Adaptive vs. Authoritative Leadership
To understand how adaptive leadership is different from authoritative leadership, let’s compare the approaches of two competing Arctic explorers. Amundsen and Scott. Scott was a bold, decisive leader who trusted his experience. He chose to use a combination of horses and motorised sleds in his trip to the pole but tested neither to see if they would work in the conditions they would face. As it turned out, the horses’ legs sank into the deep snow. The motorised sleds failed in the cold conditions within days. Amundsen recognised there was a lot he didn’t know about the environment and visited the Inuit people to study how they thrived in the arctic. He learned from them how well adapted dogs were to the environment. He also tested everything. How much energy did raw fish provide? How many calories would each of his team expend in a day given the temperature and workload? Whilst Scott cursed his bad luck, Amundsen planned for it. Taking 5 times the amount of food he had calculated they’d need, to allow for contingencies he couldn’t anticipate. Placing multiple markers either side of their food depots to make them easier to find. Harvard Professor Ron Heifetz used the phrase Adaptive Leadership in 2009 to describe the mindset and skills required to lead adaptation in a fast changing and uncertain environment.
At the time he was researching why some organisations did better than others in response to the financial crisis. When operating in a stable environment, as leaders we often assume the role of experts, and are focused on directing effective execution of a known strategy. This is what we mean by authoritative leadership. Responding to adaptive challenges requires a very different mindset and set of skills. Whilst exercising control can serve us in stable environments, it can seriously inhibit adaptation.
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Adaptive Leadership : Building your capacity to thrive in a disruptive environment
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