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ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP AND
CHANGE
YOUTHBUILD USA NATIONAL RURAL
GATHERING
SUPPORTING COMMUNITY ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT IN THE RURAL CLUSTER
OCTOBER 14, 2008
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BALL OF CONFUSION in 1970
1970 song by the Temptations
Without taking an explicit position on anyparticular issue, the song provided asnapshot of critical issues and humanconcerns as we emerged from the turmoil of
1960's
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BALL OF CONFUSION 38
years later... Billions (trillions?) of dollars spent
Innumerable hours of paid and volunteerservice
Changes in public policy to addresstechnical challenges of poverty, education,
violence, substance abuse, etc.
Accomplishments yes.
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And the band played on...
What of the critical issues and community
concerns from the song have been solved tothe point where they no longer consume ourattention?
What is at the root of our inability tosuccessfully meet the challenges identified inthe song?
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SO WHAT DOES
ALL THIS HAVE TO
DO WITHYOUTHBUILD?
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USDA RCDI OUTCOMES
Recipients will create five-year plans The creation of new community-wide
economic development activities will beachieved in five rural communities
Recipients will each create three new private
sector partnerships for new job placementopportunities in their communities
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USDA RCDI OUTCOMES
Recipients will each create five newpartnerships for new job training
opportunities in their communities Recipients will each create two new
partnerships for post-secondary education
opportunities at community or technicalcolleges, state colleges, or universities There will be a 50% overall increase in job
placements among Recipients graduates
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USDA RCDI OUTCOMES
There will be a 25% overall increase in post-secondary placements among Recipients
graduates The creation and tracking of individual career
and income growth plans for every young adultparticipating in Recipient YouthBuild programs
will be accomplished
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Technical Change v. Adaptive
Change TECHNICAL
CHANGEAddressing technicalproblems that can bedefined clearly and forwhich solutions exist; it maybe a difficult fix, but weknow what to do or can find
an expert who does.Technical problems can bemanaged and usually fall tosome one with the authorityto address them.
ADAPTIVECHANGEIt requires leadership that
mobilizes people's capacityto sift through and hold onto what's essential fromtheir past and discard whatis no longer useful in order
to take advantage of newopportunities identifiedthrough the reflectiveprocess and theenvironment.
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KEY CONCEPT: Resistance to
changeDr. Ronald Heifetz explains"resistance to change" as afunction of the possibility of loss,fear of letting go of somethingthat is valued. That which isvalued is not always positive.
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JUST SOMETHING TO
CONSIDER...
YOUTHBUILD STAFF,PROGRAM ADVISORS AND
CONSULTANTS ARE NOT
IMMUNE TO THE RESISTANCEOF CHANGE!
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SMALL GROUP EXERCISE
Gather into groups of 3-4 people andbrainstorm answers to the following
questions.B
e prepared to share youranswers with the larger group.
What internal challenges or transitions are yourYouthbuild programs being affected by?
What external challenges or transitions are yourYouthbuild programs being affected by?
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COMMON ELEMENTS OF
ADAPTIVE CHANGE There is a gap between aspirations and
reality.
Progress requires responses outside theorganization's standard repertoire.
Narrowing that gap will require difficultlearning.
Part of the learning will requiredistinguishing, among all that is valued, whatis essential to be carried forward and what isexpendable, which will involve loss.
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COMMON ELEMENTS OF
ADAPTIVE CHANGE The losses often involve learning to refashion
loyalties and develop new competencies.
Painful choices must be made betweencompeting loyalties and values.
The people with the problem are theproblem, and they are the solution. Problem-
solving responsibility must shift fromauthoritative experts to the stakeholders.
Adaptive work requires a longer time framethan technical work.
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COMMON ELEMENTS OF
ADAPTIVE CHANGEAdaptive work involves experimentation.
Adaptive challenges generate disequilibrium,
resistance and work avoidance.
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BASIC TOOLKIT OF LEADING
ADAPTIVE CHANGE Get off the dance floor and onto the balcony Think politically
Orchestrate conflict Give the work back Hold steady
Taken from Leading with an Open Heart, byRonald Heifetz and Marty Linsky
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CHALLENGES OF ADAPTIVE
LEADERSHIPGet off the dance floor and onto the balcony. Leadership isimprovisational. It cannot be scripted. On one hand, to be effective aleader must respond in the moment to what is happening. On the otherhand the leader must be able to step back out of the moment and assess
what is happening from a wider perspective. We call it getting off thedance floor and onto the balcony. It may be an original metaphor, but it'snot an original idea. For centuries religious traditions have taughtdisciplines that enable a person to reflect in action. Jesuits call itcontemplation in action. Hindus call it Karma Yoga, the yoga of action. Wecall it getting onto the balconybecause that's a metaphor people caneasily relate to. But it's critically important, and the reason why religious
traditions have talked about it for so long is that it's hard to do. You don'tneed a major spiritual practice for something that's easy to do. It's hard, inthe midst of action, to step back and ask yourself: What's really going onhere? Who are the key parties to this problem? What are the stakes theybring to this issue? How will progress require us all to reevaluate ourstakes and change some of our ways?
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CHALLENGES OF ADAPTIVE
LEADERSHIPThink politically. Successful leaders in any field place anenormous emphasis on personal relationships. They spend agreat deal of time and effort creating and nurturing networks
of people they can call on, learn from, and work with toaddress the issues they face. They know that leadership ispolitical -- it's about motivating and mobilizing people tochange. So, thinking politically is absolutely critical, not onlyfor the person trying to lead from below or from the middle butalso for those trying to lead from authority on high. Leaders
need to work hard on creating allies, keeping close to theopposition, and finding ways to generate commitment fromthe uncommitted.
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CHALLENGES OF ADAPTIVE
LEADERSHIPOrchestrate conflict. People don't learn by staring inthe mirror. People learn by engaging with a differentpoint of view. When people are passionate about their
different points of view, it generates conflict rather thansimply disagreement. Successful leaders manageconflict; they don't shy away from it or suppress it but seeit as an engine of creativity and innovation. Some of themost creative ideas come out of people in conflict
remaining in conversation with one another rather thanflying into their own corners or staking out entrenchedpositions. The challenge for leaders is to developstructures and processes in which such conflicts can beorchestrated productively.
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CHALLENGES OF ADAPTIVE
LEADERSHIPGive the work back. To meet significant challengesrequiring adaptive change, people must change theirhearts and minds as well as their behaviors. Leaders
cannot do this for others. This is their work, and theymust do it themselves. Holding people accountablefor this work is not easy to do, especially whenpeople are looking to authority for easy answers orwhen people are in effect asking the authority figureto lie to them by projecting more certainty than shehas. Leaders who attempt to step in and take thiswork off the shoulders of followers risk becoming theissue themselves.
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CHALLENGES OF ADAPTIVE
LEADERSHIPHold steady. Confronting major change generates a greatdeal of conflict and resistance. Managing the conflict, dealingwith the politics involved, and making people accountable
requires an ability to hold steady in the heat of action.Leaders often need to refrain from immediate action andunderstand that the stew of conflicting views has to simmer,allowing conflicts to generate new experiments and newcreative ideas. The leader's job is to contain conflict -- preventthe disequilibrium from going too high and the conflict from
getting destructive -- and simultaneously to keep peopleaddressing the hard questions without opting for a technicalfix, an easy solution, or a decision from on high. In doing so,in holding steady, the leader will be the recipient ofconsiderable frustration and even anger.
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A selection of resources
Leadership on the Line: Staying Alivethrough the Dangers of Leading, Ronald
Heifetz and Marty Linsky The Fifth Discipline, PeterSenge Make Success Measurable! A Mindbook-
Workbook forSetting Goals and TakingAction, Douglas K. Smith
Process Consulting Revisited: Building theHelping Relationship, EdgarSchein