STRATEGY & INNOVATION
Innovators Are Adaptive Leaders
By Senorine Wasike
Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky introduced the concept of adaptive leadership over a decade ago . The authors highlighted two types of challenges ; those with known solutions that only require the application of existing knowledge and workflows to solve and those with unknown solutions that require innovation , experimentation , and adaptation to survive .
Innovators are everywhere . They do things differently or do things they have never done before . Innovators embrace ideas and create environments where employees challenge the status quo , push boundaries and drive growth . Innovators do not typically carry the titles with the word innovation . Innovation is a mindset .
In a constantly changing world , many leaders face adaptive challenges ( known problems with unknown solutions ). Embracing and practicing adaptive leadership has proven to solve most challenges that organizations and leaders face today . This is how innovators can be adaptive leaders ;
Get on the Balcony
The analogy of the balcony and the dance floor has been used in leadership to demonstrate how leaders need to step away ( head to the balcony ) even as they do the daily work ( the dance floor ). Leaders often become prisoners of systems . By stepping back , leaders can observe the dance moves and spot patterns that can be missed if leaders spend too much time in action mode . The balcony view allows leaders time to reflect and gain perspective . Adaptive leaders must be intentional about going to the balcony to gain perspective .
Embrace Failure
A Harvard business school research found that more than 90 % of new product launches are unsuccessful in the year of launch . This happens despite using robust and proven launch processes such as stage gate . Increasing the innovation success rate is an adaptive challenge for most organizations . Heifetz and Linsky found that such challenges rarely require technical solutions . Fostering a culture of experimentation allows the team addressing the challenge to get the best possible solution . Adaptive leaders should allow people to FAIL ( First Attempt In Learning ) because failure is a key ingredient to innovation .
Most ideas are also not always successful at first . Staying patient and persistent often yields the desired results .
Embrace Uncertainty
Often , no one truly knows the extent to which a new idea or product launch will be successful . Being comfortable with not having all the answers allows innovators to practice adaptive leadership . Adaptive leaders , therefore , need to learn as they go and not wait to know everything before they start .
Collaboration
Adaptive challenges require multiple perspectives . Building trust and valuable relationships will unlock the innovators ’ ability to address the challenges . Most leaders fall into the common trap of doing what they know will work or what they think they are capable of doing and not leveraging collaboration . Collaboration can be achieved through stakeholder engagement as most solutions to challenges faced are usually not out there .
Bringing it all Together
Today ’ s business world is characterized by emerging challenges such as disruptive technologies and fierce competition . This has resulted in adaptive challenges that require adaptive leadership . These adaptive situations require constant unlearning , relearning , and learning . By getting onto the balcony , embracing failure & uncertainty , and collaborating , leaders build the right capabilities to respond to adaptive challenges . Adaptive leadership allows leaders to know how to lead when they do not know how to lead because the challenges they face require more than technical solutions .
Let us start practicing adaptive leadership by saying , ‘ I do not know ’ or ‘ Let us find out ’ or by asking our teams , ‘ What do you think ?’
This column is inspired by Graeme Codrington , a Future of work expert , and The Networking Company SA for the amazing leadership programme Ela Lidera ( She Leads ).
Senorine Wasike is a Strategy and Innovation scholar with over 10 years ’ corporate experience . She currently heads marketing at Kenya Wine Agencies ( KWAL ). You can commune with her on email at : Senorine . Wasike @ gmail . com .
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