Adaptive leadership: what it is and what it means

Adaptive leadership is the approach to leading that selects the style best suited to the specific situation by applying four criteria: the team member's maturity in the task, the type of decision at stake, the team's life stage, and the time resources available. The difference between adapting and being inconsistent comes down to transparency: the style can change, but the adaptation criterion must be made explicit so that the team recognizes it and does not read it as arbitrary. When it is not made explicit, a change of style is read as the mood of the day.

Distinctive: four criteria
Distinctive: the adaptation criterion must be made explicit
Essential: selects the style best suited to the specific situation
Essential: team member's maturity in the task
Essential: time resources available
Constant: the style can change
Constant: difference between adapting and being inconsistent comes down to transparency

Glossary

Adaptive leadership

An approach to leading that selects the style best suited to the situation by applying four criteria (the team member's maturity, the type of decision, the team's stage, time resources) and always makes the criterion explicit to the team.