Course Duration:
Full-day program (or two half-day modules), with options for virtual delivery or leadership retreats
Target Audience:
Mid to senior-level leaders, team managers, project leads, or high-potential employees who are responsible for leading through disruption, complexity, or organisational transformation.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Understand the principles of adaptive leadership and why it's essential in unpredictable environments.
Recognise the difference between technical and adaptive challenges.
Build the mindset and behaviours needed to lead with resilience and flexibility.
Engage and empower teams in the face of uncertainty and resistance.
Apply practical tools to lead through change, conflict, and complexity.
Course Outline
Module 1: Understanding Adaptive Leadership
What is adaptive leadership?
Origins (Harvard Kennedy School, Ronald Heifetz model)
How adaptive leadership differs from traditional leadership
The link between complexity, uncertainty, and the need for adaptability
Module 2: The Nature of Change and Challenge
Technical vs adaptive challenges
Why some problems can’t be solved with expertise alone
Common leadership traps during crisis or disruption
Adaptive work: reframing problems and shifting mindsets
Module 3: The Core Principles of Adaptive Leadership
Get on the balcony – seeing the bigger picture
Regulate distress – maintaining productive tension
Maintain disciplined attention – keeping teams focused
Give the work back – empowering others to lead
Protect voices of leadership from below – enabling diverse input
Module 4: Leading Yourself Through Uncertainty
Developing personal resilience and emotional agility
Navigating ambiguity, setbacks, and pressure
Identifying your leadership default style under stress
Reflection: What kind of leader does your team need now?
Module 5: Engaging Others in Times of Uncertainty
Building trust and psychological safety during turbulence
Managing resistance to change with curiosity and empathy
Tools for courageous conversations and adaptive dialogue
Creating shared purpose and distributed leadership in teams
Module 6: Adaptive Tools and Techniques
Scenario planning and sensemaking
Stakeholder mapping in dynamic environments
Using inquiry over advocacy
Holding space for experimentation and learning
Leading with both confidence and humility
Module 7: Action Planning and Application
Identify one adaptive challenge in your role/team
Map your adaptive leadership response
Peer coaching conversations
Build a 30-day Adaptive Leadership Plan
Delivery Style
Workshop-style, highly interactive
Case studies, breakout discussions, and guided self-reflection
Scenario-based practice and small group exercises
Option to include pre-work, post-session coaching or check-ins
Course Materials Provided
Adaptive Leadership workbook
Reflection tools and leader self-assessment
Conversation guide for adaptive challenges
Change resistance diagnostic
Personal Leadership Development Plan template
Optional Add-ons
Executive coaching package
360 feedback or team diagnostic on adaptive capacity
Integration with change management or innovation programs
Customisation for specific industries (e.g., public sector, healthcare, education, finance)