What is Adaptive Leadership and Why Does it Matter?

When it comes to business, there are certain things that separate the ones that make it from those that don’t. For starters, leadership is a main differentiator. For some, leadership traits are innate, and for others, they can be learned. In this article, we are going to look at a specific kind of leadership called adaptive leadership to see how it can change businesses for the better, as well as lives. 

By the end of the article, you’ll not only know what adaptive leadership entails, but you’ll also have an idea of how you can utilize educational opportunities to hone such valuable analytical skills. 

Let’s dive right in!

What is Adaptive Leadership?

Adaptive leadership is an approach to solving business challenges. It was first introduced by Harvard professors, experts, and leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky. 

Through their research, they discovered that businesses which are always changing must also have a plan for navigating such change. For adaptive leadership, this refers to leaders that not only identify challenges and provide solutions, but those that are also able to identify the root cause of challenges. 

By being able to do so, they can help their organization overcome hardship. Even more so, adaptive leadership theory believes that adaptive leaders are well-versed at identifying risks and knowing which ones are worthwhile to take on for the good of the business. As a good adaptive leader, these business professionals know how to value and listen to feedback from others.

A Model: How to Enact Adaptive Leadership

In order to be an adaptive leader, you first have to know if you are dealing with an adaptive challenge. Here are three steps to test challenges to see if you can apply adaptive leadership skills in the first place. 

Diagnose

The first step is to diagnose the problem. There are two categories of business challenges that can exist, namely: technical challenges and adaptive challenges. Technical challenges have known solutions. Adaptive solutions don’t have known solutions from the start. 

Experiment

The next step is to encourage creativity and test different steps to move forward. Throughout this process, it’s really important to learn from mistakes and remain agile. Adaptive leaders don’t get bogged down by facing challenges, but instead, they feel encouraged and inspired because they know that on the other end, the business will be better for it. 

Assess

Once the different approaches and solutions have been tested, it’s time to move forward and implement the best case scenario. Adaptive leaders remain aware of how these changes are affecting the organization as a whole. They also work alongside their teams and employees to continuously monitor how the adjustments are turning out in reality. 

What are the Main Principles of Adaptive Leadership?

Adaptive leadership is based on four key principles. These include:

1. Emotional Intelligence

Adaptive leaders understand how others feel. They recognize that change can be hard for some people, so they spend time building up their morale and empathizing with how people may feel. In turn, workplaces with people who feel supported and understood are more likely to buy into new changes and be engaged on the job. 

2. Organizational Justice

Organizational justice is about being fair. More specifically, it’s how employees perceive the level of fairness within the organization. It requires that leaders listen to the needs of their team and give everyone straight facts, rather than favoritism. This impacts how people behave and feel. 

3. Development

Importantly, adaptive leaders are open to trying new things. They are not afraid to experiment and enact new policies or strategies to try. Of course, as with anything new, failure is a possibility. But, leaders who possess adaptive leadership traits encourage others to be open to change. 

4. Character

Adaptive leaders have a strong sense of character and integrity. They are open to feedback and respect those they work with. As a result, those they work with also respect them. This leads to an open environment that’s filled with trust and clear communication. 

The Importance of Adaptive Leadership

The adaptive leadership theory is important because workplaces are never static. Change and challenges are inevitable. So, it’s important to have people at the top who know how to overcome challenges and lead everyone to success. 

Those who possess adaptive leadership are not afraid of change. Since business environments are constantly changing and evolving, these leaders are fit to take companies to the top. This is because they understand how to approach risk, listen to others, and have a strong sense of emotional intelligence. 

They know how to transform change and challenge into opportunity and growth. 

Adaptive Leadership Growth: Skills and Education Opportunities

Now that you know what adaptive leadership entails, you may want to hone your own adaptive leadership skills. If you’re looking to do so through education, you may want to consider studying business administration. Through formal education, you can enhance your analytical skills and learn how to approach challenges head-on. 

The top qualities of a leader are undeniable. If you feel you possess some or many leadership qualities and wish to thrive in a business setting, a bachelor’s degree is the perfect place to get started. The University of the People offers tuition-free, entirely online, and accredited business administration degree and certificate programs. This way, you can learn from anywhere, on your own time, and without having to go into college debt! 

Lead with Confidence 

Perhaps, there’s never been a more fitting time for adaptive leadership to be needed. Given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, change and unforeseen circumstances were all around everyone, everywhere. Adaptive leaders didn’t back down. They faced the situations head-on and tried new methods to overcome whatever was causing pain points within their businesses, be it supply chain issues, sick employees, lowered cash flow, and the like. 

The adaptive leadership theory is just one type of leadership style. It’s so effective because it fits constantly changing business environments so well. When you hone the adaptive leadership qualities, you can help any company and its employees to thrive, even under pressure and while facing hurdles.