Leadership and Organizational Development

Adaptive Leadership: Learning to Lead in Uncertain Times

Avatar photo Robena Spangler
February 4, 2025

Nonprofit leaders face challenges at some point, regardless of their field. Changes in policies, funding, or the needs of the organization can happen suddenly. During uncertain times, staff and community members look to their leaders for support, guidance, and reassurance that they can overcome these challenges. This is when adaptive leadership skills are needed the most.

What is Adaptive Leadership?

Adaptive leadership consists of skills that help individuals stay focused when there are no clear answers or easy solutions. These leaders are open minded and quick thinkers who respond to change and emerging challenges confidently. Instead of sticking to fixed plans or abandoning plans when conditions change, adaptive leaders remain flexible, incorporate various viewpoints, and try new solutions.

Organizational resilience starts with adaptive leadership. It’s common for changes in policy, economics, technology, and industry innovations to disrupt expectations and require organizations to respond. That’s why leaders across all sectors must be prepared to meet challenges effectively and why we emphasize adaptive leadership skills as part of our annual Executive Leadership Institute.

Putting It Into Action

Principles of adaptive leadership offer a framework for handling complex and difficult situations when clear solutions aren’t present. These principles help leaders and organizations adapt and succeed in changing environments:

  • Getting on the balcony means stepping back to gain a broader view of the situation. It involves noticing what’s happening with yourself, your team, your organization, and external factors affecting you.
  • Identifying the leadership challenge: To find clarity amid uncertainty, you first need to determine the nature of the challenges you’re facing.
  • Experimenting and taking smart risks: Stay open to new ideas and be willing to try different approaches based on the facts you have.
  • Empowering others: You don’t have to tackle everything by yourself. Involve your team and share the workload.
  • Leveraging conflict: Disagreements and varying perspectives can lead to valuable learning and innovation.
  • Anchoring leadership in purpose: In stressful situations, it’s easy to lose focus. Stay grounded in your overall goals to guide your actions.

The principles are interconnected and reinforce one another. For instance, “getting on the balcony” helps you identify the leadership challenge, which can inform your experiments and risk -taking. Empowering others allows more individuals to contribute to the adaptive work, while leveraging conflict can uncover new ideas.

Practices

Alongside these principles, adaptive work involves various practices that can help you succeed:

  • Diagnosing the Organization/System: Understand how your organization works and identify areas for improvement.
  • Regulating Distress: Manage your emotional responses to difficult situations and maintain your composure.
  • Maintaining Disciplined Attention: Focus on the most pressing issues.
  • Giving the Work Back to the People: Empower team members to take ownership and find solutions.
  • Protecting Voices of Leadership from Below the Hierarchy: Ensure that diverse perspectives are heard, regardless of level within the organization.

Staying Prepared

Practicing adaptive leadership is just as crucial as understanding its principles. When engaged in a difficult situation, stress and time constraints can make it hard to recall this information. The program provides Leaders with continuity of practice and application of adaptive leadership techniques to sharpen their skills. Here are some methods:

  • Case Studies: Stay updated on how similar organizations handle unexpected changes. Reviewing these cases can reveal valuable leadership lessons. Done through student cohorts using Social Current’s online learning community.
  • Simulations: Run practice scenarios to develop your decision-making skills and identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential outcomes in a less stressful environment. During virtual convenings, students have opportunities to apply adaptive skills to situations experienced across the sector.
  • Role-playing: Engaging in role-play helps you practice communication and manage tough conversations. Group exercises support experiential learning while reinforcing the importance of feedback.
  • Personal Reflection: Think about how you’ve responded to unexpected changes in the past. Reflecting on your experiences can help identify areas for improvement and effective strategies to apply. Self-awareness is essential to leadership development

Executive Leadership Institute

Adaptive leadership is a core component of Social Current’s Executive Leadership Institute (ELI), which is held in partnership with Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business. Over the course of the program, leaders grow their knowledge and skills to effectively manage day-to-day operations and prepare for future challenges and changes.

Executives and senior managers learn how to lead more effectively in an ever-changing environment through a combination of academic instruction, real-world projects, mentorship. This year’s institute will be taking place June 8-12 in Chicago. Learn more about the institute online and register to join us at our informational session.

Further Reading:

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About Robena Spangler

Robena Spangler is an innovative senior executive with over 30 years of experience in behavioral health, human services, and advancing equity and inclusion work.] Spangler held several leadership roles in the public and private sectors. She has provided professional coaching and leadership development for teams and individuals on a national level.