Customer Reviews

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World

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Charles Darwin's concept of natural selection among species also applies to organizations and even to individuals within an organization. Those that do not adapt do not survive; only those that do adapt thrive. Therein lie two of the greatest challenges now facing those entrusted with leadership responsibilities: How to prepare, launch, sustain, and then successfully complete change initiatives? How to respond effectively to change initiatives that originate elsewhere? Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky respond to these and other questions when sharing their thoughts about what adaptive leadership involves and what it requires of those who practice it. Almost immediately, they focus the relationship of adaptive leadership to thriving: It is specifically about change; builds on the past rather than repudiating it; achieves organizational adaptation through continuous experimentation; heavily relies on diversity (i.e. talents, skills, experience, and perspectives); ensures that new adaptations significantly displace, re-regulate, or rearrange whatever is defective, obsolete, or irrelevant; and usually requires (as do biological adaptations) both time, patience, and persistence. Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky observe, "There is a myth that drives many change initiatives into the ground: that the organization needs to change because it is broken. The reality is that any social system (including an organization or a country or a family) is the way it is because the people in that system (at least those individuals and factions with the most leverage) want it that way...As our colleague Jeff Lawrence poignantly says, `There is no such thing as a dysfunctional organization, because every organization is perfectly aligned to achieve the results it gets.'"

Only after twice re-reading Lawrence's comment did I fully appreciate how relevant his insight is to so many of the companies that seem dysfunctional but really aren't. Their inept leadership, flawed strategy, mediocre products, indifferent workforce, and poor customer service are all in alignment. That would not have happened had the companies' leaders been adaptive. That is, had they possessed the diagnostic skills needed to recognize or anticipate problems and opportunities and then take appropriate action. I commend Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky for their skillful use of several reader-friendly devices, notably the On the Balcony sections in most chapters that enable a reader to step back from a key point and examine from it a wider perspective (e.g. relevance to the reader's own circumstances) than its context in the chapter allows. They also include On the Practice Field sections in most chapters in which they suggest possible ways to apply key ideas or, in some instances, raise questions for the reader to consider.

Here are two examples, both from Chapter 9:

On the Balcony: "Each of the even steps [when designing effective interventions] can be understood as a skill set. What are your strengths? Where do you need to build your skills?"

On the Practice Field: "The next time you are in a meeting, notice what is going on inside your head while others are speaking. Are you judging their ideas or comments? Rehearsing what you are going to say when it is your turn? In what ways are you staying on the dance floor and leaping into action? Practice avoiding this mental leaping by listening to others and trying to figure out on whose behalf are they speaking, whose perspectives they are representing, and how you can give your perspectives context within the current concerns and subject on the table."

Those who have read Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers and/or Heifetz and Linsky's Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading already know that they (and presumably Grashow) are world-class pragmatists who have an insatiable curiosity to know what works in the business world, what doesn't, and (especially) why. After identifying the components (i.e. the "what") of adaptive leadership, they devote most of their attention to explaining how to develop and apply it. For that reason, they insert various checklists and Figures throughout their lively narrative that anchor insights in real-world situations. For example:

The unique challenges of adaptive leadership (Pages 52-53)
How to identify a primarily adaptive challenge (Page 74)
Nonconfrontational ways to slow down organizational momentum (Page 111)
Seven steps to orchestrating conflict (Pages 152-153)
How to personalize the adaptive challenge (Page 193)
Common leadership traps and how to avoid them (Pages 244-246)
How to ease the constraint presented by loyalties (Pages 248-251)

In the first chapter, Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky explain that The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is a "field book" in that it draws upon the vast scope and depth of their combined experiences "in the field" and that they wrote it "for the field" so that it could be of greatest practical value to their reader's own leadership efforts. On both counts, they succeed brilliantly. Bravo!

Let me start off by letting you know I'm biased. I have met both Heifetz and Linsky and hold the highest admiration and respect for them both personally and professionally.

With their former book, Leadership on the Line, I learned about the difference between technical problems and adaptive challenges and the distinction between leadership and authority. They also taught me that a major failure of leadership is treating an adaptive challenge with a technical solution. Once I learned this I have seen it play out over and over again everywhere I turn. It is a gem I have passed on to my graduate students in educational leadership. It has also resonated strongly with them.

The sequel, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, has taken the concepts and strategies for leadership interventions to a new level of meaning. Learning more about the power of disequilibrium in promoting change and the encouragement to run small experiments have been further sharpened by this new book. Leaders, I've learned from the authors, are often too quick to jump on default action steps without first thinking through diagnostic options. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership addresses diagnosis of the system, diagnosis of self, how to mobilize the system, and how to most effectively deploy self. I highly recommend this book!

With my next group of doctoral students, I plan to use three books that make up a complementary, powerful trilogy: Leadership on the Line, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, and Immunity to Change (Kegan and Lahey).

I have to confess that I didn't finish The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. As a practical matter, reading this book is a bit like joining a monastic order.

It will work for you if you're willing to take a lot of time to learn the system and then change your life to fit it. I don't think most of the managers who read my articles or blog will see that as a good trade-off.

Here's an idea of what to expect.

You will have to learn a new language. This is not that hard. I'm unclear why observing has to happen "On the Balcony" and why a "Practice Field" is necessary. But don't worry, there are lots of charts and diagrams to help you understand the concepts. Here is a list of just a few.

There is a 2 X 2 Diagnosis Matrix
A chart to help you distinguish Technical Problems from Adaptive Challenges
A graph of formal and informal authority
The Productive Zone of Disequilibrium

And of course, there is lots of consultant-speak. You get to read and decipher sentences like the following. "Previously highly successful protocols seem antiquated." I translate that as: "Things that used to work don't work anymore."

Like most books of this type, there is a lot of starting to prepare to begin to get ready to think about doing something. The first chapter is 'How to Use This Book." The second chapter is "The Theory Behind the Practice." And the third is "Before You Begin." Those chapters take up almost fifty pages.

Then you get to the examples. But they're not real examples. People and companies are not named. Instead you're told about "a large law firm: and "a fast-growing advertising and sales company" and "a global energy company" and a "large multinational corporation with a matrix organization." There are lots of non-business examples, drawn from the authors' experience with government agencies.

People are similarly un-named. The only identifying factors seem to be race and gender, which are nicely balanced.

Bottom Line.

A book can have some great content and still not be a book to buy. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is more like a book of theology than one about leadership. Assumptions are never questioned. The book offers a carefully thought-through system, but one that requires full commitment and significant time to learn and put to use.

For most managers, there's a better use of time than reading The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Simply put, it's not worth much if you can't put it to use.

Adaptive leadership is very important. In the few pockets of business and organizational life these days that are untouched by the turbulence around us, business as usual is, it would seem, acceptable. The trouble is that there are so few arenas where that is the case. Finding ways to lead in a way that can adjust to rapid and often unexpected change is critical.

I received a review copy of this book from Harvard Business Press. When it arrived I was very excited to dig in and get jazzed by all the great content. The problem was that the book was about as dull to read as it was to look at (I scrawled this on my cover: "Don't judge a book by its cover. In this case you should. This books cover is really boring"). I was twenty pages in when I felt that they were in trouble. It felt like a Harvard Business Press word container with WalMart content inside. My disappointment was that it lacked any real edge. For people who are deeply immersed in complexity theory and related pursuits that examine how systems change over time, there just wasn't any real insight. For people who don't like that sort of thing, it would, I fear, feel impenetrable.

Reading about next things should be engaging, compelling, shocking even. This book wasn't any of that. I felt genuinely disappointed as I worked my way through out. I just couldn't track with the style or flow. It felt like I was at a really dull meeting that was supposed to be important but somehow wasn't. No Wheatley. No Holling. No Stacey. No Sante Fe Institute. No Kauffman. No cheeky Tom Peters feel. No Dave Snowden deadpan humour. Nothing daring.

There were no expeditions into the heart of real, living organizations where the good, bad and ugly was on display and the authors dared to do battle with their adaptive leadership rocket launchers. No biological modelling, computer simulations, real-time adaptations. After awhile, you just start to feel like the book was off, somehow - like when someone is staring past you. If I was Randy from American Idol, I'd say, "Hey, dog, it's a bit pitchy" or something like that.

In chapter 13 you'll find a six page bit on systems thinking but that's it. An adaptive leadership text without tracking through the latest research and insight on what informs adaptive leadership. There was not good enough evidence that they have their finger on the pulsing neck artery of past, current, and emerging forms of adaptive leadership. A great topic area like this needs to evidence an awareness of adaptive practices in the very delivery of the content but that doesn't happen at all.

I'd love to give it a thumbs up - the title is definitely compelling - but I just can't. I'm happy to be convinced otherwise but all I can think is that I'm glad I had a review copy sent and didn't have to pay for it. The authors are probably very knowledgeable, interesting, and capable consultants but it just doesn't come through in the book, sadly. These are big players with long track records and tons of cultural cache who perhaps need a better way to deliver what they know than a vanilla-looking book that induces yawns.

There are many other books that are in line ahead of this one for developing my teams and thinking. It reminds me of a corporate comb-over. So disappointing. Next time involve a few freaky friends in the book development process.

Great sequel to Leadership on the Line, which may be one of the best books I have ever read concerning leadership. Pragmatic, complex yet so is leadership. The two together provide a framework that helps individuals and organizations adapt and thrive in challenging situations. Change requires you to challenge people's familiar reality, or in some sense be disruptive. That can be difficult, dangerous work. And, as you push though major changes, the political and organizational fallout can be deadly....Nonetheless, leaders need to find a way to make it work. The two texts are a necessary addition to any leadership library....and insightful for leaders in those situations.

With the danger of business collapse all around us, as a corporate HR director, I am continually searching for new and better books dealing with leadership. For me, leadership is the key (and only key) to long-term survival. With our leadership, we must continuously adapt to new realities if we are to live to fight another day.

Important lessons within these pages are:

1. Leading with the courage and skill to challenge the status quo.
2. Deploy themselves with agility.
3. Mobilize others to step into the unknown.


This book offers a realistic hands-on guide to making our leadership successful and more influential. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership will help me enhance my decision making process ensuring that I make not only make more correct decisions but that I make them in a timely manner.

This book provides a thorough and systemic approach to assessing situations and provides guidance into the actions we should take. I particularly appreciated the diagrams, techniques, and activities that help assess the dangerous challenges that lie in our path.

I recommend the Practice of Adaptive Leadership as it will help obtain the leadership skills needed in this complicated arena we call the business world. I would like to also recommend High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) I believe that most readers will find that it is a very "adaptive" approach also.

I hope you find this review helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

"Pick up a text on organizational consulting and usually they reveal one way to be a brilliant consultant--resist the drive to get to "The Plan" right now! Good consultants are able to artfully create a space to diagnose a situation in more detail. Good leaders do the same. The reason is that problem statements are often quite flawed or wrong.

This is not so surprising. After all, organizations and people are very complex. Heifetz, Grashow and Linsky offer a helpful way of viewing this complexity.

They identify two types of problems or challenges in organizations. Technical challenges generally have known solutions. They can be resolved through the organization's usual way of doing things. On the other hand, adaptive challenges require shifts in the usual way of thinking or doing or communicating or relating. There are not known solutions.

To tackle an adaptive challenge means the existing order must change. Leadership in such situations requires what the authors call "dancing on the edge"--modulating the degree of challenge so that uncertainty is sustained but at a manageable level.

The authors contend that difficulties achieving desired outcomes are often due to treating adaptive challenges as if they are technical challenges. I find this frequently the issue with stalled or problematic change efforts.

The author's provide a helpful guidance and support for "dancing on the edge."

From Neil Baker, see website at neilbakercoaching.com

This book is great at helping people understand the fear behind organizational changes and handling challenges. It is a good read and provides substantive information to diagnose, address and move through change. I would recommend reading this if you occupy any position of leadership.

Authors Ron Heifetz & Marty Linsky have used their 60+ years of combined teaching & leadership experience to compile a wonderful guide for anyone in a leadership capacity in any sized organization, to maximize their skills. It's consise, well-written & compelling; and quite possibly, could help some of the financially distressed organizations clean up their messes, without having to use taxpayers' money to help bail them out.

"Adaptave Leadership" has a Darwinian edge to it; and in fact, it is those leaders who are the strongest in the jungle of 21st century business, who stand the best chance for long term survival. In a free market economy, that's the way it should be; either lead the organization to become competitive, or go away. If I hear Stimulis Package one more time, I'm going to lose it.

Certainly, business needs to develop a more adaptive & flexible approach to running its operations; the leaders who are able to not only survive, but thrive in the real world will be deemed the fittest and reap the rewards.

It is a fascinating topic that can be addressed in all organizations. Understanding the types of challenges we encounter every day can make life and work easier.