What do you do when there are no “right” answers?
In smooth seas, the Captain isn’t on deck. But when there’s a storm or an enemy ship on the horizon, they leap to the bridge and take charge.
We don’t need leaders to help us keep things the same. That’s what managers do!
Leadership is needed most in the unknown, when the stakes are high — that’s when people want to cede agency to a leader, letting them take control.
Is the challenge you are facing technical, or adaptive?
Some challenges are technical; they have a right and a wrong solution. Given enough data and the correct procedure, the right person can develop a high-confidence solution.
Other challenges are adaptive. Adaptive challenges are characterized by the disruption of deeply held beliefs. You find them when “what we’ve always done” isn’t working anymore or when experts with years of experience disagree on the “right” way forward.
The Army called these ‘VUCA‘ environments — volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous — the term has now found currency in business because it’s useful; we’re seeing it everywhere.
So if we’ve become a leader because of our track record of solving problems, what do we do when there aren’t “solutions”? When the way forward is unclear (even to us)? We have to become a learner!
“Seeing uncertainty in the definition of leadership is a positive — you don’t have to have the answers. In fact, in an adaptive situation, you can’t solve it yourself.” ~Ronald Heifetz
Ronald Heifetz, in his work on adaptive leadership, offers some suggestions for leading through adaptive challenges. In situations like this, he points out, leaders are unlikely to have the “answers”; in fact, the folks more likely to point a way forward are those closest to the front line. Leaders are better off staying “in the bridge,” maintaining a high-level view of the organization, the market, and input coming from our team to shape a direction forward.
He also affirms that it’s critical that leaders maintain composure; your team is counting on you to have a steady hand.
For example: AI
It’s easy to misdiagnose AI as a technical challenge–it’s a new technology; we should be able to “figure it out.”
But the technology itself is rapidly evolving; even the experts aren’t sure what the impact will be, and when we try it ourselves, we get unpredictable business results. The data is complex because it’s not just a new tool; it changes relationships between people and departments, and might threaten job roles. Further, the messages about AI are muddled; much of the narrative is being driven by folks who clearly have a vested interest in AI succeeding!
While it’s tempting to think of it as an efficiency tool, it might be better characterized as a fundamental change to the work environment. It’s clearly inviting us to challenge some of our deeply held beliefs, which is scary for many people.
I see leaders diving in and “leading by example,” but, to their dismay, their teams aren’t following. They have misdiagnosed the problem and are approaching it looking for technical (how to) solutions!
Are you leading, or problem-solving?
It’s tempting to keep doing what got you here: solving problems with your knowledge and experience. But, as you look at the landscape of challenges your business is facing, how many of them have a “right” answer?
