Nearly four decades before Ronald Heifetz laid out the concepts of ‘adaptive leadership’ in his seminal “Leadership Without Easy Answers,” Adm. Arthur Radford captured the key tenets in a single line: “A decision is an action an executive must take when (he) has information so incomplete that the answer does not suggest itself”. Basically, Admiral Radford reinforced that leadership requires processing uncertain or incomplete information into principled action. That’s worth remembering when discussing adaptive leadership as a concept. The basic tenets reflect the fundamentals of good naval leadership. What makes adaptive leadership relevant to naval officers, and especially Supply Corps officers, is how it captures and systematizes best leadership practices.
At its core, adaptive leadership begins with a set of distinctions and ends with a set of actions. The distinctions start by differentiating between technical problems and adaptive challenges. Technical problems occur in circumstances where both the issue and the solution are clear – essentially the antithesis of Admiral Radford’s definition of decisions. Technical problems should be managed through informed monitoring and empowered systems. Basically, mechanisms should exist or be created to identify problems and to define prescriptive solutions when those solutions are appropriate. More critically, by sorting out technical challenges from issues without obvious solutions - adaptive problems - leaders can focus on issues where neither the problem nor the solution are clearly defined, and the challenges lie in learning both the issue and the response, all while operating in an uncertain or ill-defined environment. Consequently, the first step in adaptive leadership is learning to properly observe events, to assess what does and does not require action, and to intervene when and as appropriate. This preserves leadership actions for situations where, as Adm. Radford observed, “the answer does not suggest itself.”
Along with differentiating between types of problems, adaptive leadership requires certain actions by leaders. To start, adaptive leadership calls for stakeholder involvement and, by extension, empowerment. Since solutions are not necessarily obvious, it is critical to engage everyone who will bear the costs and reap the benefits of courses of action, particularly in the early stages of problem and solution identification when individuals and organizations closest to a challenge may hold key insights. Once stakeholders are engaged, the team must learn and experiment, trying different approaches and refining actions in a cyclical fashion. After a course of action is chosen, leaders must inspire subordinates to effect the requested changes, not simply through application of logic and data, but also by encouraging emotional investment in the action. Striking this balance requires leveraging both positional and personal authority, motivating subordinates beyond the powers granted by organizations and through development of genuine commitment to the chosen path. The last piece is critical, for without emotional investment in a plan, subordinates will only perform at a level that can be enforced. This leads to the final key action of adaptive leadership: leaders must define and motivate a sense of mission and purpose. Creating committed and passionate subordinates is only possible if they have an honest belief in the value and benefits of the actions they are called to do. Done correctly, this also this also represents the ultimate expression of stakeholder engagement and participation, for stakeholders who feel that they are respected and involved in finding solutions are far more likely to commit to an organization’s objectives.
An example of this in action can be found at NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Pearl Harbor during biennial RIMPAC exercises. For while the mission of each RIMPAC is constant, the teams meeting the mission are not. Each RIMPAC involves a surge of personnel from C3F, multinational partners, and NAVSUP reserve detachments to create a multinational logistics support element coordinating with and supporting the NAVSUP FLC Pearl Harbor active duty and civilian staff to meet real-world logistics demands from RIMPAC participants. These teams are nearly always different; less than 20% of the logistics support personnel were the same between RIMPAC ’22 and ‘24. As an organization, though, NAVSUP FLC Pearl Harbor’s approach to RIMPAC surges embrace adaptive leadership in a critical way. By fostering an environment where leadership relies on the continuity and experience of both long-serving civilians and Reserve Component senior enlisted personnel, NAVSUP FLC PH maintains a stable personnel cohort with the capacity to rapidly assess, teach, train, and create highly productive teams despite tremendous turnover. More critically, NAVSUP FLC PH leadership empowers these personnel to act and to adapt with resilient solutions meeting the constant change between RIMPACs rather than fighting them. And that is a lesson all naval leaders should embrace.
Suggested Resources:
Heifetz, Ronald A.. 1998. Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Heifetz, Ronald A., Linsky, Marty, and Grashow, Alexander. 2009. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership : Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
