This document discusses adaptive leadership and outlines a framework for addressing adaptive challenges. It identifies three key areas to focus on: people, process, and pipeline. For people, it discusses different skills and talents needed for an adaptive leadership team. For process, it discusses attributes of adaptive and collaborative leadership practices. For pipeline, it discusses mechanisms for continually identifying, cultivating, and developing new leaders. The overall framework provides a way for organizations to assess their current approach and identify areas for improvement in building an adaptive leadership model.

1. Adaptive Leadership:
People, Process and Pipeline
February 12, 2015
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2. People, Process and Pipeline
• Adaptive vs. Technical Review
• People: The who
• Process: The how
• Pipeline: Looking forward
• Self Assessment

3. Adaptive Challenges & Leadership
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TECHNICAL CHALLENGES ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES
• Clear cut need
• Can be fixed or addressed
• Can apply current experience
or skills (or find it)
• Developmental change
e.g. building a new website
• Complex issues, dilemmas
• No set procedures or
policies
• No analogous past
experience
• No expertise
• Issue is transitional or
transformational for the
organization.
e.g. move to a new revenue/
membership model

4. Adaptive Challenges & Leadership
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What’s a recent example of an adaptive
challenge in your congregation?
What made it adaptive? How did you navigate it?
Maybe it fell into one of these three domains:
– Finance
– Religious Practice
– Education

5. People: The Who
What people, skills and talents are needed?

6. People: The Who
What people, skills and talents are needed?
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Community Builder. Builds
consensus and mobilizes around
common causes.
Risk Evaluator. Objectively assesses
costs and benefits (re: financial,
human and social capital)
Connector. Influential “social node”
with relationships with various
subgroups and individuals.
Entrepreneur. Agile, startup
generator
Visionary Leader. Big picture thinker
who can envision possibilities.
Implementer. “Do-er” who can move
from concept to implementation.
Facilitator. Meeting or process
facilitator. Designs and/or leads/guides.
Communicator. Skilled at tailoring the
message and using various channels to
get it out, as well as listening inward.
Mediator. Intercessor who can bring
about consensus and/or mobilize
forward motion.
Synthesizer. Analyst who can
consolidate views (“This is what I heard
and…”)

7. People: The Who
Examples from your work? Which do you need?
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Community Builder. Builds
consensus and mobilizes around
common causes.
Risk Evaluator. Objectively assesses
costs and benefits (re: financial,
human and social capital)
Connector. Influential “social node”
with relationships with various
subgroups and individuals.
Entrepreneur. Agile, startup
generator
Visionary Leader. Big picture thinker
who can envision possibilities.
Implementer. “Do-er” who can move
from concept to implementation.
Facilitator. Meeting or process
facilitator. Designs and/or leads/guides.
Communicator. Skilled at tailoring the
message and using various channels to
get it out, as well as listening inward.
Mediator. Intercessor who can bring
about consensus and/or mobilize
forward motion.
Synthesizer. Analyst who can
consolidate views (“This is what I heard
and…”)

8. Process: The How
To what extent does your leadership team apply
adaptive and collaborative leadership practices
(processes and culture) in your decision making
and implementation?
What practices and cultural adjustments are
needed to help you work as an adaptive team?
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9. Process: The How
What adaptive and collaborative leadership
practices and cultural element do you need?
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Open. Permeable boundaries to the
leadership team.
Action Oriented. Seizing the moment;
prioritizing “doing”.
Iterative. Willing to revisit and adapt
previous decisions on the basis of data
and experience.
Agile. Being nimble in order to take
advantage of emergent opportunities.
Momentum Seeking. Not stuck in status
quo; constantly on a growth trajectory.
Transparent. Culture of sharing
information.
Positivist. Culture of abundance (rather
than scarcity); reframe challenges as
opportunities.
Trusting & Mutually Respectful. Stance of
openness and listening to the perspectives
of others.
Authentic Modeling of Relationship
Building. Know one another;
personal connections.

10. Process: The How
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Open. Permeable boundaries to the
leadership team.
Action Oriented. Seizing the moment;
prioritizing “doing”.
Iterative. Willing to revisit and adapt
previous decisions on the basis of data
and experience.
Agile. Being nimble in order to take
advantage of emergent opportunities.
Momentum Seeking. Not stuck in status
quo; constantly on a growth trajectory.
Transparent. Culture of sharing
information.
Positivist. Culture of abundance (rather
than scarcity); reframe challenges as
opportunities.
Trusting & Mutually Respectful. Stance of
openness and listening to the perspectives
of others.
Authentic Modeling of Relationship
Building. Know one another;
personal connections.
Examples from your work?
Which attributes do you need to work on?

11. The Pipeline: Looking Forward
To what extent does your leadership team have
ways to continually identify, cultivate, on-board,
develop and nurture leaders? What does this
mean for your next nomination process?
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12. The Pipeline: Looking Forward
How do you identify, cultivate, on-board, develop &
nurture leaders to complete the picture?
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Leadership identification mechanism.
How to identify attributes you need, and who can bring those attributes.
Leadership cultivation practices.
Gradual integration into leadership.
Leadership on-boarding processes.
Orientation, culture setting and mentoring.
Leadership development activities.
Ongoing board development.
Leadership nurturing.
Recognition, support, reflection, celebration.

13. The Pipeline: Looking Forward
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Leadership identification mechanism.
How to identify attributes you need, and who can bring those attributes.
Leadership cultivation practices.
Gradual integration into leadership.
Leadership on-boarding processes.
Orientation, culture setting and mentoring.
Leadership development activities.
Ongoing board development.
Leadership nurturing.
Recognition, support, reflection, celebration.
Examples from your work?
Which do you need to work on?

14. Self
Assessment
•Individually
•Group Debrief
•Implications

15. Upcoming Events
• Cohort Workshop: March 24th
• Cohort webinar: May 13, 2015 1 PM – 2 PM
Learning from Our Data
• Final Cohort Workshop: June 16th
Connected Congregations: Moving Toward
Lateral Leadership (webinar open to all)
Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.