NICK WRIGHT
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Adaptive

21/2/2021

10 Comments

 
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'Don't be still. One of the most common mistakes when change is upon us is to take enormous amounts to time to run analysis and come up with various routes to be followed. Sitting still in moving waters will only lead to a ship becoming adrift, with no indication of where it will end up or whether it will sink. If adjusting the course is needed, the leader should do it quickly and without hesitation.' (Raluca Cristescu)

​The start of this new year has felt like a very rough ride for some people. I’ve been working alongside humanitarian disaster management experts in and from a wide range of countries, trying to make a difference for those who are poorest and most vulnerable in the world. In some places, wave after wave of devastating impacts have hit hard and fast, ranging from drought, crop failure and swarms of locusts to military conflict and deep civil unrest – all with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis overlaid on top.

A close friend in the Philippines spent today with her children, praying earnestly and wrapping what few possessions they have in plastic bags in preparation for the roof of their fragile boarding house being torn off by an impending typhoon. Others I’ve been supporting have been grafting long hours, trying to help people and communities recover from the effects of war. The power fluctuates on and off, as does the wifi signal, making online communication difficult – yet I, we, they, persevere.

My first direct experience of disaster response was some years ago during the Kosovo crisis. I travelled with a team across Spain, France, Italy and Albania to take emergency logistical supplies to refugee camps on the frontline border with Serbia. Our vehicles were fitted with spare tyres, satellite communications equipment and ballistic blankets in case we drove over land mines. I remember vividly the ‘No weapons on board’ symbols on our windows – signalling, I hoped, ‘Please don’t shoot us.’

We encountered challenge-after-challenge on route. At times, it felt as if everything was against us. As military helicopters flew overhead in impressive formation, we meanwhile were often stuck firmly on the ground, mired in red tape or the insidious effects of blatant corruption. It was a rapid learning experience for me, seeing how my seasoned disaster response colleagues handled this. It was my first exposure to adaptive leadership in a crisis too – out in the field, not inside an organisation.

It went something like this: 1. Hold tightly to your goals and values but loosely to your plans. If you expect everything to go smoothly, you will get disheartened and frustrated. 2. Treat every roadblock as a new reality. It’s not the end of the road, it’s another challenge to navigate. 3. Think quickly and tactically. Lateral thinking will prove more useful than strategic planning. 4. When faced with an obstacle, take a decision and act. Don't stop, keep moving. 5. Pray – God can do more than you can do.

This kind of activist-pragmatist outlook, behaviour and stance draws on and develops creativity, innovation, resourcefulness and resilience. It’s a way in which the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities learn to survive and thrive too. When a life situation is too painful, turbulent or dynamically-complex to understand, predict or control, a focus on the here-and-now can be the most meaningful choice. Even small steps can engender and evoke a real sense of agency, hope and change.
​
My work now includes coaching, mentoring, facilitating and training of humanitarian field workers in action learning: a here-and-now, real-time methodology to stimulate adaptive leadership and learning in the midst of action. It’s an experimental pilot initiative with a global network of humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and a team of action learning specialists. When have you developed or used adaptive leadership in a crisis? How did you do it? What difference did it make?
10 Comments
Ian Turvey
22/2/2021 12:39:11 pm

Thanks for this Nick. I work in Facilities and Health and Safety in the NGO sector with World Vision. On reflection I think we were functioning in an Adaptive way from our pre Pandemic planning, through office hibernation, Lockdown 1, return to work, lockdown 2 etc.etc. I guess it's now become the new normal, which raises all sorts of questions around the value/need of longer term detailed plans and strategy!

Reply
Nick Wright
22/2/2021 12:52:52 pm

Thanks Ian. Yes, my impression is that many leaders have been operating in tactical-adaptive mode in the past year, especially in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the as-yet uncertain future that lays ahead. Some would argue that the future has always been uncertain, and that some of our longer-term planning efforts have functioned to create a psychological sense of certainty (and, therefore, control and safety) - a social defence against anxiety, if you like. Some of the more satirical consultants I know would call this 'a comforting delusion'. Others would argue that longer-term strategising and planning can still be useful to create focus, so long as we build in adaptive-responsiveness to allow tactical shifts as needed on route. What do you think?

Reply
David Cope
22/2/2021 12:53:36 pm

Can't beat a three word title with no obvious meaning to suck people into reading the post.

Reply
Nick Wright
22/2/2021 12:57:03 pm

Hi David. That may be true...although I wasn't using the title as a clever marketing technique. Much has been written about tactical leadership and adaptive leadership. I struggled to find a descriptor that expressed exactly what I was hoping to share through this piece. Title-aside, did the experiences and approaches I described resonate with anything in your work too?

Reply
Richard Simpson
22/2/2021 05:28:54 pm

Interesting piece, Nick, as always. It made me reflect on my past experience in the British NHS. As a non-executive director I was always skeptical when signing off 'action plans'. We had hundreds of them in my Trust. The adaptive and agency bits were never apparent. It is often the case, at least in the British public sector, that plans are treated as sacrosanct even when crumbling in the face of actuality. In hierarchies there is often no-one brave enough to be adaptive if a plan isn't working. So I love that first point about holding tight to your goals and values and loose to your plans.

Reply
Nick Wright
22/2/2021 06:31:33 pm

Thank you, Richard. "...plans are treated as sacrosanct even when crumbling in the face of actuality." I love how you expressed that so graphically.

"In hierarchies there is often no-one brave enough to be adaptive if a plan isn't working." Yes, I have observed that phenomenon too at times, especially if senior leaders and managers are perceived as having a passionate or vested interest in the current plans.

It can happen too in cultures where challenging those in authority is perceived as disrespectful. In such contexts, dissent may be regarded as a sign of disloyalty, with all the consequences that could entail.

One of the challenges I noticed in the Albania experience was that the experts were used to working with high degrees of autonomy. They were able to navigate complexity brilliantly as individuals, yet could come into sharp conflict if they couldn't agree on tactics as a team.

In response to this, we developed an approach to adaptive leadership that draws proactively on the insights and expertise of a team, whilst retaining final decision-making authority when operating in fast-paced and complex crises.

Reply
Richard Simpson
22/2/2021 08:52:55 pm

Thanks for your generous response, Nick. It's a fascinating area of study.

Nick Wright
23/2/2021 10:24:33 am

Thanks Richard. You're welcome. I always appreciate your insights too!

Chris Lever link
27/2/2021 03:34:12 am

A thought provoking article Nick. I liked your reflections A a lot. Your heart for the poor who have no alternate at times to live by their wits always shines through. But being adaptive is a necessary skill for all leaders. If you look at the multiple tsunamis that we are in the middle of or facing... including COVID, Climate Change, DX, Brexit as well as the resultant economic and political shifts not being adaptive is a quick way to becoming either obsolete or irrelevant. As a former ships captain I would have a plan, I would have a set of plausible scenarios to cover some what ifs and the I would have my set of escalation and response pathways for all the stuff that events just threw up. There is a danger though with just being adaptive/ responsive The success rate of change programmes is 20% based on credible research. This figure had not changed in 30 years according to the senior analyst working for the OECD and WEF. In our work we estimate that up to 75% of failure is preventable if foresight is used. This involves quickly and robustly joining together systemic data. This is today helped by massive computing power and advanced analytics. As a corporate leader as well as a skipper this helps frame the choices I may need to make so I am prepared to adapt fast. I have to say that I disagree pretty much with most of the quote from Raluca. It sounds right but to a navigator used to figuring a way in rough conditions the insights are in my opinion wrong. Of course you need to be still. Of course you need to work from real data and analysis and a ship is only adrift when under way , not making way and not under command. Experienced navigators and leaders have an air of calm but process multiple systemic information fast so the adaptive action is both intentional and at the right time. But as I say I loved your own insights and they do resonate! Thanks Nick

Reply
Nick Wright
27/2/2021 12:18:37 pm

Thank you, Chris - and for posing such a thoughtful challenge from the perspective and experiences of an actual former ship's captain! I think the principles I outlined here are particularly applicable to people working on the ground in rapidly-shifting VUCA environments, where many of the 'tsunami' factors, and how they collide with each other, are too difficult to make sense of or predict in-the-moment when decisions are required. Perhaps those are the kinds of scenarios that Raluca had in mind too.

I was fascinated to read your blog on on LinkedIn yesterday: 'Plotting a Course Through Dynamic Disruption and Supporting Leaders.' I found it interesting to see your insights and ideas applied at a macro-executive level. The question you posted: 'Where do our Execs go for their ‘safe space’ to download and share?' was particularly resonant for me. I have, during Covid-19, experienced an increase in demand for action learning sets, precisely as safe spaces for leaders to decompress, share and seek to make sense of experience as they plot a course through it.

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    ​Nick Wright

    ​I'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? ​Get in touch!

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