The past three years have flipped our lives upside down. The current volatile and uncertain environment has put a question mark on the effectiveness of long-term forecasting, traditional strategic planning, and traditional leadership approaches. Covid has hastened the need for technological advances. Digital transformation initiatives have compelled companies to rethink their operating models, structures, and how they can best serve their customers; leveraging people’s creativity, capability, and passion at the same time.

Increasingly, researchers and leadership practitioners are realising that a successful leader can navigate the organization in the current VUCA environment by leveraging the collective strength of the organization, its people, and the culture. 

Several factors in the recent past have taken organizations by surprise. This includes the pandemic, the current context of supply chain issues, impact of the Russia-Ukraine War, the forecast of imminent recession, shifting geopolitical scenarios, and the ever-changing laws and restrictions. Irrespective of the business or industry  you are in, Change is inevitable. The speed of Change therefore becomes the differentiator.

In this context, Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky’s Adaptive leadership framework becomes rather relevant, especially from the perspective of leadership and change management. “Adaptive Leadership is the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive” (The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky, Harvard Business Press, 2009).

So, what does an Adaptive leader do? 

An Adaptive Leader is able to get perspective in the midst of the flux. They are able to step back and seek a panoramic view of the organization, forming broader connections and implications. It is akin to “Getting on to the balcony” to observe and take an overall picture, before stepping down on the floor to take purposeful action. 

The past few years have emphasised stress management as a key behaviour. Stress needs to be managed both, at an individual level as well as at an organizational level. Stress levels accruing out of a transformation initiative or as a consequence of implementing Change should be carefully managed. This ensures that employees feel comfortable sharing ideas and feedback, eventually building trust. An Adaptive leader recognizes this and applies it during any Change management initiative. 

In one of my organizations, the CEO at the start of the pandemic began employee interactions across the organization. These interactions were focussed upon the imminent business challenge, the decision dilemmas, anxieties and possible solutions. These forums helped evolve several actionable  ideas to manage the change. It also reinforced the belief that the best ideas may not be confined to the upper echelons within a company. An adaptive leader therefore is open to perspectives and ideas from diverse voices, and proactively includes and involves those people in driving the Change.

Another key attribute of an Adaptive leader is their ability to identify the right challenge and be persistent in maintaining and driving focus around addressing the same. For instance, during the pandemic, the sudden transition to WFH (work from home) posed several challenges. The ones that get highlighted are largely technical challenges; providing laptops to employees, access to VPN, updating the server, and so on. Undoubtedly, these are complex challenges. However, most organizations were able to address these issues over a period of time. The stumbling block though were the “Adaptive challenges” where there was a fundamental shift in values , behaviours, way of working, beliefs, and high levels of anxiety. Successful leaders identified these challenges and relentlessly focussed on helping solve these. 

How do we practice adaptive leadership? 

Develop self-awareness

It starts with developing self-awareness; recognizing and managing one’s own emotions, and helping others to the same. It is therefore important to take time out to reflect. 

Step up the learning process

Focus on learning new things both at an individual and organizational level. Encourage mindful experimentation and germination of ideas. 

Building trust

Create a climate of trust and openness. Encourage diverse perspectives. Make people feel heard and valued. Exhibit flexibility. Communicate shared values and purpose across the organization to ensure alignment between the larger organizational vision, business strategy and individual goals.

In conclusion, owing to its inherent nature, Change does not happen overnight. This is true irrespective of whether the Change is at an individual, Team or organizational level. Influencing mindset and culture requires consistent tweaking, reiteration and development of trust. 

An Adaptive mindset builds resilience for the leader and the organization. And this is crucial to sustainable success in a dynamic business environment. 

Bibliography:

The Practice of Adaptive Leadershipby Ronald Heifetz,Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky, Harvard Business Press (2009)

A survival Guide for Leaders by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Lisky, HBR June 2002, Harvard Business Press