Adaptive Problem-Solving in Leadership

The CEO's voice crackled with anxiety over the video call. "𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑵𝒐𝒘." I sighed inwardly. Our 3rd emergency meeting in 11 weeks. 𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. The pattern was clear: ↪ Market shift triggers uncertainty in business model ↪ Anxious CEO calls for full strategy overhaul ↪ Team scrambles to re-plan everything ↪ Brief illusion of control ↪ New market shift.  ↪ Rinse. Repeat. The CPO was frustrated: "𝑾𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌." The CSO was exasperated: "𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑..." Innovation stalled. Base business thudded. The team was burning out. My role as advisor? 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞. Inspired by an aha moment in my morning walk, I posed a question. "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞?" Confused looks all around, but I also saw a glimmer of intrigue. 🧠 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: • Embrace uncertainty as a catalyst for innovation • Replace rigid plans with adaptive strategies • Cultivate team resilience over leader omniscience 🛠️ 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝: • Weekly "uncertainty check-ins" to normalize change • Rapid prototyping instead of endless planning • Celebrating adaptive wins, not just meeting targets 👏 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 • Endless strategy sessions cut by 70% • Two major product launches in 6 months • CEO anxiety noticeably lowered • Team cohesion and creativity skyrocketed 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧: What leadership anxiety can you transform into the rocket fuel of adaptability? Photo: me recreating my face when hit by the Anxiety♻️Adaptability aha that morning! #Entreprenurship #Anxiety #AdaptiveLeadership #Transformation #EmotionalIntelligence

Most leaders don’t fail because they lack skills. They fail because they misdiagnose the problem. When faced with leadership challenges, our instinct is to treat them as technical problems: linear, causal, fixable with expertise, systems, or org charts. ✅ Technical challenges have known solutions — hire the right person, fix the process, upgrade the system. But the toughest leadership challenges are rarely technical. They’re adaptive. 💡 Adaptive challenges live in values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors. They demand people themselves change — not just their tools or workflows. In my work with leaders, I’ve seen this play out repeatedly. -> A leader restructures a team (technical), but conflict and low trust remain (adaptive). -> An organization invests in new systems (technical), but employees resist using them (adaptive). -> A CEO launches a transformation (technical), but the culture stays the same (adaptive). The real shift comes when leaders: - diagnose before they design - create space for conflict to surface - listen deeply to fears about change - regulate their presence - resist premature structure - challenge unproductive norms - and help the team live with external pressures instead of rushing to shield them. That’s adaptive leadership. It’s slower, harder, and often uncomfortable — but it’s also the only way lasting change happens. (Heifetz et al.) And neuroscience backs it: small, repeated experiments + feedback literally rewire the brain, helping teams build new habits and identities over time. So ask yourself: Are you solving the right problem? I help leaders in transition (new roles, restructures, transformations) diagnose and tackle adaptive challenges. 📩 DM me to explore how.

💭 Let’s talk real leadership for a minute… In my Organizational Change & Leadership class at Baylor School of Education EdD Online, I’ve been digging into Adaptive Leadership through the lens of Northouse (2022)—and whew, it’s been a gut check. This framework pushes leaders to show up in the gray, not when everything is clear, but when the path forward is messy, emotional, and uncertain. Sound familiar? 🛑 You can’t solve adaptive challenges with technical solutions. ✅ You have to help people do the deep, internal work that sparks transformation. Here are the 4 components of Adaptive Leadership that stood out most: 🔹 Get on the Balcony – Step back to see the full picture. Leadership requires perspective, not just presence. 🔹 Identify the Adaptive Challenge – Don’t just treat the symptoms. Dig into what’s really going on beneath the surface. 🔹 Regulate Distress – Change is hard. Leaders must manage the heat—enough to activate, not so much to overwhelm. 🔹 Give the Work Back – Leadership isn’t about doing it all. Empower others to own the process and stretch into growth. Now let’s make it real: 👉🏽 Which of these four pushes you the most? 👉🏽 What’s one adaptive challenge you’re working through—or helping someone else navigate? Drop it in the comments. Let’s grow through this together. Because leadership isn’t just strategy—it’s soul work. 👇🏽 #AdaptiveLeadership #PeterNorthouse #OrganizationalChange #LeadershipDevelopment #leadersaremadenotborn Reference: Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Sage Publications.

Your industry just shifted overnight. Are you adapting... or dying? Here's what I learned after tracking 500+ leaders through major industry disruptions... Most leaders approach change like generals fighting the last war. They apply yesterday's playbook to tomorrow's problems. And they get crushed. But elite leaders? They've mastered something different entirely: Adaptive Leadership Architecture. 🌟 The Overnight Shift Reality Check We're living through the fastest industry transformation period in human history: → AI eliminating entire job categories in months → Supply chain disruptions reshaping global trade → Consumer behavior shifting in weeks, not years The 2024 chip shortage killed companies overnight. The AI boom made others billionaires in 12 months. Same external shock. Opposite outcomes. The difference? Adaptive leadership systems. (I've watched this pattern play out across every industry I've worked with -- it's brutal how fast things move now.) 🌟 The Fatal Leadership Trap Most leaders confuse two types of problems: Technical Problems: Known solutions, existing expertise (Fix the server, hire more people, cut costs) Adaptive Problems: Unknown solutions, new learning required (Navigate AI disruption, rebuild culture, create new markets) Here's the killer: 90% of overnight shifts create adaptive problems. But 90% of leaders apply technical solutions. Result: They optimize for a world that no longer exists. It's like watching someone try to fix a smartphone with a hammer. 🌟 The Adaptation Acceleration System Daily: Situational awareness monitoring Weekly: Cross-functional problem-solving sessions Monthly: Strategic assumption testing Key Metrics: → Experiment velocity (tests per month) → Learning integration speed (insights to action) → Psychological safety scores (team openness) Because in exponential change... Your learning speed IS your competitive advantage. Most leaders ask: "How do I control change?" Elite leaders ask: "How do I evolve faster than change?" The companies that master this don't just survive industry shifts. They engineer them. And honestly? The ones that don't adapt are already dead -- they just haven't stopped moving yet. === 👉 What's the biggest overnight shift your industry has faced recently -- and how quickly did your leadership adapt? ♻️ Kindly repost to share with your network 💌 Join our our newsletter for premium VIP insights. Link in the comments.

"We need a better feedback rubric!" they say, as they ignore the last feedback guide they created to get people talking. But what if I told you that seeking technical solutions for liberatory workplace challenges is like trying to fix a broken relationship with a calendar app?** Leaders creating liberatory workplaces often come to me asking for technical solutions - rubrics, policies, rituals. They're reaching for the wrong tools. 🧠 Technical vs. Adaptive Challenges 🧠 Adaptive leadership (Heifetz & Laurie) distinguishes between technical problems (known solutions) and adaptive challenges (requiring learning and behavior change). Technical solutions fail when applied to adaptive challenges because they address symptoms, not root causes. You can't solve a challenge requiring shifts in deeply held beliefs with a new policy - no matter how well-crafted. 💡 The Challenge of Liberatory Work 💡 Creating liberatory environments requires unlearning traditional practices embedded in our identities. This generates "work avoidance behaviors" like: • Weaponizing language ("setting a deadline is oppressive!") • Attacking messengers • Fixating on delivery rather than substance These aren't signs of bad actors - they're protective responses to perceived loss of autonomy, status, or certainty. 🛣️ The Path Forward 🛣️ If you're serious about creating liberatory workplaces: 1️⃣ Create psychological safety - establish norms for candid conversation about concerns 2️⃣ Acknowledge real losses - validate what people are giving up to help them move through grief 3️⃣ Establish clear boundaries - create structures that help navigate ambiguity without prescribing exact solutions 4️⃣ Stay present emotionally - model vulnerability and normalize discomfort as part of the process 5️⃣ Name work avoidance compassionately - help your team recognize when they're protecting themselves through scapegoating or diversion Building liberatory workplaces can be tiring and complex, and it is well worth the effort. You can't shortcut it with technical solutions, but you can create conditions where people navigate transformation together. 💬 What adaptive challenges have you encountered in creating more liberatory workplace practices? #AdaptiveLeadership #LiberatoryWorkplaces #WorkplaceCulture

The toughest part of leadership isn’t failed plans, it’s letting go of old versions of yourself. Leaders aren’t held back by imperfect strategies, but by identities they refuse to outgrow. In two decades of working with leaders, one pattern keeps resurfacing. The ones who struggle the most are not lacking skills or knowledge. They are holding on to old identities that no longer serve them. - The leader who built a career on always having the answers freezes when faced with uncertainty. - The executive who succeeded through control finds themselves unable to influence and inspire teams in a fast-changing world. -The decision-maker who thrived on speed feels paralyzed when every choice has multiple variables. I remember working with a VP who had always prided themselves on being the go-to problem solver. Every plan, every decision, was precise and under control. But when the landscape shifted, those habits stopped working. The plans failed, the team stalled, and frustration grew. That’s when the real shift happened. It wasn’t about creating a new roadmap or finding the perfect strategy. It was about helping them let go of the identity that had brought them success in the past and embrace a new way of leading, more adaptive, more authentic, more in tune with the reality of their organization. Leadership today isn’t about flawless plans. It’s about evolving into the leader your context demands. It’s about releasing outdated habits, embracing uncertainty, and building the presence to inspire trust when the outcome is unclear. Growth comes not from perfect plans but from stepping into the version of yourself that can navigate complexity, inspire others, and make decisions with confidence, even when the outcome is uncertain. Why does this matter? Because when leaders stay stuck in old identities, organizations stall. When leaders evolve, businesses unlock resilience, adaptability, and growth. If you are feeling stuck or frustrated, ask yourself this question: Am I trying to lead from who I was or from who I need to become? The answer may just define the next stage of your leadership journey. #LeadershipEvolution #AdaptiveLeadership #PersonalGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingLeadership #LeadWithImpact #GrowthMindset #AuthenticLeadership #LettingGo #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipJourney #ModernLeadership #LeadershipLessons