Now may be the time for bigger risk taking . However , the same rule applies as always : never bite off more than you can chew , unless you have no other choice .
Active Experimentation Now that much of the mad scramble to adjust to new ways of working has happened , leaders need to start thinking about experimenting to stretch their teams . There are three key components to experimentation :
w Drivers . The goal ( s ) sought .
w Design . The well-established principles of sound experimentation .
w Decision . The interpretation of the results and the action taken .
First are the drivers . The purpose of experimentation will naturally be driven by current challenges . Whatever they are , be very clear on the purpose of experimentation . For example , “ Determining which online platform is the most reliable for meetings of less than 10 people .”
Second is design . The purest and most successful form of experimentation is the scientific method . It maximises the benefits from the experiment and minimises the chance the results are misleading . It requires some effort ; however , these are not times to shy away .
Finally , there is decision . For this , I can ’ t go past my MCI Decision Model . M is for motivation , C is for clarification , and I is for implementation . Keep an eye out for when leaders go straight to implementation . If they are , recommend they clarify the approach they are planning . What are the obstacles to overcome and what are the potential consequences ? And finally , just check
WHEN
BEING COURAGEOUS
Conversations Voices Risks
WHAT
DEVOLVED DECISION MAKING
Micro adaptation Independence Interdependence
ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION
Drivers Design Decisions
WHO
Figure 1 : Core Concepts of Adaptive Leadership that the motivation is right . Are they answering the right question ?
Devolved Decision Making At its core , devolved decision making is about recognising that leaders and their trusted inner circle of advisers don ’ t have all the answers and they must trust their people to come up with the answers . To coin another phrase from Heifetz ( et al 2009 ), it ’ s about “ micro adaptation ”. It ’ s lots of people adapting lots of ways and often . This needs to occur at the level of the individual , team and business unit level . People need to be given their independence and to be trusted .
While giving teams their independence , it is vitally important that leaders also consider the interdependence that exists across the organisation . While an individual or a team or business unit may be given the authority to experiment and make decisions , who do they need to communicate that decision to ? Who might be affected ? Who could benefit if only they knew ? This leads on nicely to the three questions of
Adaptive Leadership : What ? Who ? When ?
The first question an EA can help their leadership team with is ‘ what are the things we need to be courageous about and experiment on ?’ As much for you as an EA as for your leaders , think ,‘ Whatever the line was I couldn ’ t cross before … it ’ s time to reconsider it in the context of the challenges currently being faced ’. Re-think the need for it or re-think how the line can be crossed without too much collateral damage .
The next question to help leaders with is who are you going to devolve responsibility to in terms of experimentation ?
And lastly when ? When are you going to allow your teams to be courageous in their own right and do the experiments you know can make a difference in these tough times ?
I ’ ll finish with some words from my EA , Paula Rival , who I discussed this article with .
“ We know for a fact that we set very high expectations every now and then with what and how a person should deliver ( especially those in the admin role ), but I hope that they will also be acknowledged and regarded as hard-working and resilient individuals who are trying their best to provide support in the best way they can while setting aside their own personal fears and worries . Think of them as a duck — staying clam on the surface but paddling like hell underneath . That I think is the perfect manifestation of adaptive leadership .”
Stay safe . Stay agile . S www . bryanwhitefield . com
Issue 2 2020 | Chief of Staff 55