Today we went out exploring the coast of Barcelona. Once a month a group of friends and I go sailing. Weather permitting. The truth is that I am not a very expert sailor, but I enjoy myself. Seafaring is a technique and an art. You never know enough and often face problems or situations you are ill-equipped to deal with it. At the beginning at each trip we decide who will be the captain of the ship. It is a very specific responsibility, and always must be alert. It is also a team in which we all have responsibilities. It is a continual learning experience, we must decide where we want to go, have good weather information, check that everything is in order on the boat, from the level of motor oil, the amount of diesel and the state of the batteries, up to security issues as well as having adequate material and sufficient food and water. But above all we learn to work as a team. Now we are preparing to do regattas in spring. The boats are very similar and in these competitions what is key in winning is the team and its leader.
In some way throughout our professional lives, we are all navigating, and often in stormy waters. Organizations are complex, unhealthy environment, management is not always able to assess the work we do, their strategies must be adapted to markets or sectors undergoing permanent change, in an increasingly global world where competition becomes fierce. Within organizations, there are a number of variable factors that often create anxiety and insecurity, especially when communication is poor or decisions seem arbitrary.
Most of the problems we face are not technical, they are adaptive, and often related to people and organizations. As professionals we are well prepared to solve technical problems, and we are not always prepared to face adaptive problems.
In “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership (2009) by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky, the authors clearly distinguish adaptive and technical challenges. They state:
“Although the technical problems can be very complex and critically important, we know the solutions that can be implemented with the current knowledge. They can be solved through the application of authorized knowledge and through the current structures of the organization, the procedures and the ways to do it. Adaptive challenges can only be addressed through changes in the priorities, beliefs, habits and loyalties of people. Making progress requires more than any authorized ability to mobilize innovative solutions, get rid of certain ways, tolerate losses and generate the new ability to grow again. “
Too often, we face our challenges as technicians when they are adaptive. A good example of this is when staff from organizations, large and small, coincidence in that they do not consider their views to be properly considered when making key organizational decisions. A simple technical solution would be to allocate more time to holding meetings to hear comments or ideas from staff.
However, this would not prevent senior management from truly considering their ideas; It merely creates a space for sharing ideas. Adopting an adaptive approach to this challenge means that senior management will not only seek staff ideas, but will also review them, ask questions and incorporate them into the decision-making process. The fundamental change here is that top management should value their employees in a way they did not before and integrate this new value in their decision-making process. In addition, they should recognize the shortcomings of their previous approach to be able to adapt.
So what can you do to practice adaptive leadership? Although I continue to learn what works for me, I have learned that the following points are the key: