{"id":30689,"date":"2025-07-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=30689"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:40","slug":"some-skills-of-adaptive-leadership-are-obvious-but-that-doesnt-make-them-easier-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/some-skills-of-adaptive-leadership-are-obvious-but-that-doesnt-make-them-easier-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Some Skills of Adaptive Leadership Are Obvious, But That Doesn\u2019t Make them Easier to Learn\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 9 Jul 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u2018Some Skills of Adaptive Leadership Are Obvious, But That Doesn\u2019t Make them Easier to Learn\u2019<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In the third and final session of our Virtual Roundtable series \u2018Leading in Complexity\u2019 John Bull of Management Futures explores the skills and tools that enable a leader to be more adaptable in the face of change.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

By John Portch<\/h6>\n
\u201cSome of the skills of adaptive leadership are more obvious, but that doesn\u2019t make them easier to learn,\u201d said John Bull.<\/h6>\n

The Director & Lead for High Performance Research at Management Futures hosted the third and final session of our Virtual Roundtable series entitled \u2018Leading in Complexity\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bull wanted to encourage Leaders Performance Institute members to reflect on their own role as an adaptive leader and pinpoint some areas for self-development.<\/p>\n

But, as he admitted, this is easier said than done. He recalled a conversation he had with his colleague Tim Cox, who led sessions one<\/a> and two<\/a>, and our own Luke Whitworth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reflected that it takes energy to spot the necessary changes,\u201d said Bull. \u201cIt probably feels like it then takes even more energy to then try and lead the change in the face of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are, however, skills to be learned and tools available to all leaders.<\/p>\n

Four inhibitors (and four more)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In session two, Cox outlined four common \u2018traps\u2019 that can inhibit your ability to be adaptable.<\/p>\n

They were:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Being overwhelmed or hijacked by our emotions<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Operating from out-of-date assumptions or an out-of-date map of the world<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. When authoritative leadership causes a bottleneck<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Inflexibility<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can read about these in greater detail here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    At the start of this session Bull added four additional traps suggested by the Leaders Performance Institute members who have attended this series:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Success: if it ain\u2019t broke\u2026<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cYou know the end of this sentence,\u201d said Bull, who introduced the table to the work of British organisational theorist Charles Handy, specifically his 2015 book The Second Curve: Thoughts on Reinventing Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n

      Handy wrote: \u2018The nasty and often fatal snag is that the Second Curve has to start before the first curve peaks.\u2019<\/p>\n

      \u201cYou need to start reinventing almost on the peak of the curve before your competitors do,\u201d added Bull.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Traditional, lack of cognitive diversity<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Sports, as Bull pointed out, tend to recruit leaders from within the realms of their own sport. \u201cThe implication of that is that the sport is lacking some cognitive diversity,\u201d said Bull.<\/p>\n

        As an antidote, he cited the example of British Cycling\u2019s ascendancy in the late 2000s under Sir Dave Brailsford. \u201cThe two biggest breakthroughs in British Cycling came from Australian swimming [equipment design] and in introducing a clinical psychiatrist.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Risk averse<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          All change requires a leap of faith. \u201cThis inhibitor is linked to the traditional,\u201d said Bull, \u201cbut where an organisation may be very risk averse that can get in the way of adaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Lack of alignment<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            This was a major area of focus in our recent Trend Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

            Bull said: \u201cThe more alignment you have, the faster you will be able to pivot and adapt as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

            Why mindset matters when it comes to adaptability<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Put simply, a leader\u2019s mindset influences how they perceive, respond to, and lead through change in complex environments.<\/p>\n

            Bull then led the virtual room through six areas that demonstrate why mindset matters:<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \u2018Radically traditional\u2019: clarity on what to protect is as important as what needs to change<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \u2018Radically traditional\u2019<\/a> is a term coined by Professor Alex Hill to describe organisations that have thrived for over a century through an adherence to tradition allied to a willingness to adapt.<\/p>\n

              \u201cThe key insight out of that work is: in order to be able to be adapt, you have to be really clear on what doesn\u2019t change,\u201d said Bull. \u201cIt\u2019s about being really clear on what is the core that we want to safeguard, what is what is now out of date. It\u2019s having a balanced view and doing both at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Embrace uncertainty<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Bull used neuroscience to make his point here. \u201cIf we are threatened by the uncertainty we\u2019re going to go into fight or flight mode,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as we all know we\u2019re going to be less resourceful in fight or flight as opposed to seeing it as an opportunity.\u201d This is what sets adaptable people apart. \u201cThey\u2019re calmly ready for it, they\u2019re calmly in alert. Their radar is on and, if you can relish the uncertainty and dial up that part of your personality that relishing it, your brain\u2019s going to be operating at its best. You\u2019ll have all the feel-good hormones of serotonin, endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin.\u201d<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. The \u2018scout\u2019 mindset v the \u2018soldier\u2019 mindset<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Bull is fond of the phrase \u2018situational humility\u2019, which was coined by renowned psychologist Amy Edmondson. \u201cIf we\u2019re operating in a domain where we have a lot of expertise it\u2019s recognising there\u2019s still going to be stuff we don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

                  He built on his point by introducing the work of philosopher Julia Galef, who has outlined what she calls \u2018scout\u2019 and \u2018soldier\u2019 mindsets:<\/p>\n

                  <\/p>\n

                  A scout mindset, such as when a scout might draw a map, is essential when learning and adapting. \u201cIt\u2019s about acknowledging we might know some elements of the map, but large parts of the map are still undrawn,\u201d added Bull. \u201cIt\u2019s not ignoring that we have expertise, but it\u2019s looking for what\u2019s missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

                  On the other hand, a soldier mindset is counterproductive because, as Bull said, \u201cmost of our energy is going to influencing other people to see things our way as opposed to learning from what we\u2019re missing.\u201d It can also help, as Shona Crooks, a colleague of Bull\u2019s from Management Futures says, to \u2018put your brain in neutral\u2019.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Focus on what we can control<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    \u201cFrom a mindset point of view, this is about where\u2019s our energy going?\u201d said Bull. \u201cIs our energy going to what we can\u2019t control? Or is our energy going to the element of that which we can control?\u201d<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Growth mindset: learn from failures<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Bull said: \u201cDo we focus on learning from failure and finding opportunities where the failure has low consequences?\u201d<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. The courage to challenge \u2018sacred cows\u2019<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        This is \u201cthe courage to speak up, challenge and name a need to adapt even when that\u2019s really unpopular,\u201d said Bull of the term commonly used in marketing. \u201cThere will be some elements of what the sport does or what the organisation does which has served your team incredibly well in the past, which you might feel needs revisiting. That\u2019s going to get the strongest reaction, but sometimes that’s important to show that courage.\u201d<\/p>\n

                        The group were then invited to rank themselves, strongest to weakest, on their ability in each area:<\/p>\n

                        <\/p>\n

                        \u201cThe common component is emotion,\u201d said Bull in reflection.<\/p>\n

                        How we respond to challenges is critical and, to follow up, he shared eight important adaptive leadership skills needed in complex environments:<\/strong><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Prioritising time: \u2018stepping onto the balcony\u2019: <\/strong>The ability to step back from day-to-day operations to reflect and gain perspective helps leaders see what\u2019s really going on and make better strategic decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                            \n
                          1. Distinguish between \u2018tame\u2019 and \u2018wicked\u2019 problems: <\/strong>Bull defined and distinguished \u2018tame\u2019 and \u2018wicked\u2019 problems thus:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            <\/p>\n

                            \u201cThe leadership required around a tame solution is very different to the leadership skills required around adaptive leadership and solving a wicked problem,\u201d\u00a0 said Bull. \u201cAnd where a lot of leaders and organisations get into trouble is where they treat a problem that is wicked as though it\u2019s tame and they try and just implement a simple solution; and it doesn\u2019t work or they try and ignore the problem.<\/p>\n

                            \u201cOne of the key skills is how do we spot when we need to go into adaptive leadership mode?\u201d<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Emotional intelligence:<\/strong> A key skill for scenario planning (see below).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                \n
                              1. Sense-making, analytical thinking:<\/strong> How quickly are we able to see patterns and assimilate what\u2019s happening? Bull divided this into three areas:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                  \n
                                • Alert to common biases<\/li>\n
                                • Root cause analysis<\/li>\n
                                • Spotting new patterns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                    \n
                                  1. Psychological safety: <\/strong>\u201cHow good are we at creating psychological safety where people will challenge our thinking and challenge the predominant thinking, so listening, questioning, facilitation skills?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                      \n
                                    1. Leading change \/ influence: <\/strong>\u201cWe may see the need to adapt but how effective are we at getting the key people on board, enabling to see the need to adapt, and adopting and implementing changes?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                        \n
                                      1. Empowering \u2013 define the problem, give responsibility: <\/strong>\u201cThat\u2019s not about just giving freedom, it\u2019s about defining a problem clearly and then giving people responsibility or using distributed leadership to solve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                          \n
                                        1. Debriefing \u2013 facilitated learning: <\/strong>\u201cUnderneath all of this is our skill in facilitated learning,\u201d said Bull. \u201cDebriefing is a key element of that.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          \u00a0<\/strong>Again, attendees were asked to rank themselves on each of the eight suggestions:<\/p>\n

                                          <\/p>\n

                                          Bull believes the snapshot provided by the above bodes well for sport. \u201cI\u2019m struck, relative to outside of sport, how strong people are generally scoring on the \u2018leading change, influence, and persuasion\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a positive strength to be able to bank here because, in our experience, and if you look at the research around this, that\u2019s often the skill that most holds back adaptive leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

                                          To wrap things up, Bull shared eight tools to help leaders be more adaptive:<\/p>\n

                                            \n
                                          1. The OODA Loop:<\/strong> used in the military and described in greater detail here<\/a>.<\/li>\n
                                          2. Multiple cause analysis:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s just the idea of mapping out. If you take something that\u2019s happening, it\u2019s asking the question, what are the causes of that,\u201d said Bull. \u201cAnd the real emphasis on the plural causes.\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          3. Scenario planning: <\/strong>This is \u201cchallenging ourselves to ask what are the what if scenarios that could come up, prioritising those by likelihood and impact and then ensuring we\u2019ve got contingencies for that.\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          4. Red teaming or pre-mortem:<\/strong> Another approach favoured in the military. \u201cYou would task some of your team, knowing what they know about your strategy and approach how they would beat us. Then you get that team to come back and present that,\u201d said Bull. \u201cPre-mortem is just asking the question to counter the positive bias of if we were going to have a failed season, where is it most likely to go wrong and then paying attention to it.\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          5. Force field analysis:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s based on this idea that if the forces for change are greater than the forces against change, change will happen,\u201d said Bull. \u201cWhat are the forces against change and what can we do to minimise those?\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          6. Stakeholder mapping:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of doing this by mapping the energy for the change as well as the influence.\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          7. Appreciative enquiry:<\/strong> \u201cIf you need to build a new muscle in the organisation to adapt, it\u2019s about finding where we already have that muscle, amplifying that, and learning from those people.\u201d<\/li>\n
                                          8. Setting up safe to fail experiments:<\/strong> Bull explained this by returning to the work of Amy Edmondson on \u2018intelligent failure\u2019. \u201cPeople talk about \u2018failing fast\u2019, they talk about welcoming failure, and Edmondson\u2019s provocation is that this idea is too general, that not all failure is good, and sometimes failure has dire consequences.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                            \u201cSo what she would say is in organisations that that have a more mature attitude to failure will find opportunities to do \u2018intelligent failure\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

                                            In her book Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail Can Teach Us to Thrive<\/em>, Edmondson outlines three types of failure and the conditions for \u2018intelligent failure\u2019:<\/p>\n

                                            <\/p>\n

                                            Final task<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                            Bull concluded by setting the virtual room a task to consider in their own time:<\/p>\n

                                            <\/p>\n

                                            What to read next<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                            <\/p>\n

                                            What Kind of Listener Are you?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n