In his 1994 book, Leadership Without Easy Answers, Ronald Heiftz describes two types of leadership. The first type is technical leadership, which can be described as doing what is required to address a problem when there is a known solution. Heiftz then goes on to describe adaptive leadership, which is a leadership framework that helps individuals and organizations adapt and thrive in challenging environments. Adaptive leadership is about taking a critical look at the problem where the solution is unknown, and members have to come together to form an adaptive solution. Adaptive leadership can be easily defined as “the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive” (Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009).
The practice of adaptive leadership can be described as being on a balcony looking down the “dance floor” below. This allows one to observe objectively. The next step is to identify the adaptive challenge from the balcony. Once you have identified the challenge, then it is time for the intervention. This requires one to get down from the balcony and interact with those on the dance floor to intervene. After the intervention has happened and the work is given back to those on the “dance floor,” one must return to the balcony to observe post-intervention.
Pros:
- Practicing adaptive leadership does not require a leadership position; anyone can come up with an adaptive solution to a challenge and implement that change.
- Allows individuals and groups to be creative in finding a solution that is not currently in anyone’s “tool kit.”
- Allows for the exploring of core values and purposes of the organization that requires a deeper level of leadership.
Cons:
- Adaptive leadership can be painful for all involved, meaning that some revert to work avoidance and technical solutions to manage an issue.
- To adapt to a new environment, individuals must have shift in values, attitudes, and behaviors. This shift is the hardest because it requires individuals to be disloyal to their former values, attitudes, and behavior.
Adaptive leadership is very relevant to working with college students today. Students are facing challenges all throughout their time in college, and many of these challenges could be considered adaptive. Whether it’s through involvement with a student organization, the classroom, or on a campus-wide scale, students today have the opportunity to enact adaptive change throughout campus.
This model allows students to explore new ways of doing things that were never considered before. This model also allows for students to mobilize each other on a peer-to-peer level. They can identify an adaptive challenge within their organization, for example, and use this model enact change. I believe that it is our job as Student Affairs practitioners to empower students to address adaptive challenges with adaptive solutions.
References:
Heifetz, R.A. (1994). Leadership without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Heifetz, R. A., Linsky, M., & Grashow, A. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Reis, Rick (2011). Tomorrow’s Professor Message: Adaptive Leadership. Retrieved from http://http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/tomprof/posting.php?ID=880
Heifetz, R. (Interviewee). (2009). Ron Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from Creelman Research Web site: http://creelmanresearchlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/creelman-2009-vol-2-5-heifetz-on-adaptive-leadership.pdf
Leadership Development for Higher Education | Saint Louis University 
You noted that “To adapt to a new environment, individuals must have shift in values, attitudes, and behaviors. This shift is the hardest because it requires individuals to be disloyal to their former values, attitudes, and behavior.” I can imagine that often this could be culturally ingrained within the student. How does the student affairs practitioner encourage students to adopt new values and adapt to this new environment and maintain cultural sensitivity at the same time; particularly if one is not familiar with any given number of cultures found on campus? Does the literature give any advice on this?
Tommy,
The literature that I read did not give any advice on this, however the literature is much greater than the few resources that I focused on. I do think that the authors are referring to organizational values, beliefs, and challenging processes that have been institutionalized. This model is about finding a solution that is not already in the realm of what you are currently doing. That shift can be a hard to accept which, I think, is what the authors are referring too. To answer your question about personal values, beliefs, and attitudes, I think it is very important for student affairs practitioners to be mindful of cultural beliefs and values. I think the key here is to encourage students to be open the values and the beliefs of others regardless of their personal beliefs. I think its our duty to try and be as educated as possible about the students that we work with.
I am wondering if brainstorming activities often used in adaptive leadership. It seems that in order to come up with new solutions to current problems, it would be important to come together as a group to talk about the issues individuals observed while “on the balcony.”
I also think the idea of being on the balcony is an interesting one. Does anyone else feel that individuals who are viewing the issues from the balcony are often disengaged from the group? I can see an adviser easily being able to take on this role, but if a student within the group were to do so it might seem like they are not involved in the discussion. What are your thoughts?
Alisha,
I had the same thought as you when I was starting my research on this theory. My answer to you using what I know now is that person isn’t disengaged. If the person on the balcony is truly practicing adaptive leadership, they will identify the problem, and then get off the balcony to intervene in the group. The intervention piece is important. If a student were practicing this in a group setting they might just be actively listening to conversation, and then they intervened with their adaptive solution, allowed others to process, and return to the active listening stage to see if the solution is effective. I don’t think this student would be considered to be disengaged.
If someone is just observing and effectively disengaged from the group they are really acting as a wall-flower who isn’t actively participating in adaptive leadership. If that student just listened and never gave their thoughts on a solution then they wouldn’t be participating in adaptive leadership.
Does this help?
Interesting theory. The authors describe the theory as the practice of “mobilizing” others, which to me sounds like the mobilizer takes on a leadership role with others being the mobilized, or followers. I know you wrote that this is very relevant to college students today, but if campuses like SLU are moving towards theories like the social change model that promotes a group leadership mindset, how well do you think the adaptive leadership theory would fit in that “group as all leaders” environment?
Latrina,
Great question! I think this model can fit into the group leadership mindset. I believe the key here is someone in the group giving an adaptive solution to the group, but it is up to the group as a whole to implement and develop the idea.
The way I imagined it is a group of students are involved in a student organization and they are having problem recruiting students. They are sitting and trying to figure out how they can be better recruiters. Someone that has been observing how they recruit and is sitting in the conversations gives their opinion of an adaptive solution. The decision is up to the group and the whole group is responsible for implanting it. If one person changed the way they recruited students it won’t have an overall affect on the organization, but it takes the whole group to be involved and believe.