Just in Time
Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky are each leadership experts in their own right, each with long pedigrees. But in “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World,”[1] they combine their sixty-plus years of experience and learning to provide a leadership “field book”[2] that offers “…practical steps [a leader] can take to act further on behalf of [their] deepest values, to maximize the chances of success and minimize the chances of…being taken out of action.”[3] They share “…concepts, tools, and tactics…to help [a leader] mobilize people toward some collective purpose…beyond individual ambition.”[4] The do all of this in service of leaders gaining a deeper understanding of “…the processes and practices of leadership” so they can “…address the adaptive pressures that challenge anyone’s current individual and collective competence.”[5]
In the spirit of a field guide, they have organized their book in such a way that the reader can do a deep dive from cover to cover or dip into a particular section or topic relevant to the leadership challenge they are facing that particular day. It is divided into five parts:
Part One: Introduction to using the book, the theory behind the practical processes and resources they offer later in the book, and four tips to consider before jumping into the challenging work of adaptive leadership.
In Part 2 through Part 4 they begin to unpack the foundational concepts relevant to each section, example stories, “On the Balcony” reflection questions to encourage stepping back and taking a high-level view on the process or skill being discussed, and “On the Practice Field” exercises that can be used with one’s team to begin expanding adaptive capacity.[6] Two core processes are underly the art and practice of leadership: Diagnosis (data collection and problem identification that unpacks the what and why of the challenge needing to be addressed) and Action (an iterative process of interventions). The movement between these two processes is on-going, thus building adaptive capacity and skill at both an individual and communal level.[7] And, the processes of Diagnosis and Action “…unfold in two dimensions: toward the organizational or social system you are operating in and toward yourself.”[8] With this framework in mind:
- Part Two zeros in on diagnosing the system (understanding the status quo, structural dynamics, cultural norms, default patterns, identifying the adaptive challenge, understanding the political landscape—meaning the values, loyalties, potential losses, and established alliances; and understanding the characteristics of an adaptive organization).
- Part Three resources the process of mobilizing the system (making interpretations, designing effective interventions, acting politically—meaning understanding informal vs. formal authority, identifying allies, the art of staying connected to the opposition, managing authority figures, taking responsibility for those wounded in the mobilization process, and protecting/engaging voices of dissent; orchestrating purposeful conflict, and building an adaptive culture).
- Part Four invites the leader to reflect on themselves as a system (exploring identities, loyalties, triggers, tolerances, roles, and purposes).
- Part Five challenges the leader to mobilize themselves (staying connected to one’s purposes, engaging courageously, inspiring those around you, running experiments, and thriving.
The book closes with notes, a very useful glossary of terms, thorough index, and a note about the authors.
As I read “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” I see themes from other books we’ve explored the past two years.
- It is set up as a practical manual in the same spirit as “Leadersmithing” by Eve Poole.[9] They are offering opportunities, like Poole, for leaders to practice specific skills, reflect along the way, and continue to build their adaptive leadership capacities.
- Like Edwin Friedman in “Failure of Nerve,” the authors address the social system one is part of. While Friedman is specifically focused on the role of anxiety and the practice of self-differentiation, these authors provide some of the practical skills that help a leader operationalize Friedman’s challenge.[10]
- With a specific focus on adaptive leadership, these authors value both the individual and collective and seek to build the capacities of both. This parallels the work of Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey in “An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization.”[11]
- With sections like “Build the Stomach for the Journey” and “integrate your Ambitions and Aspirations” I was reminded of the Tod Bolsinger’s “Tempered Resilience”[12] and Tom Camacho’s “Mining for Gold.”[13]
- Part Four’s sections on understanding one’s roles and knowing one’s triggers recalled Simon Walker’s “Leading Out of Who You Are” and his concepts of frontstage and backstage.[14]
- Their book was obviously written before the disruption of Covid-19 and the significant shift to at-home or hybrid work that has now emerged. Some of the practical exercises from “Adaptive Leadership” will need to be adapted J utilizing insights from Gustavo Razzetti’s “Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture that will Help You Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace.”[15]
The reason I titled this blog “Just in Time” is because “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” has offered me several very practical steps I can take to prepare for my organization’s March all-staff, in-person “Vision Convocation.” In chapter 22, “Run Experiments,”[16] they offer practical reflection and action steps that will help me consider how I can thoughtfully exercise my informal authority—especially since my formal authority is limited. They have helped me to reframe what I am doing when I raise issues that our leadership would rather ignore or point out gaps between our stated values and our actual practices. I have tacitly known that when I do these things I am pushing beyond the authority of my role. But now I can more explicitly reflect on this, on my own triggers and tolerance levels as I prepare for this meeting, and work to better understand when I face resistance, what the issues at stake are for our leadership and others in my organization. I can also see more clearly now that when I choose to courageously engage in the challenges my organization is facing, this also serves to encourage others to speak up and serves as a way of protecting the space for other dissenters to also be heard.[17]
Their explanation of organizational DNA and encouragement that “…successful adaptive changes build on the past rather than jettison[ing] it” also named for me some of the questions and concerns I have about my organization’s change journey.[18] I can see better how my top leadership is working on building adaptive capacity in my organization, while at the same time how some of their interventions work against the very thing they are trying to cultivate. I need to spend some more time with this chapter on the theory behind adaptive leadership practices in order to pay better attention to both what is going well in my organization’s change journey and what might be faltering. And then I need to reassess my own role and contribution toward this journey as I prepare for our March meeting.
[1] Heifetz, Ronald A., Alexander Grashow, and Martin Linsky. 2009. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Press.
[2] Ibid., xiii.
[3] Ibid., 3.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., 9.
[7] Ibid., 6-7.
[8] Ibid., 6.
[9] Poole, Eve. 2017. Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership. London; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
[10] Friedman, Edwin H., Margaret M. Treadwell, and Edward W. Beal. 2017. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. 10th anniversary revised edition. New York: Church Publishing.
[11] Kegan, Robert, and Lisa Laskow Lahey. 2016. An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.
[12] Bolsinger, Tod E. 2020. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[13] Camacho, Tom. 2019. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching. First published. Nottingham: IVP.
[14] Walker, Simon. 2007. Leading out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership. Carlisle: Piquant.
[15] Razzetti, Gustavo. 2022. Remote, Not Distant: Design a Company Culture That Will Help You Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace. Highland Park, IL: Liberationist Press.
[16] Heifetz, et.al., 277ff.
[17] Ibid., 145-146.
[18] Ibid., 14-17.
About the Author
Elmarie Parker
11 responses to “Just in Time”
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Elmarie,
I’m pleased to hear that this book has been a helpful tool.
You wrote about doing better at picking up on how people are responding to change. What are your go-to clues in reading people?
Hi Andy…thank you for your comment on my post and for your question. You asked: “What are your go-to clues in reading people [in the context of how they are responding to change].” Responses to change can be so varied…from outright relief and enthusiasm (we’re finally making some changes around here) to resistance/fear/anxiety (what’s wrong with how things have been; what will this mean for me/my position). The enthusiasm side is more fun to work with, but also has its challenges. Resistance can show up in both obvious and more subtle ways. For example, I’m sure my question-asking is interpreted by some of my organization’s leadership as resistance and not getting with the program. I’m basing that on some of the things those leaders have been saying to colleagues asking similar questions (they are one layer up in our organization)…things like ‘just get over it; it’s time to move on.’ I have a sense that this response from our leadership may be emerging from their own anxiety over a larger change process taking place in our denomination that will be unifying our ecclesiastical offices and our ministry/mission offices. I suspect our leadership of the ministry/mission offices want us all ‘on the same page’ to be in a stronger negotiating position in the unification work that lies ahead.
I think one of my biggest lessons from the past is to recognize the positive role that ‘resistance’ to change can play in the journey of how an organization moves forward. I don’t think I respected or understood that enough earlier in my leadership journey. I approached it as an obstacle to be overcome through persuasion or perseverance or some combination therein OR as something to NOT feed in terms of how I used my time. For a lot of reasons, I now read resistance differently and approach it more from a curiosity perspective–meaning I ask a lot more questions and listen more deeply. Heifetz et.al.’s encouragement to spend significant time on diagnosis rings true with what I’ve learned the hard way :).
The flip side is also to pay attention to the energy of those eager and ready to move into new directions. It seems too easily that these two sets of energy can become oppositional to each other rather than create a space for mutual learning and deepening trust. It’s an opportunity to increase the health of an organization’s culture, but it is delicate work. Hopefully I bring more wisdom to that task at this point in my journey than I have in my earlier decades of leadership life.
The third piece I would add is I have learned to pay closer attention to my own responses/reactions to how others are journeying through change and to how I’m dealing with change. Reading myself is as important (if not more so) than reading those around me. Back to that self-leadership piece that is always there to attend to :). So, as I head into this March meeting, I’m working on reading my own responses to all that is swirling around…doing that personal leadership diagnosing work…in hopes that I can be more attentive to what Christ’s Spirit is asking of me during that gathering with all its layers of complexity.
Elmarie: I also honed in on their explanation of organization’s DNA. It is so critical and I had never thought of it as much as they did. Culture, attitudes, cooperation, it makes a difference in people’s enjoyment of their workplace. Great analysis.
Hi Troy…thank you for lifting up that DNA side of the conversation. Yes, it is so very important. I am going to be taking much more time with that part of the diagnosis work as I prepare for my organization’s March meeting. What specific insights from Heifetz et.al. on this give you a different lens for reflecting on the DNA of your past work places? As you prepare to assess future work places?
Great synthesis and connection to past books. VERY well done.
So, “just in time,” what are some initial frameworks of engagement you have in mind to help your tribe become more adaptive? And what about for you personally in living out your vocational calling?
Hi Eric. Thank you for your thought-provoking questions. I think I had them in mind as I responded to Andy’s question as well. You asked: “…what are some initial frameworks of engagement you have in mind to help your tribe become more adaptive? And what about for you personally in living out your vocational calling?” I think in terms of preparing for my organization’s March meeting, I want to spend some preparation time digging deeper into Heifetz et.al.’s sections on diagnosing the system (part 2) and seeing myself as a system (part 4). My hope is that those two frameworks will help me be prepared to ask better questions and to listen more deeply as we gathering in March. Since I have very little formal authority, my hope is that the way in which I ask questions can open up some space for my organization’s leadership to explore together with the rest of the staff what parts of our DNA we can celebrate and bring with us into a new season of work and ministry in order to have more capacity to embrace the changes they are bringing into our organization’s DNA. We’ll see how it all goes. I know I’m not in it alone. I think this same exercise is also going to help me develop more explicitly some of these leadership skills for my personal vocational development as well.
Elmarie, you always give such a comprehensive summary of our books, this one included. I appreciate the many connections you made to previous readings. One of those connections was to Friedman and I would like to ask a question based on that. You wrote, “…these authors provide some of the practical skills that help a leader operationalize Friedman’s challenge.” What one or two key action steps do you think allow a leader to pick up where Friedman leaves off to be effective? I trust the “Vision Convocation” goes well and that you get a chance to share and contribute to the future of your organization.
Hi Roy. Thank you for your thoughtful engagement with my post, for your thought-provoking question regarding Friedman, and for your good wishes and prayers for my organization’s March gathering–I really appreciate and need that! Regarding Friedman, you asked: “What one or two key action steps do you think allow a leader to pick up where Friedman leaves off to be effective?” I think Heifetz et.al. offer some important practical steps to operationalize the work of being a self-differentiated leader. Their two sections on diagnosis (Part 2 and Part 4) are particularly relevant. I find their relatively positive framing of the status quo really helpful to diffusing anxiety…both at an individual level and communal level. For example, they write: “We start with the assumption that the status quo functions elegantly to solve a stream of problems and opportunities for which it has already evolved” (p. 49). This perspective, especially in light of how they further unpack it, can help and leader and an organization de-escalate anxiety about today and tomorrow’s adaptive challenges by reminding them that they already have in their DNA a proven track record of navigating past adaptive challenges. Those past successes have become a tacit part of the organization’s functioning. Especially for a new leader or staff who are relatively new, these past successes might remain invisible and instead they might only see how the ‘solution’ from the past is now a ‘barrier’ to the future. Using the diagnosing framework proposed by Heifetz et.al. can help the implicit/tacit become explicit where it can be honored for what it has accomplished in the past. This alone can help to lower anxiety in an emotional system and create the space to look at how that past success can contribute to successfully navigating a new adaptive challenge. I really like how their process helps me to stay curious as a leader and guards against making assumptions. A posture of curiosity also helps to mitigate anxiety. What are your thought on these practical extensions of Friedman’s insights?
Elmarie: If there were one chapter of this book that your senior leaders all read and implemented the tools associated with it, which would you choose and why?
Hi Kayli. Thank you for your helpful question: “If there were one chapter of this book that your senior leaders all read and implemented the tools associated with it, which would you choose and why?” I would have to go with the whole of Part Two–Diagnosing the System. But within this section, particularly the “Four Adaptive Challenge Archetypes (pp.77-87). I think the balcony and practice field questions/exercises would help us listen more deeply to one another across our different departments and work responsibilities. Right now the leadership energy is all going towards ‘getting us all on the same page’ or ‘singing the same song’ without examining what is being said/felt in the margins or through the discordant notes. I’m concerned about how this will ultimately work against the important new directions our leadership is seeking to take our organization and/or against the type of transformational change they hope our organization can be part of leading in the denomination.
Elmaire, I appreciated your connections of themes with our past readings!
I was wondering how Kanheman’s catalog of biases and how they infiltrate our thinking (and behaving) might inform your working out of your informal authority at the “Vision Convocation”?