Must be able to identify distractions, refocus attention on tough issues and reframing issues to get at the heart of what matters to get progress.

Give work back to people. All too often, people look up the chain of command, expecting senior management to meet challenges for which they themselves are responsible. Letting people take the initiative in defining and solving problems means that leaders need to learn to support rather than control. Instil confidence in others through encouragement and support.

Protect voices of leadership from below. Leaders must rely on others within the team to raise questions that may indicate an impending adaptive challenge. They have to provide cover to people who point to the internal contradictions of the enterprise. Those individuals often have the perspective to provoke rethinking that leaders may not.

Adapted from: The Work of Leadership by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie