Adaptive Leadership Summary
The purpose of this paper is to summarize part one of Heifetz with an integration of challenges as they relate to the theory and practice of adaptive leadership. The first three chapters of the “Practice of Adaptive Leadership” focuses on several key elements of this type of leadership to include defining the leadership style, identifying concepts and theories as it relates to the style, and understanding everyone’s role within the context of the style. Leaders are faced with a prodigious amount of challenges on a daily basis. These challenges are so multifaceted and diverse that it requires leaders to be innovative, creative and adaptive in tackling them. Challenges facing organizations, communities and society can be damaging and detrimental
…show more content…
It is accomplished through experimenting and taking risks. Subsequently, adaptive leaders have to have an experimental mindset. They must be willing to try a variety of things when facing challenges. Additionally, adaptive leaders operate from an understanding that there aren’t any prepackaged, predetermined or quick solutions to challenges or problems. Adaptive experimentation is a critical part of adaptive leadership. However, in order to experiment and take risks as it relates to a specific challenge, a leader has to first have a clear understanding of what it is he is trying to correct. Heifetz states, “the practice of leadership, like the practice of medicine, involves two core process: diagnosis first and then action. And those two processes unfold in two dimensions: toward the organizational or social system you are operating in and toward yourself.” In other words, a leader has to conduct an accurate assessment of all the issues (symptoms) surrounding the challenge in order to determine how to fix it (make an accurate diagnosis). This leadership practice not only involves conducting a diagnostic analysis of the organization or system, but on the leader as well. Adaptive leadership requires the leader to take an introspective examination and determine what changes, if any, need to made in order for effective change to take place within the organizational
It is accomplished through experimenting and taking risks. Subsequently, adaptive leaders have to have an experimental mindset. They must be willing to try a variety of things when facing challenges. Additionally, adaptive leaders operate from an understanding that there aren’t any prepackaged, predetermined or quick solutions to challenges or problems. Adaptive experimentation is a critical part of adaptive leadership. However, in order to experiment and take risks as it relates to a specific challenge, a leader has to first have a clear understanding of what it is he is trying to correct. Heifetz states, “the practice of leadership, like the practice of medicine, involves two core process: diagnosis first and then action. And those two processes unfold in two dimensions: toward the organizational or social system you are operating in and toward yourself.” In other words, a leader has to conduct an accurate assessment of all the issues (symptoms) surrounding the challenge in order to determine how to fix it (make an accurate diagnosis). This leadership practice not only involves conducting a diagnostic analysis of the organization or system, but on the leader as well. Adaptive leadership requires the leader to take an introspective examination and determine what changes, if any, need to made in order for effective change to take place within the organizational