Navigating the Leadership Wilds: Your Journey with Adaptive Change
Insights from the Peaks of Japan
I recently returned from a few weeks of summer vacation in Japan — a bit jet lagged but none the worse for the wear. My son and I climbed Japan’s top two peaks, including Mt. Kitadake which was breathtaking. Not for the scenery…the monsoon winds made sure we saw none of that…but the winds and rain were majestic and trying in their own way even at only 10,500 feet. This experience got me thinking about the fascinating parallels between surviving the untamed wilderness and thriving in the dynamic landscape of leadership.
In the wilderness of change, survival demands more than just knowing how to navigate unfamiliar terrain. It requires a deep understanding of the interplay between yourself, your surroundings and the broader ecosystem. Remarkably, these principles bear a striking resemblance to the tenets of Adaptive Leadership, an approach for leading meaningful change in times of transition, uncertainty and immense possibility, developed over decades at Harvard Kennedy School.
Just as in wilderness survival, Adaptive Leadership delves into three zones of assessment — yourself, your surroundings, and the system.
Zone 1: Self — The Inner Expedition
Adaptive Leadership begins with the self, mirroring the process of self-discovery that comes from survival in the wild. Just as a mountain climber’s self-awareness shapes choices of life and death, the exercise of leadership involves assessing your values, motivations and biases, as well as your limits. This introspection becomes your compass, helping you to navigate the fine line between safety and the razor’s edge of your leadership competence, which is where meaningful change takes place.
Zone 2: Surround — The People and Place Around You
In both leadership and survival, understanding the immediate surroundings is paramount. For those exercising leadership, the “surround” zone involves gauging the dynamics of the team, organization or community you engage in leadership with. Just as a trekker reads the signs of weather or terrain, Adaptive Leadership allows you to interpret the nuances of group dynamics and the undercurrents of organizational culture. This awareness enables you to pivot strategies and adapt to the ever-evolving landscape.
Zone 3: System — Ecosystem-Level Awareness
Sustained survival in the wild requires understanding how your actions impact the broader ecosystem. Similarly, an Adaptive Leadership approach emphasizes the “system” level, where you consider the larger context of change. Like an ecologist evaluating the interconnectedness of species, those engaging in leadership recognize how change ripples across departments, stakeholders and even society as a whole. This system-level perspective is essential for crafting effective interventions that foster regenerative, enduring change.
The Uniting Thread: Embracing Uncertainty
Both the wilderness and the practice of leadership are fraught with uncertainties. What sets Adaptive Leadership apart is its emphasis on embracing the unknown. Like explorers traversing rugged landscapes, those practicing leadership know that no single map or preordained path guarantees success. Instead, they rely on their ability to improvise, to experiment and to learn from setbacks — all while keeping a keen eye on the “productive zone of disequilibrium”, another key concept of Adaptive Leadership that my co-author Saima Irtiza and I explore in the book, Adaptive Leadership Facilitator Guide: Holding Space for Consequential Change.
As we journey through the intricacies of exercising leadership, we discover that the skills honed in the wilderness of self-awareness, surroundings and systems resonate deeply with the transformative principles of Adaptive Leadership. By embracing this parallel, we embark on a journey that empowers us not only to navigate change but to fortify this capacity in others. And, perhaps, summit that elusive peak that stands just beyond our grasp.
Eric Martin is the Author of Your Leadership Moment. He is also the Founder of Adaptive Change Advisors (ACA), the preeminent organization for mission-driven Adaptive Leadership development.
