addressing complicated challenges
TRANSCRIPT
Source: THE PRACTICE OF ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP, Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, HBR, 2009
1Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Without expertise, the boss alone
can not solve an adaptive
challenge.
3
Kind of challenge Problem definition
Technical with full expertise available
Technical and adaptive (full expertise not available to solve)
Adaptive challenges with no expertise available
Clearly defined and know what to do
Clearly defined and know what to do
Requires learning to identify and clarify the problem
Requires learning to find solution as how to do it is unknown
Final Solution
Clearly defined and know how to do it
Requires learning in process to solution as how to do it is unknown
Authority or specialist on problem
Authority and stakeholders
Central positions to address challenge
All stakeholders (with something to gain or lose)
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Customers Shareholders
EmployeesSuppliers
Community near
organization
Local, national
and foreign governments
Other
creditors
Senior
lendersFamily
members
The organization
4Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Authority to act Desire to act
Authority’s limited influence
Some problems can only be
solved through discussion.
5
Formal authority
Informal authority, expert on issue
Adaptive leadership
What people unofficially expect of you (or you expect of others) because of your reputation, trustworthiness, experience, skills, expertise, etc.
Adaptive leader facilitates decision-making on issues that have no specialist or expert that all people can rely on.
What you officially can be asked and to do (or can ask others to do)
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Answer each question, using a scale from 1 to 7, where 1=strongly disagree;
4=neutral; and 7=strongly agree, and then total your digital capacity score.
Member name: Score
Formal authority: Has a position to influence a proposal to an adaptive challenge.
Informal authority: Has high respect, skills and expertise among all stakeholders and others surrounding the adaptive challenge. He can unofficially influence opinions.
Stakeholder: Key group representatives or individuals participating in resolving an adaptive challenge. They are directly influenced by it.
TOTAL SCORE
Scoring: Over 16: Has very strong influence over all the stakeholders in selecting which
is the best solution to the adaptive problem; 7-16 has some degree of influence among
the stakeholders but must ask a lot of questions, get more information to be influential;
less than 7: is in a weak position to influence the outcome but can play some role.
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A person with a great deal of formal authority, but little informal authority, may have the ability to stop a viable solution. But he has little ability to address the adaptive challenge and execute on his own.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaptive challenge with no clear
answer develops.
It is addressed by all people involved.
The best solution is achieved.
People become authorities on that
problem.
The problem becomes technical
problem at that time.
Situation changes and the known
technical solution is not correct.
If the situation does not change, the technical solution is fine until
there is a change.
“Are we all in agreement?”
This is how
organizations
develop skills.
7Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaptive Challenge
Incentives in the
company
Company atmosphere
Official procedures
in the company
Fun incentives
Activeenvironment
Does the
organization
have the right
environment?
8
Procedures
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Organizational Behavior
Folklore
•What are people talking about?
Rituals
•What acceptable habits are there?
Group norms
•How do groups behave?
Meeting protocols
•What are the procedures of meetings?
“Our history is having loyal customers.”
“Please read the agenda.”
9Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Situation or problem occurs
Common habitual response and
reaction
Don’t think, just do.
These automatic responses have to be
reviewed for any adaptive challenge
10Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Notice what he is not saying?
He is avoiding the main
problem again!
How easy is it to be open with difficult
problems in your organization?
13
1. Write down what was said in a meeting.
“The sales people are not selling enough.”
“We have to get our sales people more active.”
There are no new products. It is avoided?
2. Write down your response to what was said.
3. Last, explore what you think was not said.
His customers like him.
What was said What was thought
He doesn’t find new customers.
Exercises to explore openness
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
STAKE IN THE
CHALLENGE
• How will it affect them?
DESIRED OUTCOME
• What outcome is best for them?
LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT
• How much does he care?
INFLUENCE
• What resources does he control?
All have interest
in the outcome
STAKEHOLDER & CHALLENGE
What are your
stakeholders thinking?
15Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
STAKE HOLDER
CHARACTER
VALUES
•Commitments & beliefs that guide him
LOYALTIES
•Obligations outside of direct group (customers and suppliers)
LOSSES AT RISK
•Fear of loss if things change
HIDDEN ALLIANCES
•Shared interests with others behind the scenes
Different colors and strengths
What is important to
your stakeholders?
16Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Do you have the courage to
address these difficult problems?
17Hiding something
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
No major discussion on action-plan
required
Many conflicting opinions on how to
solve issue
Can be individually addressed by specialist(s)
Must be systematically addressed by stakeholders
Known problem
Problem must be determined
You must move from left to right (red to green) to handle adaptive challenges as suitable experts are not available.
Discussion
required
18Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge:
Your proposed change initiative:
Stakeholder (individual or group)
Relations to the issue?
Preferredoutcome?
Strongestvalues?
Loyalties?Potential losses?
Stakeholders with interest in the outcome
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You must know all the
stakeholder groups
well and have a feeling
for their concerns.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
General
Meeting
Adaptive Problem
Participants representing their groups
Representative-constituents
meetings
Prep-meetings on what to achieve (what to give up) must
be conducted before the general meeting.
Avoid constituents getting in the way of progress?
Get all moving in the same direction
Constituencies represented
20Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Informal discussion
before public meeting
• Small group meetings in hallway discussing the issues to be presented.
Public discussion at
meeting
• The public conversation of the subject to be address. General information presented.
Internal thinking during
meeting
•What each person is actually thinking about while the meeting is going on.
Informal discussion afterpublic meeting
•Discussions about the public meeting afterwards. What really happened and what was not said in the meeting.
Are the feelings in
these meetings
about the same or
extremely different?
21
What will happen?
This is what is happening.
Is it really happening?
Do you believe what was said?
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
20%
30%
50%
Attention and discussion time
Past
Present
Future
Can we stay on the subject of the future?
People will try to avoid the important and difficult subjects by spending all the time reflecting on the past and uncontrollable current issues.
How productive are your
meetings and how much
time do you spend on
controllable issues?
22Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaptive criteria Description Rating (1 means “very low”;
10 means “very high”)
Unsaid issues
How long does it take for conversations to get from inside people’s heads to the coffee machine and then to meeting rooms? How quickly are crises identified and bad news discussed? Are there structures, incentives, and support for speaking the unspeakable?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Shared responsibility
To what extent do people in the organization, especially those in senior management, act for the whole organization, as opposed to protecting their individual group?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Independent judgment
To what extent are people, in the organization, valued for their own judgment rather than their capacity to determine the boss’s preferences? When someone takes a reasonable risk in service for the whole, and it doesn’t work our, to what extent is that seen as a learning opportunity rather than a personal failure?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Developleadership
To what extent do people know where they stand in the organization and their potential for growth? Do they have an agreed-on plan for how they are going develop? To what extent are senior managers expected to identify and mentor their successors?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Continuous learning
Does the organization create time for individual and collective reflection and learning from experience? To what extent does the organization allocate time and other resources to get diverse perspectives on how work could be done better?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
23Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
The need to reassess organizational structure and project planning
is often overlooked. For new adaptive challenges that greatly
differ from the ongoing operation, this is a major error and the
chance of failure increases greatly.
Put adaptive solution into
actionStrategy
Organization and plan
Execute planStrategy
Organization, discussions and
plan
Change to address adaptive challenge
Ongoing operation (current activities)
24Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
1. New organization chart
2. New business cards
3. Detailed job descriptions to address adaptive challenge
4. Physically separated location away from ongoing operation
5. Make a Gantt chart of activities, assignments and schedule
Organization, discussions
and plan
Adaptive challenge project
StrategyPut adaptive solution into
action
Buildproject team like a start-
up company
25Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Improve an
operation
or
process
Operations
&
processing
Outbound
items &
services
Marketing
&
sales
After
sales
support
Inbound
items &
services
(Processing) (Shipping) (Service)(Receiving) (Marketing)
26Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Operations & processing
shared staffDedicated team
Operations
&
processing
Outbound
items &
services
Marketing
&
sales
After
sales
support
Inbound
items &
services
Adaptive Change
Project Team
The dedicated team could be from internal employee transfers or hired from
the outside, dependent on the skills, desires and talent required and who is
available in the company. Usually, the project members should be represented
by both. All should be stakeholders in what is achieved.27Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Shared staff Dedicated team
Adaptive
Challenge
Project Team
Ongoing
business
leader
Adaptive
challenge
leader
Challenge #1Competition with ongoing business for
scarce resources
Challenge #2Divided time, energy and attention of shared staff
Challenge #3Disharmony in
partnership
28
To make the new organization productive there
are some problems that must be addressed.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Ongoing
business
leader
Adaptive
challenge
leader
Challenge #1Competition with
ongoing business for scarce resources
Conflict resolution1. Make a formal, documented allocation of funds for the challenge.
2. Make a formal, documented allocation of shared personnel’s time.
3. Confirm a balance between short-term (mostly ongoing related) and long-
term (mostly adaptive challenge project) gains.
4. If the use of resources for challenge impacts in any way on ongoing
business, the adaptive challenge project budget should cover the losses.
5. Leaders should discuss all contingency plans in advance of concern.
The conflict1. If the needs of the adaptive challenge project grows, the leader might have to
promote the priority of the project.
2. He might have to request a higher budget.
3. On the other hand, the ongoing business leader might promote his own
ongoing, core business to increase direct profits.
¥
29Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Shared staffChallenge #2
Divided time, energy and attention of shared staff
The resolution1. The value of the adaptive challenge project must be understood and believed in by members in the
ongoing business operation. This concept should be repeatedly promoted at the top level, mid-
management level and operational level.
2. All senior executives should be adaptive challenge project advocates when there is stress in time,
energy and attention.
3. Furthermore, the adaptive challenge project leader must be flexible when the ongoing business
becomes overloaded, as they are the profit-center of the organization that funds all projects.
4. At the departmental level, the ongoing operation could charge the adaptive challenge project for
excess work provided.
5. A special bonus could be given to shared staff that work over a certain amount.
The concern1. The shared staff may consider the adaptive challenge project a distraction to his work.
2. The shared staff might be under short-term time pressure.
3. The shared staff might not consider the adaptive challenge important.
4. The shared staff might have stronger loyalties and formal ties to the ongoing business operation.
5. The shared staff might feel the adaptive challenge project will damage the ongoing business
operation (weaken brand, customer/supplier loyalties – cannibalize current business).
30Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Shared staff Dedicated teamProject Team
Challenge #3Disharmony in
partnership
The resolution1. Make the division of responsibility as clear as possible.
2. Reinforce common values for both groups.
3. Add more internal staff (less outside hires) on the project team to support cooperation,
as they have established relationships.
4. Locate key staff near the dedicated team for face-to-face interaction.
The concern1. The differences are important to gain value, but it could cause rivalry.
2. Common conflict can involve perceived skill level of individuals.
3. Conflict could result if management gives too much praise to one side (either ongoing
business or adaptive challenge project).
4. Conflict could results from differing opinions on performance assessments.
5. Conflict on compensation could occur.
6. Conflict on decision authority could occur.
31Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Co
mfo
rt le
vels
wh
en d
iscu
ssin
g an
un
com
fort
able
to
pic
Low
High
Time
Technical problem comfortably solved by specialist in short period of time
Work avoidance by ignoring the adaptive problem and the problem remains
Adaptive challenge addressed, possible solutions introduced and action plan executed to bring down discomfort
Uncomfortable, indecisive, probing, exploring and discussing zone….. the productivity zone.
Best solution decided
32
Technical problem with expertise available
Adaptive problem
Stress level too low and not addressing the problem anymore.The group must be stimulated.
Stress level too high leading to fighting and attaching….not productive stress level.The group must be calmed down.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Dis
com
fort
le
vels
Low
High
Time
INCREASING HEAT WHEN TOO LOW
•Draw attention to the tough questions
•Give people more responsibility by asking direct questions
•Bring conflict to surface
•Highlight avoiding responsibility,
•Highlight people blaming others
•Highlight people giving quick fix measures that will fail
DECREASING HEAT WHEN TOO HIGH
•Address easy problems first to get successes
•Explain every concern in a positive way
•Ask members to explain their counterpart’s concern•Break down problem into easy tasks
•Postpone tough questions temporarily
•Slow down opinions and ask for confirmed data
•Provide breaks, tell joke, tell story or do physical exercise to cool down the group Stress level too high
Stress level too low
Cool down
Heat up
Stress too high
Most productive stress level
Stress level too low
In no way is
this easy, but
it must be
done to keep
things moving
forward.
33Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
34
In an urgent environment: “Here is what I think is the solution. What do you think?”
In a non-urgent environment: “I would like run an experiment and learn from it. Here
it is. What do you think?”
In an urgent situation, it is best to present
the change suggestion as the solution that
might require modification. Announcing it
as an experiment weakens a leader’s
clarity.
In a non-urgent situation, present the
change suggestion as an experiment for
learning and developing.
To make changes that address new,
challenging adaptive challenges, a
great deal of trial-and-error
experimenting is required. This leads
to learning and the best solution.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Task #1
Activity #1
Activity #2
Task #2
Activity #1
Activity #2
Task #3
Task #4
Activity #1
Activity #2
Activity #1
Activity #2
Adaptive Challenge Solution
(all agree)
Generally, the overall adaptive challenge is easy to decide on. The task and activities become more difficult and discussion and agreement are required.
35Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Give suggestion and ask for concerns
First, modification
requested
Based on first modification request
new suggestion offered
Armed with previous suggestions, new
modification requested
Agreement on what to do is
achieved
First suggestion for action plan given (budget, timing,
assignments)
Keep the discussion going
Note: The best group size is four to nine people with each fully representing sub-groups.
The best
ideas usually
come after
several
modifications
.
36
But sometimes you
must be very
patient to wait for
these suggestions
to be thought of.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge and suggested solution:
Who might be your allies?
Why might they be allies?
What is their main objective? (Support you, the initiative itself or the organization?
How can this ally best help you successfully implement your proposal?
1-Allies: Those who will support
you outwardly
Supporters
37Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge and suggested solution:
Who might be your opponents?
Why might they be opponents? What do they want to achieve?
What do they stand to lose if your initiative succeeds?
How might you neutralize their opposition or get them on your side?
2 – Opponents: Those who will
fight your proposalCompetitors
38Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge and suggested solution:
Who, with influence, aremost important to your proposal’s success?
Why are they important?
What signals are they giving about how the organization perceives your proposal?
What might you say or do to secure their support during proposal implementation?
3 – Influencers: Those who can
influence others
Authorities with influence
39Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge and suggested solution:
Who will be casualties of your proposal?
What will they lose?
What new skills would help them survive the change and thrive with your proposal?
Which casualties will need to leave the organization?
How could you help them elsewhere?
4 – Casualties: Those that stand to lose something
Those taking loses
40Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Adaption challenge and suggested solution:
Who will voice radical, unmentionable, undoable proposals?
What ideas are they bringing forth that might be valuable for your proposal?
How might you enable their ideas to at least have a hearing?
How can you protect them from being marginalized or silenced?
5 – Dissenters: Those that offer
differing opinions
Different perspectives
41Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
42
Front line discussions & representation
Regional discussions & representation
National discussions & representation
Global discussions & representation
All discussion participants
will be directly influenced by
the decision, particularly at
the front line members.
The best group size is four to
nine people with each fully
representing sub-groups.
Front line representative
Regional representative
National representative
Global representative
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
Exploring, experimenting
discussing, and discovery
Exploring, experimenting
discussing, and discovery
Exploring, experimenting
discussing, and discovery
Exploring, experimenting
discussing, and discovery Exploring,
experimenting
discussing, and
discovery
Exploring, experimenting
discussing, and discovery
Issue #1
Issue #2
Issue #3Issue #4
Issue #5
Final Issue43Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan