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Adaptive leadership for leaders in times of crisis
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Within a company, CEOs are constantly confronted with a series of challenges.
But while some of these problems already have proven solutions, because they fall within the technical field, others require a high degree of agility.
That's where the adaptive leadership.
Indeed, these types of problems have no precedent and require a new way of thinking to deal with them.
Whether it's a health crisis, a cyberattack or the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, this type of breakthrough perfectly illustrates the need for more inventive leadership.
To effectively manage these new global challenges, leadership capable of innovation is becoming essential.
But What is adaptive leadership?
What are the specificities of this type of leadership?
Let's take stock of this modern management method, its added value for organizations and review examples of implementation.
At a time when crises are multiplying and intensifying, traditional leadership models often show their limits.
Adaptive leadership, based on flexibility, learning ability, and strategic vision.
This approach makes it possible to address periods of uncertainty in a relevant manner and to mobilize teams around an innovative response.
Better still, this management technique transforms periods of turbulence into opportunities for sustainable progress.
Adaptive leadership, also called adaptive management, refers to the ability of a manager to know how to engage his teams in the face of complex challenges and to lead the organization in a constantly changing environment.
Highlighted by Harvard researchers Marty Linsky and Ronald Heifetz, this approach aims as much to solve current problems as to prepare the company for future transitions.
It allows leaders to approach uncertainty methodically and to anticipate challenges.
CEOs who want to develop this type of leadership need to develop several specific qualities.
Here are four essential ones that allow you to navigate better and to lead your teams safely even in times of crisis:
An adaptive leader relies on strong emotional intelligence: he must be able to fully understand his own reactions, to perceive the emotional needs of his collaborators and to create a climate of trust conducive to cooperation.
This posture reinforces the quality of professional relationships and supports commitment to collective goals.
Agility is another key skill for an adaptive leader.
It is demonstrated by a great ability to quickly adjust decisions, to accept feedback and to change strategies.
In periods of restructuring, technological transformation or rapid market changes, this flexibility becomes a decisive advantage.
Transparency is essential for the success of change.
By communicating clearly on the real real issues, the CEO consolidates internal trust and promotes buy-in around projects.
An adaptive leader encourages participation, actively listens to his teams and integrates their feedback to move towards smarter decisions.
Adaptive leaders see every situation as an opportunity.
They encourage inventiveness, the experimentation of new approaches and the development of skills of their employees.
This dynamic of collective learning is becoming a driver of competitiveness.
The transformational leadership naturally complements adaptive leadership.
Indeed, it places people at the heart of company performance.
It is based on the CEOs ability to inspire and mobilize his teams around an ambitious project.
A transformational leader:
This type of leadership, focused on the transformation of individuals, allows CEOs to support their organizations towards a truly sustainable evolution.
Unlike more traditional leadership models (authoritarian, visionary, or transactional leadership, for example), adaptive leadership invites leaders to analyze their environments on an ongoing basis.
It's about adjusting their decisions to the pace of change, rather than relying solely on pre-established responses.
This approach is based in particular on:
By cultivating these principles, leaders develop organizations that can innovate, adapt quickly, and stay strong in times of uncertainty.
Three skills really allow CEOs to adopt leadership that is able to adapt to the problems their organization faces:
In one of these recent surveys, Gallup highlighted a striking fact: teams supervised by leaders who are able to be agile in the face of situations show a level of commitment approaching 30%.
A situation that naturally leads to improved performance and productivity. How can such a result be explained?
In a context where organizations have to deal with increasingly rapid change cycles, adaptive leadership allows teams to navigate turbulence with greater serenity and inventiveness.
The benefits that flow from this are multiple:
Adopting an adaptive approach gives the company the ability to adapt quickly to changes in its environment, regardless of the problems encountered (market fluctuations, technological breakthroughs or operational challenges).
This ability to adapt then becomes a decisive competitive advantage when the pressure increases.
By encouraging dialogue and cooperation, adaptive leaders contribute to building lasting trust.
A solid culture plays a central role not only in crisis management, but also in rebuilding and preparing for the future.
Organizations that develop this type of leadership often prove to be more resilient after a difficult period.
By capitalizing on lessons learned, they accelerate innovation and optimize how they operate.
They thus create the conditions for sustained development.
Establishing adaptive leadership within a company requires adopting a new posture and being able to demonstrate a real ability to change as a leader.
This requires the adoption of new approaches:
To adjust your style of Leadership management For each collaborator, you need to understand what drives each member of your team.
This involves regular, one-on-one exchanges in order to identify their expectations and to take the pulse of the situation.
Also, pay attention to weak signals that may indicate discomfort or a loss of motivation: increased fatigue, recurrent tensions, unusual criticisms or withdrawal behaviors.
When an employee adopts a confusing attitude or comes into friction with his team, it is essential to take a step back before intervening.
Seek to understand the factors that influence their behavior.
The objective is not to disempower the person, but to grasp the global context in order to offer support consistent with their personality and their constraints.
Your ability to adapt may be natural, but not everyone is.
Some employees need longer integration time to understand the transformations.
So take care to listen to their fears, to clearly explain the current developments, their reasons and the benefits they can expect.
This transparent communication requires time and energy, but makes it possible to avoid resistance and to facilitate collective adherence.
Adaptive leadership is based on cooperation, not on a directive or vertical posture.
Involving all employees in the actions carried out by the company, particularly in times of crisis or transition, is therefore essential.
The role of the adaptive leader is to promote joint initiatives, whether they involve a single team or involve several departments.
Finally, being adaptable does not mean abolish the rules. On the contrary: setting benchmarks and a framework for action is essential.
Indeed, your employees need a secure environment in order to feel entitled to experiment and innovate.
Even if it is very relevant, this type of leadership faces several difficulties that can hinder its implementation.
Taking the time to understand the reasons for these bottlenecks allows CEOs to respond more effectively.
Any change in practices shakes up habits.
And this is not without generating reticence, especially among employees or stakeholders who have long been committed to how they work.
To encourage adherence to new methods, CEOs therefore have every interest in:
In times of uncertainty or crisis, attention naturally focuses on immediate issues.
However, truly adaptive leadership requires a long-term perspective: decisions taken in an emergency must remain consistent with the company's strategy.
Maintaining this balance requires methodical preparation to avoid that the short term jeopardizes the future.
To understand the impact of adaptive leadership, nothing better than to look at how some companies have been able to take advantage of difficult times to evolve and come back stronger.
Here are three stories of changing strategies and types of leadership that clearly illustrate it.
Danone had to deal with a marked change in eating habits: consumers wanted products that were healthier, more transparent and more environmentally friendly.
Instead of seeing it as a threat, the company decided to turn it into an opportunity for change.
In 2017, it announced that its entire range of dairy products would go organic by 2025.
It was not just a marketing choice: this change allowed the brand to develop a relationship of trust with its customers who became more and more demanding.
So what seemed to be a constraint proved to be a real driver of growth.
When Satya Nadella took over Microsoft in 2014, the company went through a difficult period.
Indeed, locked into a rigid corporate culture, teams took few risks and the company was losing ground to more agile competitors.
Nadella then introduced another way of doing things: encouraging continuous learning, giving teams more room to test new ideas, and valuing experimentation.
This new dynamic has allowed Microsoft to return to innovation and open up to new markets, especially the cloud.
In a few years, the company has thus regained the momentum it lacked.
In the early 2000s, LEGO was on the verge of bankruptcy. The losses are huge.
But the arrival of Jørgen Vig Knudstorp changes everything.
He spends time watching families, children, and fans of the brand.
His observation was then simple: LEGO must return to what is its strength, creativity.
The company is therefore putting creation back at the center of its decisions, launching collaborative platforms and listening more to its community.
In five years, LEGO not only recovered, but grew dramatically.
When a company adopts a truly flexible leadership style, teams become more effective and more creative.
Moreover, according to a study published in 2023 in the Harvard Business Review, CEOs who are able to adjust their way of doing things according to situations sustainably improve the performance of their organization.
Concretely, a leader who shows that he really wants to better understand his teams encourages employee engagement. In addition,
In other words, adaptive leadership acts as a driver: it brings teams together around common goals, helps decision-making even in times of crisis, and creates a climate conducive to continuous learning.
Setting up this type of leadership cannot be improvised.
This requires time, real work on yourself and, often, an evolution of corporate culture.
The first step is to invest in the development of managers and CEOs: coaching to improve leadership skills, workshops to understand field situations, training on soft skills or emotional management... so many bases that allow you to adopt a more flexible posture.
The use of adapted tools then makes it possible to improve the approach.
An adaptive leader turns to agile working methods, organizes regular feedback, encourages the use of collaborative platforms or the use of change management programs.
According to data published by Gartner in 2023, these development techniques, in particular executive coaching, have a strong impact on the acquisition of new skills in adaptive management.
With a high return on investment.
For a CEO, the question is often not whether adaptable leadership is useful, but how to concretely integrate it into his own management style and company culture.
A follow-up personalized makes all the difference.
It is to respond to this request for advice and the transmission of know-how that Visconti Partners intervenes.
Our firm, specialized in coaching for directors and managers, offers tailor-made support to strengthen skills, accelerate transformations and sustainably install new leadership practices.
Our certified coaches, all former leaders, rely on their field experience to help leaders deal with problem situations, increase the impact of their decisions and create the conditions for solid growth, regardless of the context.
So contact us and start your assessment right away to develop the skills that are essential for an adaptive leader.
Visconti Partners presents its advice, inspiration, and case studies to help you unlock your potential and that of your business.
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