notice whether there are any disproportionate reactions to proposals regarding possible solutions to the problem. A response that seems out of scale with the suggested idea or initiative is a strong sign that something else is going on, something more than a simple solution to this one issue.

To expand the array of options, encourage people to come up with more than one possible interpretation.

on action: the practices of leadership on adaptive issues from preparation to implementation. Whatever form your interventions take, if successful, they are likely to have certain qualities: • Pointing to a long-term solution (rather than a quick fix) to the adaptive challenge • Framing the challenge and offering interpretations of the issues and t

FIGURE 2-5 The adaptive leadership process

Step 3: Identify the Loyalties You Need to Refashion

EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS MOBILIZE people to tackle an adaptive challenge. They may be designed to make progress at any point in the process:

You have to manage expectations according to the situation, disabusing people of the certainty they may need at a rate they can absorb. “Navigating

Archetype 2: Competing Commitments Like individuals, organizations have numerous commitments. And sometimes these commitments come into conflict.

Leadership therefore requires the diagnostic ability to recognize those losses and the predictable defensive patterns of response that operate at the individual and systemic level.