Lead 12:12 Christian Leadership Podcasts

Adaptive Leadership

What is Adaptive Leadership? As the title suggests, adaptive leadership is concerned with how leaders encourage people to adapt—to confront and overcome problems, challenges, and changes. Adaptive leadership is concerned with individuals’ adjustments in response to changing environments. In simplest terms, adaptive leaders prepare and assist people in adjusting to change. In contrast to the […]

Feb 1, 2022 | 0 comments

Adaptive Leadership

What is Adaptive Leadership? As the title suggests, adaptive leadership is concerned with how leaders encourage people to adapt—to confront and overcome problems, challenges, and changes. Adaptive leadership is concerned with individuals’ adjustments in response to changing environments. In simplest terms, adaptive leaders prepare and assist people in adjusting to change. In contrast to the […]

Transcription:
1 00:00:18,418 --> 00:00:20,587 This is Lead 12:12, 2 00:00:20,954 --> 00:00:26,259 a podcast on Christ centered leadership based on Romans 12:12, rejoice and hope. 3 00:00:26,459 --> 00:00:29,562 Be patient and tribulation, be constant in prayer. 4 00:00:30,063 --> 00:00:31,297 Thanks for listening. 5 00:00:31,297 --> 00:00:33,800 Now here's Chris and Dave. 6 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,002 Hey, everybody! How are you doing? 7 00:00:36,069 --> 00:00:37,504 We're back. 8 00:00:37,704 --> 00:00:39,672 I think that's a good thing. What do you think, Chris? 9 00:00:39,672 --> 00:00:41,641 We're here. Wayne's with us today. 10 00:00:41,641 --> 00:00:44,277 What do you think, Wayne? It's good. Good to have you. 11 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:46,513 I don't know if I believe Wayne on that one. 12 00:00:46,513 --> 00:00:47,580 Very convincing. 13 00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:48,782 He's good. 14 00:00:48,782 --> 00:00:49,783 All right. That's OK. 15 00:00:49,783 --> 00:00:51,418 We love Wayne. 16 00:00:51,451 --> 00:00:53,620 C.S. Lewis said this to be a Christian means 17 00:00:53,620 --> 00:00:57,590 to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable. 18 00:00:57,590 --> 00:00:58,925 And you owe that. 19 00:00:58,925 --> 00:00:59,826 I love that C.S. 20 00:00:59,826 --> 00:01:01,995 Lewis is one of my favorite authors of all time, 21 00:01:01,995 --> 00:01:04,197 and that's just one of many things from him. Yeah. 22 00:01:04,431 --> 00:01:09,469 And so as we talk today about adaptive leadership, adaptive leadership, yes, 23 00:01:09,836 --> 00:01:13,139 I'm excited to see how God is going to remind us 24 00:01:13,373 --> 00:01:16,242 how we're constantly in a changing process 25 00:01:16,242 --> 00:01:19,612 and a growing process and mentoring process. 26 00:01:19,612 --> 00:01:22,248 Easy for me to say. I don't know if I said it very well. 27 00:01:22,315 --> 00:01:24,451 You nailed it. But I tried so hard. 28 00:01:24,451 --> 00:01:28,488 Mentoring did not sound like that, but anyway, you make. 29 00:01:29,155 --> 00:01:32,492 Ladies and gentlemen, please tip your waiters and waitresses, you know? 30 00:01:33,193 --> 00:01:34,527 Oh yeah, OK. 31 00:01:34,527 --> 00:01:36,029 Amy, so OK. 32 00:01:36,029 --> 00:01:38,164 What is adaptive leadership? 33 00:01:38,231 --> 00:01:40,066 As the title suggests, adaptive 34 00:01:40,066 --> 00:01:43,903 leadership is concerned with how leaders encourage people to adapt, 35 00:01:43,937 --> 00:01:47,640 how to confront and overcome problems, challenges and changes. 36 00:01:47,807 --> 00:01:51,444 Adaptive leadership is concerned with individuals adjustments in response 37 00:01:51,444 --> 00:01:55,381 to changing environments, and I guess in simplest terms, adaptive leaders 38 00:01:55,381 --> 00:01:58,551 prepare and assist people in adjusting to change. 39 00:01:58,585 --> 00:02:00,720 Does that make sense? Does make sense. 40 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,357 So this is something these are steps that leaders can take to help the people 41 00:02:04,357 --> 00:02:07,360 that work for them, to work with them, achieve change 42 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,865 and be able to tackle problems and issues that they normally could not. 43 00:02:12,031 --> 00:02:12,599 Gotcha. 44 00:02:12,599 --> 00:02:17,670 Adaptive leadership was first developed by a man named High Fitz way back in 1994. 45 00:02:18,004 --> 00:02:20,440 Maybe way back to some people, but it seems like yesterday to me. 46 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,876 Yup. Me too. 47 00:02:22,909 --> 00:02:25,712 The name of his book was leadership without easy answers, 48 00:02:25,712 --> 00:02:29,249 and it's been used effectively to teach leaders everywhere to encourage 49 00:02:29,249 --> 00:02:32,819 change across multiple levels, including society community . 50 00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:36,156 This is very good for nonprofit and churches, 51 00:02:36,156 --> 00:02:38,424 and even for change with yourself. 52 00:02:38,591 --> 00:02:40,260 You know, Dave and Wayne, one of the things I like 53 00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:43,763 best about adaptive leadership is it's not leader centered. 54 00:02:43,763 --> 00:02:48,101 It's not about the leader and what he can do, how great a person he is. 55 00:02:48,101 --> 00:02:50,270 I should say it has been thought of that way, 56 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:54,507 but adaptive leadership focuses on how the leader helps others do the work 57 00:02:54,507 --> 00:02:58,278 they need to do to adapt to the challenges that they face. 58 00:02:58,344 --> 00:03:00,947 It makes sense. So essentially, you're making people better. 59 00:03:00,980 --> 00:03:04,450 Yeah, you're trying to mentor people is what kind of what I've gotten out of this? 60 00:03:04,551 --> 00:03:05,418 Absolutely. 61 00:03:05,418 --> 00:03:05,985 That's it. 62 00:03:05,985 --> 00:03:09,289 You try to what's a good word when you try to? 63 00:03:09,322 --> 00:03:12,325 You try to put forth effort into other people 64 00:03:12,525 --> 00:03:16,362 so that they may be blessed and they can go out and bless others and work together. 65 00:03:16,462 --> 00:03:17,163 That makes sense. 66 00:03:17,163 --> 00:03:18,331 That's a perfect example. 67 00:03:18,331 --> 00:03:18,932 Thanks. 68 00:03:18,932 --> 00:03:21,768 I get out every once in a while to you're a leader in your organization. 69 00:03:21,768 --> 00:03:24,470 Do you ever use adaptive leadership all the time? 70 00:03:24,504 --> 00:03:26,573 So you knew what that phrase meant? 71 00:03:26,573 --> 00:03:28,575 You do it. You just didn't know what the term was. 72 00:03:28,575 --> 00:03:31,844 Yeah, because in my job, you know, I've got six people 73 00:03:31,844 --> 00:03:35,248 that report to me and I don't want to do the jobs of six people. No. 74 00:03:35,582 --> 00:03:38,251 And I want those people to be able 75 00:03:38,251 --> 00:03:41,421 to deal with changes in our organization as they come out 76 00:03:41,454 --> 00:03:44,791 and not always have to go to someone's right to figure something out. 77 00:03:45,024 --> 00:03:46,192 Yes, I think, you know, 78 00:03:46,192 --> 00:03:51,531 selfishly is a better reflection on a leader and followers who are leaders. 79 00:03:51,531 --> 00:03:55,235 Yes, to leaders and just to have the market cornered. 80 00:03:55,468 --> 00:03:56,569 I think you said that. 81 00:03:56,569 --> 00:03:58,338 Yeah, there we go. Ladies and gentlemen, 82 00:04:01,140 --> 00:04:02,842 let's get it up for Wayne. 83 00:04:02,842 --> 00:04:04,077 Yes, sir. 84 00:04:04,077 --> 00:04:05,678 So guys, correct me if I'm wrong. 85 00:04:05,678 --> 00:04:10,450 But every company, organization, church, anything that you can imagine faces 86 00:04:10,450 --> 00:04:12,552 chronic recurring issues. 87 00:04:12,552 --> 00:04:16,189 And when you get those same issues and problems over and over again, 88 00:04:16,189 --> 00:04:17,490 what happens? 89 00:04:17,490 --> 00:04:20,793 The people in charge try to do the same old things every time. 90 00:04:21,127 --> 00:04:24,631 Sometimes they try to use new technology, or sometimes they may even try to recruit 91 00:04:24,631 --> 00:04:29,769 an expert or streamline something a communication process or procedure. 92 00:04:29,769 --> 00:04:33,072 But the same problem seems to come back every time. 93 00:04:33,139 --> 00:04:33,973 That's right. 94 00:04:33,973 --> 00:04:37,143 That's frustrating as a leader when you feel like you're not really 95 00:04:37,143 --> 00:04:40,013 getting the most out of someone, and it's just frustrating 96 00:04:40,013 --> 00:04:42,949 and it's hard to work with that and it's hard to deal with that. 97 00:04:42,949 --> 00:04:44,417 You think you're absolutely right? 98 00:04:44,417 --> 00:04:46,552 Dave, do you think Jesus ever felt that way? 99 00:04:46,552 --> 00:04:47,553 Oh, man. 100 00:04:48,721 --> 00:04:51,024 So I take that from a personal perspective. 101 00:04:51,557 --> 00:04:53,660 Does Jesus ever feel that way with me? 102 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,261 He does with me daily, I'm sure. 103 00:04:55,261 --> 00:04:58,831 Yeah, and there's times when I think I'm on the right path and I think times 104 00:04:58,831 --> 00:05:02,669 when I think he needs to hit me in the back of the head, 105 00:05:02,669 --> 00:05:04,337 so does Amy. 106 00:05:04,437 --> 00:05:08,641 So in the other double, yeah, thank you. 107 00:05:08,908 --> 00:05:11,511 So it's important, though, that you understand 108 00:05:11,511 --> 00:05:14,681 that Jesus knows what you're doing and who you are, 109 00:05:14,681 --> 00:05:17,850 and he knows your mess and he loves you even in your messiness. 110 00:05:17,850 --> 00:05:18,451 So you need. 111 00:05:18,451 --> 00:05:19,619 Give that over to him. 112 00:05:19,619 --> 00:05:22,322 Get real with him, get honest with him and watch what you can do three. 113 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:24,324 Oh, that's so true. That is beautiful, too. 114 00:05:24,357 --> 00:05:27,427 You know, I've got a life example I want to share with that. 115 00:05:27,427 --> 00:05:28,761 A while back, I love dogs. 116 00:05:28,761 --> 00:05:32,699 I had a dog that had been mistreated and it would buy people, but 117 00:05:32,899 --> 00:05:34,100 we never gave it the chance. 118 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:36,569 I would keep it away from every one and every time 119 00:05:36,569 --> 00:05:39,872 someone would come to visit, this dog would try to protect me 120 00:05:39,872 --> 00:05:42,575 and try to get between me and the person like it was an invasion. 121 00:05:42,575 --> 00:05:45,878 And I was thinking about that one day in the shower and I thought, you know, 122 00:05:46,045 --> 00:05:51,451 if my dog would just relax and trust me, I won't let anything happen to him. 123 00:05:51,751 --> 00:05:54,854 And then I thought, How many times has God thought out about me? 124 00:05:55,455 --> 00:05:59,792 My goodness, if I just relax and trust him, he's going to take care of me. 125 00:05:59,959 --> 00:06:02,161 Amen. But it's hard to do that, right? 126 00:06:02,195 --> 00:06:03,396 It is hard to do that. 127 00:06:03,396 --> 00:06:05,264 So why do you think that's so hard? 128 00:06:05,264 --> 00:06:09,335 I guess I was just taught to do everything I can first and then give it up to God 129 00:06:09,335 --> 00:06:13,139 when really I should be in prayer first and giving it up to God 100%. 130 00:06:13,172 --> 00:06:19,011 I think many times what we end up doing is we we rely more on ourselves and God. 131 00:06:19,212 --> 00:06:21,981 And that's absolutely that's the wrong way to go. 132 00:06:22,014 --> 00:06:23,449 What do you think, Wayne? 133 00:06:23,449 --> 00:06:25,918 Well, as a father of two daughters, oh, 134 00:06:26,285 --> 00:06:28,921 I learned early on I can't fix anything. 135 00:06:29,155 --> 00:06:33,359 I can't even understand most of what they're going through. 136 00:06:33,359 --> 00:06:34,627 We were talking about. 137 00:06:34,627 --> 00:06:38,631 So I mean, I try and I fail, and I try and I fail. 138 00:06:38,664 --> 00:06:41,334 But you keep trying, but I keep trying. 139 00:06:41,334 --> 00:06:44,437 But instead of just giving it over, I'm still trying. 140 00:06:44,604 --> 00:06:47,173 Yeah. Parenting is not for the thin skin. 141 00:06:47,173 --> 00:06:48,408 Oh man. 142 00:06:48,408 --> 00:06:52,645 Every day there's 18 different challenges and sometimes 118. 143 00:06:52,745 --> 00:06:53,312 Oh gosh. 144 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:55,915 That's amazing. 145 00:06:56,082 --> 00:06:58,551 Like, in fact, 146 00:06:58,551 --> 00:07:01,421 parenting can definitely make you feel like that for sure. 147 00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:03,322 There's definitely an aching back moment. 148 00:07:03,322 --> 00:07:07,093 But anyway, back on this, an adaptive leader can help his team 149 00:07:07,093 --> 00:07:10,930 find better solutions and solutions that are outside the box. 150 00:07:10,963 --> 00:07:12,899 And then when they get better at it, 151 00:07:12,899 --> 00:07:15,968 then maybe they can become the leader and take over for the adaptive leader. 152 00:07:16,002 --> 00:07:19,372 Yeah, I think what happens, I think we sometimes have a hard time 153 00:07:19,372 --> 00:07:22,675 letting someone else do something we think we can do better. 154 00:07:22,708 --> 00:07:23,342 Oh, sure we do. 155 00:07:23,342 --> 00:07:24,343 That's a big problem, 156 00:07:24,343 --> 00:07:27,346 and I think we need to understand that if we think we can do better, 157 00:07:27,346 --> 00:07:29,482 we teach them how we think we can do better 158 00:07:29,482 --> 00:07:31,884 so they can help us so they can even do better than us. 159 00:07:32,185 --> 00:07:32,685 That's. 160 00:07:32,852 --> 00:07:36,355 I think if we're two mentors, we want them to get better than we are 161 00:07:36,355 --> 00:07:38,624 because we're truly investing in them. 162 00:07:38,691 --> 00:07:40,059 Yes, that's an issue. 163 00:07:40,059 --> 00:07:42,795 I think with a lot of people, we don't want to invest in people 164 00:07:42,795 --> 00:07:45,131 because we're happy with who we are and we don't want to grow. 165 00:07:45,164 --> 00:07:47,233 We don't want to put that out for anybody else. 166 00:07:47,233 --> 00:07:49,068 And you're exactly we don't want to practice. 167 00:07:49,068 --> 00:07:51,070 We don't. We don't want to be second fiddle. No. 168 00:07:51,270 --> 00:07:52,338 No. Yeah. 169 00:07:52,338 --> 00:07:54,340 first fiddle or no for the last one. 170 00:07:54,340 --> 00:07:56,242 Yeah. Yeah, I got you. 171 00:07:56,242 --> 00:08:00,279 So as a leader, there's really only three types of challenges you face. 172 00:08:00,413 --> 00:08:04,851 one type is not really suited for adaptive leadership, and we'll go over that. 173 00:08:05,117 --> 00:08:09,789 The other two types are very particularly suited for adaptive leadership. 174 00:08:10,256 --> 00:08:14,193 The first type of challenge that you face as a leader is a technical challenge. 175 00:08:15,094 --> 00:08:18,731 Technical challenges generally don't need adaptive leadership, 176 00:08:18,731 --> 00:08:21,801 as we said, and they usually have a known solution. 177 00:08:22,935 --> 00:08:24,003 For example, during the 178 00:08:24,003 --> 00:08:27,240 pandemic, many churches had to begin online services. 179 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,308 In this case, the problem is easy to identify, 180 00:08:29,308 --> 00:08:31,577 and the solution is obvious and achievable. 181 00:08:31,577 --> 00:08:33,813 Steve, what do you think most churches did during that time? 182 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,949 Well, I think some churches, I don't want to say they gave up, 183 00:08:36,949 --> 00:08:39,585 but they they just kind of quit a little bit. 184 00:08:40,186 --> 00:08:41,454 And I don't mean that mean. 185 00:08:41,454 --> 00:08:42,955 And I think for a few weeks, 186 00:08:42,955 --> 00:08:45,491 we at Christchurch even dealt with that a little bit. 187 00:08:45,491 --> 00:08:48,694 And then we both mean Jeff, who is one of our leaders 188 00:08:48,694 --> 00:08:52,064 and Gerald, we both decided, you know, we can't stop. 189 00:08:52,064 --> 00:08:52,532 We've got to get 190 00:08:52,532 --> 00:08:56,269 we've got to put something out there and we started really working on our 191 00:08:56,269 --> 00:08:57,403 online presence. 192 00:08:57,403 --> 00:09:01,440 And I feel like we do that pretty good and it's something that we try 193 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:02,141 to work hard at. 194 00:09:02,141 --> 00:09:03,009 What do you think, Dave? 195 00:09:03,009 --> 00:09:05,011 You may not know this, but I have had so many people 196 00:09:05,011 --> 00:09:08,180 contact me and tell me that they have watched the sermons. 197 00:09:08,414 --> 00:09:12,118 They have watched Christ Church and we have people that show up at church 198 00:09:12,118 --> 00:09:13,319 because they watch that. 199 00:09:13,319 --> 00:09:16,789 In fact, we have you had a Bible study class not long ago, 200 00:09:16,789 --> 00:09:20,059 and I think of the class, it was probably 40% of the people 201 00:09:20,059 --> 00:09:23,029 in that class were there because of the online sermons, right? 202 00:09:23,062 --> 00:09:26,065 And I think the problem with that is once this thing's over, 203 00:09:26,065 --> 00:09:28,668 we think we need to equip. But there's still people at home. Yes. 204 00:09:28,668 --> 00:09:30,670 And you know, Jeff and I both agree. 205 00:09:30,670 --> 00:09:32,271 Jeff Gaines and I both agree 206 00:09:32,271 --> 00:09:36,342 that we got to really invest in that because we feel like people are watching. 207 00:09:36,342 --> 00:09:38,611 And so it's important to us both. 208 00:09:38,744 --> 00:09:39,812 It's been such a blessing. 209 00:09:39,812 --> 00:09:41,414 We thought we were struggling through something, 210 00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:43,783 but it's been such a blessing and it's really paid off 211 00:09:43,783 --> 00:09:46,619 in dividends with new people coming. Yeah, 100%. 212 00:09:46,619 --> 00:09:50,590 And our church has grown in this process and I'm not bragging. 213 00:09:50,623 --> 00:09:53,826 It's just a blessing where other churches have gone the other way. 214 00:09:53,826 --> 00:09:54,961 And you know, we did. 215 00:09:54,961 --> 00:09:57,196 We lose people. Absolutely, we did. 216 00:09:57,196 --> 00:10:01,000 But we also gained a whole different group that thought, you know, we're trying 217 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,069 and they wanted to be a part of what we're trying to do. 218 00:10:03,102 --> 00:10:04,203 Yes, yes. 219 00:10:04,203 --> 00:10:06,772 So that was a good example of a technical problem. OK. 220 00:10:06,806 --> 00:10:10,543 Another type of problem is an adaptive problem or an adaptive challenge. 221 00:10:10,943 --> 00:10:14,246 These are the ones that are not clear cut, and they can't really be solved 222 00:10:14,246 --> 00:10:17,350 by the usual ways of doing things in an organization. 223 00:10:18,017 --> 00:10:21,621 These challenges are difficult to solve because they usually require a change 224 00:10:21,621 --> 00:10:25,825 in a person's priorities, roles or maybe even values, and they require 225 00:10:25,858 --> 00:10:30,162 leaders who encourage others to identify problems and implement solutions. 226 00:10:30,496 --> 00:10:35,001 So Wayne, when you have someone that you need to encourage to change, 227 00:10:35,067 --> 00:10:39,872 how do you go about that in a positive, encouraging way? 228 00:10:40,006 --> 00:10:42,642 Well, I start with positive and encouraging comment. 229 00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:46,345 That's good because not I don't know, a person who doesn't have one 230 00:10:46,345 --> 00:10:50,816 positive thing that they contribute at work, at church, in fringe circles. 231 00:10:51,484 --> 00:10:54,587 So we start there and I think part of 232 00:10:54,587 --> 00:10:57,590 adaptive leadership, maybe a big part of it is perspective. 233 00:10:57,723 --> 00:11:00,593 Yes. Been able to distance yourself 234 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,131 from the situation and not just the and not distant yourself from the person. 235 00:11:05,131 --> 00:11:06,265 You're exactly right. 236 00:11:06,265 --> 00:11:07,933 We will get to that. But that's beautiful. 237 00:11:07,933 --> 00:11:10,836 Yeah, it's right on target. And I think it's important. 238 00:11:10,836 --> 00:11:14,740 You know, I grew up with a guy named Brewster was my youth minister, 239 00:11:14,807 --> 00:11:15,775 which is a funny name. 240 00:11:15,775 --> 00:11:19,412 But he he never said negative things, hardly ever. 241 00:11:19,412 --> 00:11:22,648 And he was always something positive and encouraging. 242 00:11:22,682 --> 00:11:24,617 And I thought, Man, I don't want to be like that. 243 00:11:24,617 --> 00:11:27,053 And I think, Chris, you're good at that. 244 00:11:27,219 --> 00:11:29,522 I great. You look for that in people. 245 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:32,558 And I think sometimes we tend to look for the negative people 246 00:11:32,558 --> 00:11:35,361 because we know they're going to have it and it's there in everyone. 247 00:11:35,361 --> 00:11:38,097 It's a decision that you wake up every day and say, 248 00:11:38,097 --> 00:11:41,300 I want to find something positive in someone and encourage 249 00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:44,770 that behavior, and hopefully it will help other behaviors. 250 00:11:44,804 --> 00:11:46,706 Yes, hopefully beautiful, right? 251 00:11:46,706 --> 00:11:49,308 You can preach on that. That's beautiful. All right. 252 00:11:49,442 --> 00:11:50,643 Here we go. 253 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:51,477 All right. 254 00:11:51,477 --> 00:11:54,113 The third type of challenge is easily enough. 255 00:11:54,113 --> 00:11:55,247 A combination of the two. 256 00:11:55,247 --> 00:11:57,416 It's technical and adaptive. 257 00:11:57,416 --> 00:12:00,920 These challenges can be clearly defined, but they don't have a straightforward 258 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:02,421 solution in these cases. 259 00:12:02,421 --> 00:12:04,690 The Leader X a support for the team, 260 00:12:05,124 --> 00:12:09,028 but the team has to solve the issues by learning to change and adapt. 261 00:12:09,028 --> 00:12:13,399 Our church was designated to use small groups to meet weekly for the Bible study. 262 00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:16,402 They, being the pastor, allowed the group to set up their own meeting 263 00:12:16,402 --> 00:12:18,337 schedule and study method. 264 00:12:18,337 --> 00:12:21,574 And I can say from experience that I genuinely love my group. 265 00:12:21,874 --> 00:12:25,044 I formed a bond with every person in the group, and I feel like 266 00:12:25,044 --> 00:12:28,013 I really know these people and I deeply care about them. 267 00:12:28,414 --> 00:12:31,250 So instead of a study group, this feels more like a group of friends. 268 00:12:31,250 --> 00:12:33,719 And by the way, we have ten adults and nine kids. 269 00:12:34,086 --> 00:12:36,655 When we get together weekly and we enjoy each other's company. 270 00:12:36,889 --> 00:12:40,426 Wayne is the leader of my study group and he has done a phenomenal job 271 00:12:40,426 --> 00:12:44,497 of keeping us together and giving us ways to learn more about each other. 272 00:12:44,830 --> 00:12:46,866 What do you think about our group? I think it's great. 273 00:12:46,866 --> 00:12:51,070 I mean, we've moved into this level of connection 274 00:12:51,070 --> 00:12:56,008 that is more familial than an acquaintance or even good friends. 275 00:12:56,142 --> 00:12:57,543 Oh yeah, we really have. 276 00:12:57,543 --> 00:12:59,378 I genuinely care about these people. 277 00:12:59,378 --> 00:13:01,080 We talk, we text all the time. 278 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,315 We've always got something going on. It's we do. 279 00:13:03,349 --> 00:13:04,784 We pray for each other. 280 00:13:04,784 --> 00:13:06,118 It's just a wonderful group. 281 00:13:06,118 --> 00:13:08,521 It takes effort to do that, though. 282 00:13:09,421 --> 00:13:12,758 You have to realize you may not get to watch your favorite show on Monday night. 283 00:13:12,758 --> 00:13:16,996 We can record these things now, by the way, but it's just, well, you got to 284 00:13:17,029 --> 00:13:20,733 you got to really put forth effort and say, I want to be with those people. 285 00:13:20,733 --> 00:13:23,569 And the problem is sometimes we may not feel that. 286 00:13:23,569 --> 00:13:26,806 But the more you try to just do it and work at it, 287 00:13:27,072 --> 00:13:30,276 you'll find like what these two guys are telling me right now. 288 00:13:30,476 --> 00:13:34,280 God blesses you tenfold when you invest in people. 289 00:13:34,313 --> 00:13:36,382 Yes, some of you are listening to this. 290 00:13:36,382 --> 00:13:37,516 So well, that's not my gift. 291 00:13:37,516 --> 00:13:41,887 Well, yes, it is, because God created us all 292 00:13:42,154 --> 00:13:45,624 to be here for each other and because of technology, 293 00:13:45,624 --> 00:13:48,661 because of life, because of whatever it is. 294 00:13:48,661 --> 00:13:53,399 Yes, we tend to stay away from loving people and we've missed the boat we have. 295 00:13:53,399 --> 00:13:54,200 We really have. 296 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,803 Oh, you've done it now. Here comes. Oh, wow. 297 00:13:59,371 --> 00:14:01,340 Yeah, well, I 298 00:14:03,509 --> 00:14:06,011 know, and I want to just say again, I really love our group. 299 00:14:06,011 --> 00:14:08,681 We meet on Tuesdays, and I look forward to that all week long. 300 00:14:08,681 --> 00:14:10,249 We have such a wonderful time. 301 00:14:10,249 --> 00:14:14,053 But here's the question how do adaptive leaders do what they do? 302 00:14:14,086 --> 00:14:15,921 There's only six steps to this 303 00:14:15,921 --> 00:14:19,058 and anyone can do this, and the first one has a great name. 304 00:14:19,058 --> 00:14:20,059 I actually love this. 305 00:14:20,059 --> 00:14:24,230 The step one of being an adaptive leader is get out on the balcony, 306 00:14:24,296 --> 00:14:27,399 get on the balcony is a metaphor for getting out of the fray 307 00:14:27,399 --> 00:14:30,402 and finding a perspective during a challenging situation. 308 00:14:30,736 --> 00:14:31,537 That's really good. 309 00:14:31,537 --> 00:14:35,574 Imagine that your team is on the dance floor and getting on the balcony as a way 310 00:14:35,574 --> 00:14:37,843 for you to get away from the noise and the chaos, 311 00:14:37,843 --> 00:14:40,913 and allows you to get a much clearer view of what's going on. 312 00:14:41,013 --> 00:14:42,381 I think that's important. 313 00:14:42,381 --> 00:14:45,084 I think perspective is everything. Absolutely. 314 00:14:45,284 --> 00:14:48,420 The problem is we stay in one perspective. 315 00:14:48,420 --> 00:14:50,990 We don't ever get a chance to see it in another way. 316 00:14:51,056 --> 00:14:54,860 When you see something through someone else's eyes, it changes your whole thing. 317 00:14:54,894 --> 00:14:58,931 And it was just like yesterday, my my son had Special Olympics. Yes. 318 00:14:58,931 --> 00:15:02,835 And when you were there seeing those young people 319 00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,738 just giving it all, they had love in it. 320 00:15:05,938 --> 00:15:08,674 When their name was announced, they put their hands in the air. 321 00:15:08,674 --> 00:15:10,943 Love that they laughed. They giggled. 322 00:15:10,943 --> 00:15:13,279 And I think that's life and way, 323 00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:17,049 and I got to experience that together because he came to watch my son play. 324 00:15:17,082 --> 00:15:17,750 That's all that. 325 00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:18,817 It's an investment 326 00:15:18,817 --> 00:15:23,088 that I'll never forget that he did that, that means the world to me and 327 00:15:23,322 --> 00:15:26,759 and I think it meant something to Steve and now he just said thanks, but 328 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,996 I think he really meant thank you so much. 329 00:15:31,397 --> 00:15:34,433 And Steve is just working on that. 330 00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:36,001 Oh, yeah. 331 00:15:36,001 --> 00:15:39,171 But but I think it's really important that we do that with each other. 332 00:15:39,271 --> 00:15:41,273 And there's opportunity. 333 00:15:41,307 --> 00:15:43,676 Wayne is really good at this. 334 00:15:43,776 --> 00:15:47,947 Yes, because I see that is that he is and he loves it when I brag on him. 335 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,618 one of the best I know he didn't know, but but see, I think he. 336 00:15:53,152 --> 00:15:54,887 I mean, he'll come up to anyone in our church 337 00:15:54,887 --> 00:15:57,056 and just say, How are you doing? What's going on? 338 00:15:57,056 --> 00:16:00,092 And that's something I've always tried to do as well. 339 00:16:00,092 --> 00:16:01,794 And I just think that's a blessing 340 00:16:01,794 --> 00:16:06,098 when you go after that full on trying to just love people where they are. 341 00:16:06,131 --> 00:16:07,967 It is. It absolutely is. 342 00:16:07,967 --> 00:16:10,269 You know, Wayne, you minutes. You mentioned perspective. 343 00:16:10,269 --> 00:16:12,705 Is there something you do at work quite a bit after? 344 00:16:12,738 --> 00:16:15,341 Is that something learned or is this something that came to you normally? 345 00:16:15,374 --> 00:16:18,811 Yes, it's a little column little of Columbia. 346 00:16:19,244 --> 00:16:21,547 So it's like, Yes, 347 00:16:21,547 --> 00:16:25,417 it's one of those things where I took a promotion in our company 348 00:16:25,417 --> 00:16:29,221 several years ago, where I had to teach myself to be able to talk to people 349 00:16:29,221 --> 00:16:31,957 and to think of questions to ask just to be engaging 350 00:16:32,358 --> 00:16:34,760 because my job was more relational at that point. 351 00:16:35,060 --> 00:16:38,430 But once I got to the department that I'm in now 352 00:16:38,430 --> 00:16:42,201 and have people that report to me, everything had to change a little bit 353 00:16:42,334 --> 00:16:45,437 because I couldn't get into the nuts and bolts of everything 354 00:16:45,437 --> 00:16:50,642 because my guys run my department and as they go , so go out very good. 355 00:16:50,642 --> 00:16:52,845 You had no idea you were becoming an adaptive leader. 356 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:53,779 They ended, you know? 357 00:16:56,048 --> 00:16:58,717 So how does a leader get on the balcony? 358 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:01,754 I've got a few suggestions, and maybe you guys have more. 359 00:17:01,787 --> 00:17:03,956 Take some quiet time. Take a step back. 360 00:17:04,356 --> 00:17:05,257 Just take a breath. 361 00:17:05,257 --> 00:17:07,526 Relax and get a fresh perspective. 362 00:17:07,526 --> 00:17:11,563 Or you can form a group of advisors unofficially of people you trust 363 00:17:11,563 --> 00:17:13,599 who will give you their opinion, whether right 364 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,770 or wrong, about a situation and attend a meeting as an observer. 365 00:17:17,770 --> 00:17:18,771 Don't contribute. 366 00:17:18,771 --> 00:17:20,139 Just sit back and listen to what 367 00:17:20,139 --> 00:17:23,942 the people on your team have to say. It a different point of view about this. 368 00:17:24,143 --> 00:17:25,978 I think those are really, really good. 369 00:17:25,978 --> 00:17:27,613 And I think on that second one, 370 00:17:27,613 --> 00:17:30,215 I think we have to make sure that we're accountable to each other. 371 00:17:30,215 --> 00:17:31,550 And that's a good one. Yes. 372 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:34,853 And I think in doing that, that means that I have to let 373 00:17:34,853 --> 00:17:38,724 you know that I messed up or I have issues or that I got to work on this. 374 00:17:38,724 --> 00:17:41,226 Or the funny thing is, when you tell someone 375 00:17:41,226 --> 00:17:43,529 that you have an issue, they probably already knew it. 376 00:17:44,063 --> 00:17:44,797 You're right. 377 00:17:44,797 --> 00:17:46,765 I agree. So you just got to be honest 378 00:17:46,765 --> 00:17:49,701 and be who you are and who God created you to be. Yes. 379 00:17:49,835 --> 00:17:52,971 So step two, in being an adaptive leader, it sounds easy 380 00:17:52,971 --> 00:17:54,940 enough, and it actually is kind of easy if you follow. 381 00:17:54,940 --> 00:17:57,910 Step one is to identify the adaptive challenges 382 00:17:57,910 --> 00:18:01,213 you have to identify and diagnose the three types of challenges. 383 00:18:01,213 --> 00:18:04,917 If you remember, those are technical, adaptive or technical and adaptive, 384 00:18:05,350 --> 00:18:07,086 and you do this from the balcony. 385 00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:08,821 The leader takes a different point of view, 386 00:18:08,821 --> 00:18:11,723 and this will make the challenges a lot easier to identify. 387 00:18:11,824 --> 00:18:15,527 So step one Get on the balcony, step to identify the challenges. 388 00:18:16,095 --> 00:18:20,599 Step three is extremely important, and this is one most leaders don't do. 389 00:18:21,066 --> 00:18:23,302 Step three is to regulate distress. 390 00:18:24,169 --> 00:18:27,272 Psychologically, we all have a need for consistency. 391 00:18:27,306 --> 00:18:29,308 It's hardwired into us. 392 00:18:29,308 --> 00:18:33,112 It's so much easier to make crucial decisions when an individual is relaxed 393 00:18:33,245 --> 00:18:34,413 and comfortable, 394 00:18:34,413 --> 00:18:38,417 and adaptive leaders need to monitor the stress of the people on their teams 395 00:18:38,750 --> 00:18:41,787 and keep it within a productive range and even try to regulate it. 396 00:18:42,121 --> 00:18:45,224 And they can do this by providing direction, not telling the team 397 00:18:45,224 --> 00:18:48,427 how to get there, but giving them just a general idea of how to get there. 398 00:18:48,861 --> 00:18:52,598 They can also do this by providing protection, saying This is a safe zone. 399 00:18:52,598 --> 00:18:54,099 You're free to make mistakes here. 400 00:18:54,099 --> 00:18:55,634 I will protect you. 401 00:18:55,634 --> 00:18:57,236 They can do conflict management. 402 00:18:57,236 --> 00:18:58,337 Or here's my favorite. 403 00:18:58,337 --> 00:19:00,672 Create a holding environment. 404 00:19:00,672 --> 00:19:02,641 Now what's a holding environment? 405 00:19:02,641 --> 00:19:04,676 I've got a question for both you guys. I don't know. 406 00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:06,111 Do you both know how to swim? 407 00:19:06,111 --> 00:19:07,446 Yes. Yes. 408 00:19:07,446 --> 00:19:08,780 Now, when you were taught to swim, 409 00:19:08,780 --> 00:19:12,351 were you thrown in or did someone hold you and say, Move your arms? 410 00:19:12,618 --> 00:19:14,953 You're safe? Don't worry. Now kick your leg. 411 00:19:14,987 --> 00:19:15,821 See how you do that. 412 00:19:15,821 --> 00:19:17,990 This is how you lead. I'm holding you here. 413 00:19:18,090 --> 00:19:20,492 You're safe to make mistakes and you're safe to practice. 414 00:19:20,492 --> 00:19:22,127 That's a holding environment. 415 00:19:22,127 --> 00:19:24,329 Yeah. Are you asking us that happened to us? 416 00:19:24,696 --> 00:19:27,332 Well, I hope you weren't thrown in, but were you? 417 00:19:27,332 --> 00:19:29,968 Oh no, I may have been a little thrown in. 418 00:19:29,968 --> 00:19:30,736 And then, 419 00:19:30,736 --> 00:19:34,973 you know, my mom ended up helping me, but dad's like he'll learn how to do it. 420 00:19:34,973 --> 00:19:35,474 My God, 421 00:19:36,775 --> 00:19:37,609 did you 422 00:19:40,579 --> 00:19:42,047 know I did? 423 00:19:42,981 --> 00:19:43,949 So how does that work? 424 00:19:43,949 --> 00:19:45,851 I've got to ask, how did that work? 425 00:19:45,851 --> 00:19:47,319 Eventually, I learned how. 426 00:19:47,319 --> 00:19:52,824 I guess I watched people and I ended up being on my swim team, which was fun. 427 00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:53,859 That's awesome. 428 00:19:53,859 --> 00:19:56,328 Yeah, me in a speedo, something very exciting. 429 00:19:56,662 --> 00:19:58,830 Hey, that's a thought I didn't need. 430 00:19:58,830 --> 00:19:59,798 Thank you. 431 00:19:59,798 --> 00:20:01,667 Thank you. Wayne, how did you learn? 432 00:20:01,667 --> 00:20:03,001 I was probably 20. 433 00:20:03,001 --> 00:20:05,404 Wow. Or 24? Wow. 434 00:20:05,604 --> 00:20:07,673 And I was a camp counselor at Wesley Woods. 435 00:20:07,673 --> 00:20:08,840 Wonderful. Yeah. 436 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:10,909 Yes. Well, the deep end is six feet. 437 00:20:10,909 --> 00:20:12,277 I'm not six feet now. 438 00:20:12,277 --> 00:20:14,179 All the kids jump on you. 439 00:20:14,179 --> 00:20:16,148 Oh no. Oh, like. 440 00:20:16,148 --> 00:20:18,217 So he had the same experience. 441 00:20:18,217 --> 00:20:20,552 You're right. That's 442 00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:24,189 that's the way we should learn how to do a man way and learn a little bit 443 00:20:24,189 --> 00:20:28,093 different way, the way I took swimming lessons and I had a great lifeguard 444 00:20:28,093 --> 00:20:31,330 who would hold me in the water and I wasn't underwater, 445 00:20:31,330 --> 00:20:34,533 but I learned how to use my arms and my legs and put it all together. 446 00:20:34,666 --> 00:20:36,401 Do you have her name? I anymore? 447 00:20:38,370 --> 00:20:40,239 No, we've lost touch over the years. 448 00:20:40,239 --> 00:20:44,676 You get to say, sorry, I digress. 449 00:20:44,710 --> 00:20:49,414 So, OK, step four is to maintain disciplined attention. 450 00:20:49,448 --> 00:20:50,382 The adaptive leader 451 00:20:50,382 --> 00:20:53,919 needs to continually encourage people to focus on difficult tasks. 452 00:20:53,952 --> 00:20:55,087 Now, difficult tasks 453 00:20:55,087 --> 00:20:59,057 typically doesn't come easy for people to focus on if it's difficult. 454 00:20:59,391 --> 00:21:01,760 You don't want to think about it. You certainly don't want to focus on it. 455 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,030 You want to think about something easy or just forget about it altogether. 456 00:21:05,030 --> 00:21:08,934 But it's the job of the leader to have the team focus on the task 457 00:21:09,134 --> 00:21:11,470 and keep them oriented and direct it on the goal. 458 00:21:11,503 --> 00:21:17,476 So when that goal is a fun, enjoyable thing, it's easier to give on on tasks. 459 00:21:17,809 --> 00:21:20,512 How do you go about doing it when when it's something that's 460 00:21:20,512 --> 00:21:23,982 just heavy and hard and overwhelming? 461 00:21:24,449 --> 00:21:25,417 I'm just throwing that out. 462 00:21:25,417 --> 00:21:26,918 There's a lot of different ways to do that, 463 00:21:26,918 --> 00:21:28,620 and I want to get Wayne's opinion after this. 464 00:21:28,620 --> 00:21:33,091 But my way is I set up milestones and I know that they're going to be reported. 465 00:21:33,358 --> 00:21:36,728 I'll meet with them before each meeting and say, I'm going to bring this up. 466 00:21:37,029 --> 00:21:38,530 How far along are you? 467 00:21:38,530 --> 00:21:41,166 And they'll say, we're at x y z or we haven't looked at it 468 00:21:41,166 --> 00:21:44,269 or we're considering which way we want to go . 469 00:21:44,269 --> 00:21:45,737 And I'll say, OK, give me a report on this. 470 00:21:45,737 --> 00:21:49,107 And by next week, I want you to have two more steps into this 471 00:21:49,541 --> 00:21:52,311 so that they can take the bite out of the proverbial elephant. 472 00:21:52,644 --> 00:21:55,681 And it makes it a manageable opportunity for everyone. 473 00:21:55,881 --> 00:21:56,348 Gotcha. 474 00:21:56,348 --> 00:21:58,183 Wayne's laughing. So we might be in trouble. 475 00:21:58,183 --> 00:22:00,252 Oh no. 476 00:22:00,252 --> 00:22:05,924 So what I try to do is put myself in their position 477 00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,294 very good and not just metaphorically 478 00:22:09,294 --> 00:22:13,332 for a talking point, but if it is a multi-step project, 479 00:22:13,365 --> 00:22:17,502 I'll try to help them look at it from kind of the end goal. 480 00:22:17,569 --> 00:22:20,639 So you don't do this for them, just give them a different perspective. 481 00:22:21,139 --> 00:22:25,477 Yes, and I don't dictate how it looks. 482 00:22:25,744 --> 00:22:28,580 It's like you like, I need this information. 483 00:22:28,580 --> 00:22:29,448 I don't really care 484 00:22:29,448 --> 00:22:33,385 how you get it or what it looks like, as long as it's all very good. 485 00:22:33,385 --> 00:22:36,455 So they have a lot of freedom, you know, and that really leads us into step 486 00:22:36,455 --> 00:22:39,524 five and step five is where a lot of leaders get tripped up. 487 00:22:39,558 --> 00:22:42,361 Step five is to give the work back to the people. 488 00:22:42,494 --> 00:22:43,495 A lot of leaders 489 00:22:43,495 --> 00:22:47,466 think that no one's as good as me or I can do this the way I want to do so. 490 00:22:47,466 --> 00:22:48,467 I'm just going to do it. 491 00:22:48,467 --> 00:22:50,669 But that doesn't help your team grow at all. 492 00:22:50,669 --> 00:22:52,337 That doesn't help them mature. 493 00:22:52,337 --> 00:22:54,272 It doesn't teach them how to make decisions. 494 00:22:54,272 --> 00:22:56,942 No, the leader wants to provide direction and structure, 495 00:22:56,942 --> 00:22:58,877 and the team wants to feel secure in what they're doing. 496 00:22:58,877 --> 00:23:01,646 But the team also wants to feel like they're a part of the problem 497 00:23:01,646 --> 00:23:04,683 solving and overly directive leaders can result in people 498 00:23:04,683 --> 00:23:08,186 being dependent on the leader and inhibiting them from doing their work. 499 00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:11,056 I think we all know leaders that do this, don't we? Absolutely. 500 00:23:11,089 --> 00:23:14,760 And the last step step six is to protect the people on your team, 501 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:16,995 even the voices below the people on your team. 502 00:23:16,995 --> 00:23:21,199 The adaptive leader must be open to ideas of people who may be on the fringe, 503 00:23:21,199 --> 00:23:25,170 marginalized or maybe even considered deviants in the group of the organization. 504 00:23:25,203 --> 00:23:27,339 Be open to the ideas of low status 505 00:23:27,339 --> 00:23:30,876 individuals who may not express themselves very effectively. 506 00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:34,813 It's challenging because it's disruptive to the normal way of doing things, 507 00:23:34,813 --> 00:23:37,849 but the adaptive leader truly considers all opinions. 508 00:23:38,183 --> 00:23:40,819 A yeah, that's hard, though, and can be, 509 00:23:40,952 --> 00:23:43,655 especially when that opinion goes against what's yours is. 510 00:23:43,989 --> 00:23:46,925 And I guess the idea is not to prejudge someone. 511 00:23:46,925 --> 00:23:49,861 Here comes this person. They never have a good idea, right? 512 00:23:49,861 --> 00:23:53,698 But if you really give them an honest listen, maybe they do have good ideas. 513 00:23:53,932 --> 00:23:55,434 Absolutely. 514 00:23:55,434 --> 00:23:58,570 Well, and it's a different perspective, and that's what you've been teaching 515 00:23:58,570 --> 00:24:01,807 the whole time. The key is perspective 100%. 516 00:24:02,073 --> 00:24:04,576 So here are the strengths of active leadership. 517 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:07,913 In contrast to all other leadership theories, 518 00:24:08,180 --> 00:24:10,882 active leadership takes a process approach. 519 00:24:11,283 --> 00:24:14,653 The leadership is a complex transaction between the leaders and followers, 520 00:24:14,653 --> 00:24:17,989 but there step by step how to do adaptive leadership? 521 00:24:18,190 --> 00:24:20,859 Adaptive leadership is follower centered. 522 00:24:20,892 --> 00:24:24,496 Adaptive leaders can mobilize people and engage them in an adaptive work, 523 00:24:24,529 --> 00:24:26,631 and another one is it helps followers deal 524 00:24:26,631 --> 00:24:30,402 with conflicting values that emerge when the work environments change. 525 00:24:30,435 --> 00:24:31,503 Adaptive leadership 526 00:24:31,503 --> 00:24:35,474 prescribes good leadership behaviors even if you don't have a great outcome. 527 00:24:35,474 --> 00:24:37,909 If you follow the steps, you're a good leader, 528 00:24:37,943 --> 00:24:40,812 you're doing good leadership, and the last one was my favorite. 529 00:24:40,812 --> 00:24:44,149 It contributes the concept of a holding environment as an integral 530 00:24:44,149 --> 00:24:47,385 part of the leadership process, giving a safe place for your people, 531 00:24:47,385 --> 00:24:50,956 your team to try leadership like we used in the swimming example. 532 00:24:50,956 --> 00:24:52,824 Where you're safe, you're not going to drown, 533 00:24:52,824 --> 00:24:56,127 and you get to slowly learn how to do what you need to do, I man. 534 00:24:56,595 --> 00:25:00,932 And I think one of the things that we need to always work on 535 00:25:00,932 --> 00:25:05,003 is is trust in the process, trusting, you know, one of the things I love. 536 00:25:05,704 --> 00:25:09,741 And if out of all the ones that we've been teaching, I love servant leadership. 537 00:25:10,675 --> 00:25:12,110 I identify with that one the most. 538 00:25:12,110 --> 00:25:12,878 Yeah, me too. 539 00:25:12,878 --> 00:25:17,115 But I think there is parts of each one that we can take from and learn about. 540 00:25:17,516 --> 00:25:19,317 And try to try to adapt. 541 00:25:19,317 --> 00:25:20,752 So what I did there, I love it. 542 00:25:20,752 --> 00:25:24,022 Things you and I worked at in the rank you, I'll be here, 543 00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:25,991 but we love it 544 00:25:27,425 --> 00:25:28,894 when you got something. 545 00:25:28,894 --> 00:25:32,631 I saw you writing well, the strength that I try most 546 00:25:32,631 --> 00:25:35,634 in my department to offer is a safe space. 547 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:40,138 Very good because as good, I've never thought the smartest person in the room. 548 00:25:40,138 --> 00:25:40,972 Very good. 549 00:25:40,972 --> 00:25:44,976 And I just want people who have differing personalities 550 00:25:44,976 --> 00:25:48,179 to be able to say what they want so that they're heard 551 00:25:48,213 --> 00:25:50,949 and it's not just out of lip service to them. It's wonderful. 552 00:25:50,949 --> 00:25:51,883 They've got good ideas. 553 00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:53,285 Yes, they do. And I'm 554 00:25:53,285 --> 00:25:57,088 sure the people in your team appreciate that a safe space is so valuable. 555 00:25:57,122 --> 00:25:57,789 Hey, man. 556 00:25:57,789 --> 00:26:02,827 So here are the criticisms of adaptive leadership because it's new 1994. 557 00:26:02,861 --> 00:26:05,263 There's been very little empirical research, 558 00:26:05,263 --> 00:26:08,333 and none of the tests have been conducted thoroughly. 559 00:26:08,333 --> 00:26:10,335 To prove or evaluate the claim. 560 00:26:10,335 --> 00:26:14,172 The model needs to be redefined, and the relationships between the factors 561 00:26:14,172 --> 00:26:15,974 must be clarified. 562 00:26:15,974 --> 00:26:18,109 In other words, we think it works. 563 00:26:18,109 --> 00:26:20,645 We've got evidence it works, but we don't know how it works. 564 00:26:21,179 --> 00:26:23,315 And the last one is adaptive. 565 00:26:23,315 --> 00:26:25,250 Leadership is very wide ranging. 566 00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:26,551 It can be a little abstract. 567 00:26:26,551 --> 00:26:28,720 It can be a little hard to do sometimes. 568 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,023 Romans twelve nine through ten from 569 00:26:32,023 --> 00:26:35,393 the message says this love from the center of who you are. 570 00:26:35,427 --> 00:26:38,063 Don't forget, run for dear life from evil. 571 00:26:38,363 --> 00:26:40,599 Hold on for dear life to good. 572 00:26:40,599 --> 00:26:44,269 Be good friends who love deeply practiced playing second fiddle. 573 00:26:44,869 --> 00:26:47,238 Oh, practice playing second fiddle. I love that. 574 00:26:47,238 --> 00:26:50,275 Yeah, that's from the message, and I love that as well. 575 00:26:51,042 --> 00:26:52,777 Wayne, before we close, you got anything. 576 00:26:52,777 --> 00:26:55,046 Now I think you all said everything. Good. 577 00:26:55,213 --> 00:26:57,582 Got all the answers. Anything else for me, brother? 578 00:26:57,849 --> 00:26:59,618 Well, I really love that second fiddle thing. 579 00:26:59,618 --> 00:27:02,454 A good adaptive leader should let the team take charge 580 00:27:02,454 --> 00:27:04,122 and he should practice playing second fiddle. 581 00:27:04,122 --> 00:27:06,658 That's beautiful and you love from the center of who you are. 582 00:27:06,658 --> 00:27:10,295 You can play, you can practice playing second fiddle music for me to say, 583 00:27:10,595 --> 00:27:12,664 Hey, guys, have a great week. 584 00:27:12,664 --> 00:27:15,734 Yeah, any questions about who we are or what we do? 585 00:27:15,767 --> 00:27:17,502 Make sure you check our website. 586 00:27:17,502 --> 00:27:20,038 We'll get we'll try to get a picture of Wayne up. 587 00:27:20,038 --> 00:27:22,207 I thought it'd be cool just to put his head like over us 588 00:27:22,207 --> 00:27:24,409 somewhere, which would be, Yeah, I'll do that. 589 00:27:24,442 --> 00:27:27,178 But we're so glad that Wayne's hanging out with this. 590 00:27:27,212 --> 00:27:29,381 We're so thankful that you're listening. 591 00:27:29,381 --> 00:27:31,516 Please let us know how we can bless you. 592 00:27:31,516 --> 00:27:33,051 Have a great week. God bless. 593 00:27:35,420 --> 00:27:36,187 This is an 594 00:27:36,187 --> 00:27:39,991 LBC production which stands for pounds, if you knew that or not, 595 00:27:39,991 --> 00:27:43,662 but it also stands for laughing because we're safe. 596 00:27:43,862 --> 00:27:47,298 But we kind of like the pound, so Chris will lift them 597 00:27:47,298 --> 00:27:50,368 and I will gain them and we will have a great time. 598 00:27:50,368 --> 00:27:51,136 Thanks for listening.

What is Adaptive Leadership?

As the title suggests, adaptive leadership is concerned with how leaders encourage people to adapt—to confront and overcome problems, challenges, and changes. Adaptive leadership is concerned with individuals’ adjustments in response to changing environments. In simplest terms, adaptive leaders prepare and assist people in adjusting to change. In contrast to the trait approach and Authentic Leadership, which place a premium on the leader’s characteristics, adaptive leadership places a premium on the leader’s activities in relation to the work of followers in the contexts in which they find themselves.

Adaptive leadership was first developed by a man named Heifetz in 1994  in his book “Leadership Without Easy Answers” and has been used effectively to teach leaders to encourage change across multiple levels, including society, community, organization, and even self.

One of the things I like about adaptive leadership is that it is not leader-centered, even though it has been often thought of that way. Adaptive leadership focuses on how leaders help others do the work they need to and adapt to challenges they face.

When Would You Need Adaptive Leadership?

Every company or organization faces chronic, recurring issues, and what usually happens? The people in charge usually revert to the same old solutions, such as implementing new technologies, recruiting experts, or streamlining communications or processes.

Usually, this is done with the top management layer responsible for identifying the best solutions. An adaptive challenge enables more precise problem identification and engages the entire organization in searching for potential solutions.

When no simple solutions are available, it is adaptive leadership to the rescue! It is a necessary ability for anyone seeking systematic change in an increasingly complex world. 

Adaptive leaders cultivate a range of perspectives in order to generate a large number of alternatives. Adaptive leaders lead with empathy, provide autonomy and independence to their employees, and find win-win solutions for everyone.

The Types Of Challenges are Best Suited for Adaptive Leadership?

There are three types of challenges leaders face, and those are technical challenges, adaptive challenges, and a combination of both technical and adaptive challenges. Technical challenges do generally not need adaptive leadership and usually have a known solution. For example, during the pandemic, many churches had to begin online services. In this case, the problem is easy to identify, and the solution is obvious and achievable. 

Adaptive Challenges are problems that are not clear-cut and cannot be solved by the usual ways of doing things in an organization. Adaptive challenges are difficult to solve because they usually require a change in people’s priorities, roles, and maybe even values and require leaders who encourage others to identify problems and implement solutions. An example of an adaptive challenge would be the problems and concerns a family confronts when placing a loved one in hospice care. There is a great deal of uncertainty and how to comfort the patient, and while hospice can give support, the family has to come to grips with how they approach the final days.

The third type of challenge is the Technical and adaptive challenge. These challenges are clearly defined but do not have a straightforward solution. In these cases, the leader acts as a resource and provide support for the team, and the team must solve the issue by learning to change and adapt. For example, our church has designated small groups to meet weekly for Bible study. Dave, being the pastor, allows the groups to set up their own meeting schedule and study method, and I can say from experience that I genuinely love my group. I have formed a bond with every person in the group, and I feel like I really know these people, and I care deeply about them. So instead of a study group, this feels more like a group of friends (10 adults and 9 kids) that get together weekly and enjoy each other’s company.

How Do Adaptive Leaders Do This?

There are six steps adaptive leaders use to help teams deal with problems. First, step 1, Get On the Balcony. Getting on the balcony is a metaphor for getting out of the fray and finding a perspective during a challenging situation. Imagine that your team is on the dance floor and getting on the balcony is a way to get away from the noise and the chaos and allows the leader to get a much clearer view of what is really going on. To do this, a leader can do things like take some quiet time, form a group of unofficial advisors, or do things like attending meetings as an observer and get a different point of view.

Step 2 is to identify adaptive challenges. Identify and diagnose the three types of challenges (technical, adaptive, or technical and adaptive). From the balcony, the leader takes on a different point of view and will make the challenges easier to identify.

Step three is to regulate distress. Psychologically, we all have a need for consistency. It is hard-wired into us. It is much easier to make crucial decisions when an individual is more relaxed and comfortable. Adaptive leaders need to monitor the stress the people on their team are experiencing and keep it in a productive range or regulate it. They can do this by providing direction, providing protection, conflict management, or creating a holding environment (swimming example).

Step four is to maintain disciplined attention. The adaptive leader needs to continually encourage people to focus on the difficult tasks. Focusing on difficult tasks typically does not come easily to most people.

Step five is to give the work back to the people. While the team wants leaders to provide direction and structure and feel secure in what they are doing, they also want to be part of the problem-solving. Overly directive leadership can result in people being dependent on the leader and inhibiting them from doing their work. Giving the work back to the people requires the adaptive leader to be very attentive to when they should drop back and let them do the work.

Step six is to protect leadership voices from below. The adaptive leader must be open to the ideas of people who may be at the fringe, marginalized, or even deviant within the group or organization. Be open to the ideas of low-status individuals, who often may express themselves ineffectively, is also challenging because it is disruptive to the “normal” way of doing things.

Strengths of Adaptive Leadership

  1. In contrast to other leadership theories, AL takes a process approach; leadership is a complex transaction between leaders and followers.
  2. Adaptive Leadership is follower-centered. Adaptive leaders mobilize people to engage in adaptive work.
  3. It helps followers deal with conflicting values that emerge in changing work environments.
  4. Prescribes good leadership behaviors.
  5. Contributes concept of a “holding environment” as an integral part of the leadership process.

Criticisms of Adaptive Leadership

  1. Very little empirical research has been conducted to test the theory’s claims.
  2. The model needs to be refined; relationships between factors must be clarified.
  3. Adaptive Leadership is too wide-ranging and abstract.

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