How is Adaptive Leadership different from other models being taught?
Pratice
It starts from the premise that leadership is not an innate quality nor a personality trait, but rather a practice that can be developed—and therefore taught.
Training in Adaptive Leadership is profoundly experiential and designed to actively engage participants. It’s not about receiving pre-packaged answers, but about immersing oneself in a dynamic process that draws strength from what emerges within the group. Each session is built around the real experiences of the participants, the dynamics of the team, and the specific challenges being faced. This approach transforms the group into a living laboratory, works with emerging realities, and helps participants develop new perspectives and skills to lead effectively in contexts of constant change.
Leadership vs Autority
Leadership and authority are often confused, but authority is based on a formal position, granted by a title or specific role, whereas leadership is a practice. Adaptive Leadership teaches how to go beyond the boundaries of authority, mobilizing people and resources to tackle complex challenges that often require new solutions and collective engagement.
Adaptive Leadership recognizes that not all answers come from the top, but that change and progress emerge from interaction and collaboration among all members of an organization. In this sense, leadership is not tied to a position, but to a behavior that facilitates learning, adaptation, and transformation.
Technical vs Adaptive
Technical challenges are well-defined problems with known solutions that can be addressed through specific skills or established processes. In contrast, adaptive challenges are complex, ambiguous, and require changes in the behaviors, beliefs, and priorities of the people involved.
While technical solutions can be implemented by experts or those in formal positions of authority, adaptive challenges call for a collective approach, where leaders and teams collaborate to explore new possibilities, experiment, and adapt. Adaptive Leadership® does not provide immediate answers, but instead guides the group through a process of learning and transformation, enabling them to face change with greater resilience and creativity.
Diagnosis and intervention
In Adaptive Leadership, diagnosis is the essential first step in addressing complex challenges. This process goes beyond identifying surface-level problems—it digs deeper to distinguish between technical and adaptive challenges, uncovering underlying dynamics, resistance to change, and hidden opportunities. Diagnosis is never static; it evolves as the context shifts and new information emerges.
The intervention, which follows diagnosis, is equally strategic and targeted. It’s not about applying standardized solutions, but about acting in a deliberate and personalized way, engaging the group in decision-making and encouraging the co-creation of solutions. Every intervention is designed to generate learning, transform entrenched habits, and foster sustainable change.
Resistence
The practice of Adaptive Leadership® can present challenges and risks, as it encounters resistance from those who seek to preserve the status quo. Resistance to change is an inevitable part of any transformation process. In Adaptive Leadership®, resistance is not viewed merely as an obstacle to be removed, but as a valuable signal that reveals deep fears, concerns, and attachments that deserve attention. Recognizing these signals is the first step toward understanding their origin and transforming them into opportunities for growth.
Often, resistance arises not from a lack of will, but because change demands letting go of familiar certainties and facing uncertainty. Through dialogue, active listening, and the ability to read the emotional dynamics of the group, it becomes possible to transform the energy of resistance into a driving force for change.