An adaptive approach allows you to hear, learn, and collaborate in finding solutions, whereas a technical approach produces prescriptions, policies, or standard procedures based on expertise. This is not to suggest that one is better than the other; in most instances, you need to utilize both.
To illustrate this, consider the following example: You are working for a company that is environmentally conscious. The company leaders make a bold public announcement that they will go “zero plastic” within a year. For this effort to succeed, everyone’s support and participation are crucial. All employees need to adopt environmentally friendly behaviors. To encourage participation, the company leaders roll out several initial solutions, including awareness talks and training sessions, distributing booklets, and offering financial incentives for three months to promote the use of reusable items instead of disposable ones.
But the real question is: how do you ensure these changes stick and become habits or part of the company culture, even when financial incentives are no longer in place? Achieving this requires a fundamental shift in mindset and behavior among many people, with all employees sincerely adopting environmental causes as a top priority. This change will necessitate constant education, reminders, motivation, and an understanding of the impediments or constraints that may cause reluctance or resistance. These efforts will help shift the company’s collective mindset and behavior permanently toward environmental friendliness.
As shown, adaptive challenges are complex and consume significant energy, time, and resources. Exercising leadership is rarely easy; true leaders tackle difficult challenges, not just those that are technical and relatively easier to solve. Adaptive leadership requires heart, intelligence, grit, and patience—traits that I will discuss in more depth in the next chapter. Because of this, leadership is not for everyone. However, opportunities for leadership are always present around us, and I believe it ultimately depends on our willingness to embrace them.
