Clergy Conference 2012 focused on adaptive leadership. Adaptive challenges require new learning rather than technical fixes. The presentation discussed (1) how adaptive leadership involves diagnosing problems through data collection, multiple interpretations, and developing interventions, (2) how it differs from technical problems by addressing changes in priorities and beliefs rather than just improving current systems, and (3) tools like the balcony perspective to get distance on a system and identify challenges like conflicts and work avoidance. Adaptive leadership requires experimentation, diversity, and is a long process of adapting while preserving essential functions and culture.

1. Clergy Conference 2012
Presentation by Archbishop Colin Johnson
Conference Session 5: Adaptive Leadership

2. Can leaders still lead when they
don’t know what to do?
YES!
IT’S CALLED
“ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP”
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3. This information is taken from the following material
from The Rev’d Dr. Margaret Ann (Sam) Faeth, Dr.
Mary Uhl-Bien, and Dr. Ronald Heifitz.
I’d strongly recommend that you buy and read
Heitfitz’ book:
The Practice of Adaptive leadership: Tools and
Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World.
Ronald Heifitz, Marty Linsky, Alexander
Grashow, 2009, Harvard Business Review Press.
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4. Adaptive Leadership
• Moses and the Hebrew slaves
– Journeying to the Promised Land and becoming
the People of God
• The Acts of the Apostles
– Leadership, membership, service:
• Who does what? Who belongs? Who decides and how
are decisions made? What’s important? What are the
priorities?
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5. Can leaders still lead when they don’t
know what to do?
The obsession for the quick fix:
• People feel pressure to solve problems quickly
– Move to action – NOW! We’re going to die here!
• Analyzing problems by personalizing them
– If only “N.N.” were a leader (follower/
believer/scriptural/charismatic/younger/
nicer/stronger)…
• Attributing situations to interpersonal conflict
– If we could just get rid of the rector (organist/
secretary/ treasurer/ parishioner) who is
opposing/causing/doing…
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6. Practice of Leadership
Two core processes
• DIAGNOSIS
– What is happening?
• In the church
• ACTION
• In society
– Take necessary action
• In yourself
to address the issues in
the organisation
– Take action toward self
in the context of the
challenge
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7. The process of Diagnosis and Action
1. What? OBSERVE
Data collection and problem identification
2. Why? INTERPRET
explore multiple Interpretations of the data
3. What next? INTERVENE
develop a number of potential approaches to a
series of actions/ interventions
Re-iterate: move back and forth between
data collection, interpretation, and
action
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8. Adaptive leadership process
observe
intervene
interpret
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9. Adaptive vs Technical
• Technical problems: known solutions, resolvable
through current structures, procedures, practised
ways of doing things
• Adaptive challenges: new situations without
known precedent – only addressed through
changes in people’s priorities, beliefs, habits, and
loyalties
– Doing old job better, longer, with more help will not
address an adaptive challenge
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10. Type of Challenge Problem definition Solution Locus of work
Technical Clear Clear; tried and Authority (expert)
tested precedents will implement
existing structures
and roles
Technical and Less Clear: some Requires some Authority will have
adaptive learning needed to learning to consult
diagnose stakeholders
Adaptive Requires learning Requires systemic Stakeholders
adaptive learning; (shared leadership)
involving beliefs,
norms, values
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11. examples
• Sunday liturgies and funerals are a mixture of technical
and adaptive: implementing the set liturgy and figuring
out how to communicate the lectionary-selected
gospel in a particular situation, adapting the
music, intercessions, etc to accommodate the
setting, pastoral context, resources present.
• Adaptive challenge: how do we to implement the
mission of the Anglican Church in a multi-faith, multi-
cultural community with a strong anti-institutional
predisposition and lack of common narrative?
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12. Adaptive challenge
• Adaptive leadership is the practice of
mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges
and thrive
• Successful adaptation from nature:
– Preserves DNA essential for survival
– Discards (rearranges) DNA no longer meeting current
needs
– Creates DNA arrangements to give ability to flourish in
new ways and in new challenging environments
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13. The obstacles to LEADERSHIP:
• Pressure to solve problem quickly
• The Quick Fix as a sign of LEADERSHIP
• Deflect the hard work
• Push to minimize diagnostic process
– Data collection
– Multiple possible interpretations
– Alternative interventions
“The single most important skill and most
undervalued capacity for exercising adaptive
leadership is diagnosis.” Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky, p. 7HE
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14. Adaptive Leadership requires
WORK
TIME
EXPERIMENT
ANALYSIS
PERSEVERENCE
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15. Heifetz’ List of Work Avoidance
Behaviours
• Applying a technical fix to an adaptive problem
• Define the problem to fit the current expertise
• Inappropriate humour
• Denying the problem exists
• Create a proxy fight
• Shoot the messenger
• Identify a scapegoat
• Externalise the enemy
• Attack authority
• Delegate outside the system (outside consultants to
propose a fix – which can then be ignored)
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16. Warning!
• Technical solutions WILL NOT solve adaptive
challenges
• they will:
– Lower anxiety temporarily
– Create the illusion of progress
– Cast the leader in the role of hero
– Reduce the motivation for systemic learning
– Stifle the capacity for creativity and growth
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17. Balcony and Dance Floor
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18. Balcony and Dance Floor
Metaphor for diagnosing a system and your place in it
• Diagnosing the whole system in the midst of action requires
the ability of achieve some distance from the on-the-
ground events – moving to the balcony – gain perspective
• From balcony can see patterns not evident when you are
on the floor, caught up in the dance.
• Going to the balcony requires that you observe the system
you are part of – simultaneously detached and connected –
self-differentiation
• Moving back and forth – oscillation
• Moving outside in on the system; moving inside out on
analysing yourself
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19. Getting to the Balcony
 When to go?
 At planned intervals
 In the moment of
 Change, conflict, crisis
 Transitions
 When situation is puzzling
 When things are going particularly well –
or very badly
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20. • Who to go with?
– Alone (but ALWAYS with the Holy Spirit)
– With a “No BS Group”
– With someone whose
perspective, opinion, experience differs from
yours
• What to look for?
– The FOUR ARCHETYPES of ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE:
• Gap between espoused values and behaviours
• Competing commitments
• Speaking the unspeakable
• Work avoidance behaviours
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21. The view from the Balcony
Who’s at the dance? What music is playing?
What kind of dance is it?
Who is dancing? Who is waiting to be asked?
How much energy is there? Who is just arriving?
Who is sneaking out?
Where are you on the dance floor? Who is on your
dance card?
Who is stepping on toes? Who is graceful? Are you in
time with the beat? Who is tired? Who has energy to
spare?
Does the band keep playing the same tune? Or dancers
doing the same dance?
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22. Balcony diagnostic strategy
Look for:
STRUCTURE – how are things organised?
CULTURE – norms, values, story
DEFAULTS – the way things are done here
Then seek with others:
– Multiple possible interpretations
– Alternative interventions
Rarely is there a single interpretation of the
data or a single possible intervention
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23. LEADERSHIP Technical Adaptive
TASK
Direction Provide problem Identify adaptive challenge;
definition & frame key questions &
solution issues
Protection Protect from Disclose external threats
external threats
Order Disorient current roles;
• Orientation Orient people to resist orienting people to
current roles new roles too quickly
• Conflict
Restore order Expose conflict or let it
emerge
•Norms Maintain norms Challenge norms or let 23

24. Pay attention to:
• Patterns
– who/what connected? Isolated?
– what repeats? Changes?
• Defaults
– what are the preferred modes of learning?
– How do the system respond to conflict?
– Where is advice sought?
– How are decisions made?
– Does the system respond predictably in
conflict, challenge or change?
• Energy
– Resilience
– Creativity
– Commitment
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25. • Threats
– What challenges the status quo?
– What resources are stretched?
– What norms, values, behaviours protect the status
quo?
– What is identified as a threat?
– Are there unnoticed threats
(situational, organisational, environmental)?
• Opportunities
– What might we learn? How might we serve?
– How can we welcome new people?ideas?ministry?
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26. • Yourself:
– How do you function in the system?
– How big is the circle around you?
– Are you accessible or isolated?
– Does the system protect or challenge you?
– Who has access to you? Who wants access? Who is
the gatekeeper?
– Can you hear the voices of dissent? How do you
respond?
– What are your defaults in conflict? stress? change?
fatigue? uncertainty?
– What enhances or impairs your learning?
– What must be preserved and protected?
– What losses might you have to suffer?
– What’s in it for you?
– How do you take care of yourself?
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27. Adaptive Leadership
• Specifically about change that enables the
capacity to thrive
– Wrestle with normative questions of value, purpose
and process
– Multiple stakeholders priorities, defining
“thriving”, then moving to realise it
• Builds on the past rather than jettisons it
– Both conservative and progressive
• Occurs through experimentation
– Improvisation; rapidly produced variations; high
failure-rates; iterative 27

28. • Relies on diversity
– Each variant produces capacities different from
the rest of the population; not cloning
• New adaptations generate losses
– Displace, reconfigure, rearrange
– Creates predictable defensive responses
• Takes time
– Persistence and perseverence
– Consolidation of new norms and practices
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29. Complexity Adaptive Theory
3 entangled
leadership
roles adaptive enabling
leadership leadership
(Mary Uhl-Bien)
administrative
leadership
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30. Living into Adaptive Leadership
• Learning mode
• Self reflection and analysis of context
• Living with ambiguity and disequilibrium
• Resistance to seduction
• Discernment – what’s essential, what’s less so
• Pastoral care and compassion
• Resistance – deflection of work, defaults,
• Patience and perseverance
• Building community
• Dealing with values, purpose, hope
• Don’t do it alone; practise in life; resist leap to action; make
hard choices
• The Holy Spirit leading us into God’s mission 30

31. 31

32. Prayer
O God, you have called your servants to
ventures of which we cannot see the
ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through
perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage, not
knowing where we go, but only that your
hand is leading us and your love supporting
us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Evening Prayer, p. 317
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