During the pandemic, food companies were solving the problem of ‘No Contact Delivery’. They engaged the financial services industry for making digital payments. This automatically solved another problem ‘Chutta nahi hai’. The candy industry, which was the substitute for ‘Chutta’, experienced a dip in sales. This is a perfect example of how the world is interconnected. Anyone can turn out to be a competitor.

Interestingly, during the same time, ITC reached out to perceived competitors like Swiggy and Zomato for home delivery of food, which indicates that competitors can come together to survive and create value. In this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, the only way to survive and thrive is to learn how to adapt. Quickly!

Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive Leadership is a concept which was introduced by Marty Linsky and Ronald Heifetz soon after the 2008 global financial crisis. The adaptive leadership framework helps in surviving and thriving in the challenging environment. 

Why are we talking about it?

During the pandemic, the environment was challenging. Most organizations were struggling. However, there were companies that acted swiftly and conceived unconventional solutions, adapting rapidly. The same pandemic turned out to be an opportunity for them instead of posing a threat. This strengthened the credibility of the Adaptive Leadership framework.

Key elements of Adaptive Leadership

There are four key elements of the Adaptive Leadership framework. They are called CODE (Character, Organizational Justice, Development, and Emotional Intelligence). Let us understand them with the help of some Industry examples.

Emotional Intelligence

There used to be a company called Wang Laboratories in the 1980s. It was getting popular but it refused to use the Microsoft OS because it was associated with IBM. The owner, An Wang, had a bad experience with IBM and did not want to collaborate with IBM. Wang was not able to manage his emotions, which led to closure of Wang Laboratories in 1992.

The story tells us that there are times when you need to manage your emotions so that they do not come in the way of the survival and growth of the organization. That is Emotional Intelligence.

Development

During the pandemic, there were many businesses that changed their products, processes, people practices to survive and thrive. Alcohol companies started making sanitizers. Food delivery companies started making No-Contact delivery. Even contact centers shifted to work from home. The Kapil Sharma Show used cutouts of the audience for recording of the show to create an experience. IPL managed to create an experience for TV audiences that the stadium was full.

Exploring new methods and innovative practices in the face of challenges instead of following the old conventional practices is called development. Adaptive leaders take smart risks. They keep experimenting, learn from their mistakes and steer the organization in the direction of growth.

Organizational Justice

Tata Steel was facing a crisis in the 1990s, which could have led to its extinction. The company had to act fast. It designed an Early Separation Scheme. Then it held multiple employee meetings, where leaders honestly and openly explained the situation of the organization and encouraged them to take early separation. 

The perception of fairness in the minds of the employees and stakeholders is organizational justice. Adaptive leaders must communicate openly and honestly along with facts to create the perception of fairness. This encourages people to embrace change, and change management becomes easier. 

Character

Kingfisher Airlines started as a low cost airline, and struck the right cord with customers. After the first successful year, the company drifted to luxury. The fuel costs were rising, and the luxury business was not sustainable. The problem with leadership was that it did not listen. Finally the company went bankrupt.

Leadership is more listening than telling. Adaptive leaders need to be receptive to feedback. This way they can stay on course, sustainably

To sum it up, Adaptive Leadership can also be seen as agile innovation and change management to sustain and grow an organization in challenging times.