Five steps to harness adaptive leadership in turbulent times

“Obstacles do not block the path. They are the path.” These famous words, written by the Roman Emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius, embody the approach of an adaptive leader.

In today’s complex and uncertain world, adaptive leadership offers a route to success when many traditional leadership models fall short.

This was particularly evident during the COVID-19, when healthcare organisations, governments, and businesses were constantly forced to evolve to meet new challenges.

Adaptive leadership offers a dynamic framework to thrive in these rapidly changing environments by emphasising flexibility, collaboration, and innovating.

It is more than a set of skills or processes. It is a mindset that embodies Warwick Business School’s CORE values of Curiosity, Openness, Restlessness, and Excellence.

This allows organisations to thrive in rapidly changing environments by fostering creativity and resilience, rather than simply responding to change.

It also promotes a culture of experimentation that empowers teams to learn from failure, adapt, and uncover ground-breaking solutions that drive progress.

Here are five steps to embrace an adaptive leadership style.

1 Encourage a collaborative approach

Collaboration is a cornerstone of adaptive leadership. Leaders build diverse, cross-functional teams that offer unique perspectives and break down silos to encourage open communication.

By fostering environments where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas without fear of judgment, leaders leverage collective intelligence to co-create innovative and sustainable solutions.

They also excel at mobilising collective action to address complex challenges.

Adaptive leaders align teams and stakeholders around a shared vision, build partnerships across sectors, and encourage grassroots initiatives that empower individuals.

The collaboration between governments, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies during vaccine development allowed them to remove potential barriers and roll out the vaccines as quickly and safely as possible.

This helped to reduce the number of casualties and lift lockdown restrictions, exemplifying the effectiveness of adaptive leadership and collective action.

2 Commit to ongoing learning and growth

Japanese businesses often embrace a philosophy called kaizen, which involves employees at all levels of the company in identifying small changes to drive continuous improvement.

Adaptive leaders should adopt a similar approach, continuously gathering feedback from their teams and stakeholders to identify potential insights.

They view both success and failure as opportunities for growth, fostering a culture of curiosity and empowering team members to explore new ideas.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, successful leaders adjusted their strategies based on emerging data, demonstrating the power of adaptive thinking.

A distinguishing feature of adaptive leadership is its focus on addressing root causes rather than surface-level issues. This approach delves deeper to analyse the challenges that organisations face and create sustainable solutions and systems.

By resolving those underlying problems, adaptive leaders ensure their organisations remain relevant in an ever-changing environment.

3 Build resilience

Focusing on the big picture is another key strength of adaptive leaders. They balance short-term adjustments with long-term goals, ensuring their teams remain aligned with overarching objectives.

This holistic perspective helps organisations stay on course, even during periods of uncertainty and change. Take budget airline Ryanair, for example.

It continues to achieve levels of profitability that are unheard of in the industry and is the only company in the sector that has returned to pre-pandemic efficiency level.

Meanwhile its competitors continue to contend with higher costs created by their actions at the peak of the crisis.

Leaders who prioritise learning and flexibility provide the tools for their organisations recover from setbacks and maintain sustainable operations, allowing them to thrive in turbulent times.

4 Foster trust and accountability

Trust and accountability are fundamental to effective leadership. Adaptive leaders maintain open communication about their decisions and the rationale behind them.

Those channels of communication must flow in both directions. Adaptive leaders welcome feedback and acknowledge when mistakes have been made. This transparent and inclusive approach enhances engagement, builds trust, and motivates team members.

For example, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) fostered credibility during the pandemic by conducting honest assessments and seeking input from stakeholders.

That trust and transparency helps to create the psychologically safe spaces that are so important for collaborative working.  After all, innovation flourishes in environments that prioritise experimentation and diverse perspectives.

5 Prepare for resistance and navigate uncertainty

While adaptive leadership is transformative, it can come with challenges.

Building an adaptive culture requires time and resources, including investment in training, collaboration, and experimentation.

Resistance to change is a common obstacle, as team members or stakeholders may hesitate to abandon traditional methods. Navigating ambiguity and uncertainty can also create discomfort and anxiety for leaders and teams alike.

Overcoming these challenges requires deliberate action. Communicating the value of adaptation is crucial to help teams understand why flexibility and change are necessary for growth.

Cultivating a culture of curiosity encourages exploration and reframes failures as valuable learning opportunities.

Providing teams with the tools, training, and time needed to implement adaptive strategies ensures they can navigate challenges effectively.

The benefits of adaptive leadership are profound. It allows leaders to navigate complexities while remaining focused on their goals.

As a result, resilient organisations led by adaptive leaders are better equipped to recover from setbacks, address the root cause of the challenges they face, and adapt to changing conditions.

This proactive approach can help adaptive leaders to use the challenges they face to create a pathway to sustained success in an ever-changing future.

Further reading:

Six ways to increase inclusivity as a leader

Why are ambitious female founders punished by investors?

Seven key competencies for collaborative leadership

Three ways to keep staff engaged at work

Aikaterini Grimani is Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School.

Discover more about Leadership by subscribing to our Core Insights newsletter.