{"id":35849,"date":"2026-08-12T15:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=35849"},"modified":"2026-09-16T13:18:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T12:18:06","slug":"want-to-be-an-adaptive-leader-youd-better-prepare","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/want-to-be-an-adaptive-leader-youd-better-prepare\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Be an Adaptive Leader? You\u2019d Better Prepare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 12 Aug 2026 <\/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

Want to Be an Adaptive Leader? You\u2019d Better Prepare<\/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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That\u2019s the message from Dr Stephen Rashford, the Medical Director of the Queensland Ambulance Service.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
There are some scenes that no-one wants to imagine, but that did not stop Dr Stephen Rashford, a trauma specialist, painting a gruesome picture of a casualty at a road traffic accident.<\/h6>\n

\u201cSometimes a motorcyclist with an open-faced helmet will use their face as a brake when they hit the road, and they will tear their face to smithereens,\u201d he told the audience at February\u2019s Leaders Meet: Australia with a tone that suggested it was an all-too-common occurrence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you\u2019re looking at this person thinking \u2018how am I going to anaesthetise them? How am I going to place that tube down into their lungs?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

So what is the answer in a moment like that?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach our people to rely on your training, rely on the data; because the data tells us we can perform. In our most adverse situation, we want them to take a breath, redistribute that blood to the prefrontal cortex and make critical decisions \u2013 not primitive ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

In setting the scene for his work as Medical Director at the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), Rashford recounted the tale of airline captain Chesley \u2018Sully\u2019 Sullenberger, who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in January 2009 when bird strikes took out the aircraft\u2019s engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll Sully\u2019s experience over 40 years of flying before that had deposited information in his brain; and when he needed it most, he withdrew from that bank of information,\u201d said Rashford. \u201cAnd we do exactly the same. If you haven\u2019t seen someone with 95% burns before, you will have been at an audit where we\u2019ve looked at it in detail. And so when you\u2019re confronted with your first major burn at that level, it won\u2019t be a surprise to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a paramedic attempting a difficult tracheostomy at a roadside accident or a pilot attempting an emergency landing on water, there is an element of individuals responding, or adapting, to conditions of uncertainty. As Rashford says:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never know what\u2019s going to come down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

How successfully they manage those calls is due in part to leaders, such as Rashford, empowering their people to solve problems on the fly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a leader, you need courage to back your people at the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are four ways Rashford empowers others to solve problems when certainty is unavailable.<\/p>\n

1. He gets people to back themselves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rashford himself said it:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always telling our teams to back themselves. When you\u2019ve got a really complex decision to make, and you\u2019ve got to make a decision on care, you\u2019ve got to back yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like Sully, they are specialists with the tools to do what is required.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally, your instincts are correct and you\u2019ll make the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

His role is not to make every decision. It is to create an environment in which others can make them confidently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may not always work,\u201d he added with reference to failures in the field, \u201cbut you need to be the person who\u2019s there for them the next day or the next week when other people are looking at it. And you need to wear it because that\u2019s your job.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. He promotes continuous improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not unique to trauma medicine by any stretch, but it is still a major feature of QAS\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do detailed performance reviews, just like you do, and that\u2019s really important,\u201d Rashford told Leaders Performance Institute members. \u201cWe get people together, we watch the videos, we analyse the data.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is also a world of KPIs where \u201ceverything is measured down to the second\u201d.<\/p>\n

That said, it is always brought back to QAS\u2019s purpose: \u2018We will deliver timely, quality, and appropriate, patient focused ambulance services to the Queensland community\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to explain to our staff how that translates to the performance of the team or patient outcomes,\u201d said Rashford.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can do that, you get buy-in. It\u2019s actually incredible \u2013 they want those KPIs, so it\u2019s not just a box-ticking exercise. It actually means something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rashford also recalled a former medical student who suffered a catastrophic spinal injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing as part of his care before we got to hospital was someone touching him on the brow, reassuring him that he was going to be okay and he was safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all the fancy things we do, not to forget about the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n

And underperformance, when it comes, is viewed through a lens of empathy and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally speaking, we want to analyse whether it\u2019s something else going on outside work,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just talk to them and explain \u2018we\u2019re worried about the performance\u2019 and \u2018how can we improve it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Invariably, the individual is already worried about their own performance and, as Rashford said, \u201cwe take them on that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. He enables frontline decision-making<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rashford recognises that those on the frontline are best placed to make decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we think the pyramid starts at the top, for us it actually starts as close to the patient as possible,\u201d he said. \u201cThe team leader needs to stand back; ideally not get involved. It always runs better when you stand back.\u201d\u00a0Rashford is more of a coordinator than a controller.<\/p>\n

4. QAS medics do not wait for \u2018perfect\u2019 conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Rashford is an advocate for evidence and performance analysis, QAS team members must not be held captive by the data. In chaotic or complex environments, complete certainty is a pipe dream. Informed, justified confidence matters more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at medicine, we\u2019ve gone into evidence-based care, and it stifles innovation,\u201d he said, citing the example of cervical collars (neck braces).<\/p>\n

The medical industry favoured hard collars, but QAS noted that they too often led to secondary injuries in trauma victims. Using frontline experience and available evidence, they switched to soft collars and, Rashford argued, the result has been a better experience for patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers are really important,\u201d he added, \u201cbut don\u2019t let them rule your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

\u2018Some Skills of Adaptive Leadership Are Obvious, But That Doesn\u2019t Make them Easier to Learn\u2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n