We hear from many professionals working in fish and wildlife that making leadership real means mobilizing people and organizations to rise to the challenge of tackling situations and opportunities that demand new ways of doing business. But new ways of doing business also need to build from the best aspects of our agencies' history, culture, values, and strategy. Adaptive Leadership™ provides the understanding, skills, and support that we need to do two things well: distinguish what's essential from what’s expendable and innovate in ways that dovetail with those essentials. The point is to develop an adaptability that enables the agency to thrive and carry the best from its history into the future.

Adaptive leadership, described by Ron Heifetz in his classic book Leadership Without Easy Answers, is a set of strategies and practices that can help organizations and the people in them break through gridlocks, accomplish deep change and develop the adaptability to thrive in complex, competitive, and challenging environments. Leadership like this can be learned. And anyone, anywhere within the organization, can do it.

Typically, when there is a major problem or crisis, people want and need leadership. Adaptive leadership recognizes there are basically two kinds of problems that people confuse when trying to find solutions. First, are “technical problems” where an adequate response has been developed; there are one or more experts with general credibility, and an established procedure will suffice. An example is responding to a poaching call where the enforcement officer is the expert. There is an established procedure to follow, etc. The problem is more mechanical and someone can “fix” it.

Second, are “adaptive problems” where there are no set procedures, no recognized experts, and no adequate responses developed. Examples might be access to public wildlife on private lands, or “siloing” within agency divisions. The problem definition is not clearcut and technical fixes are unavailable. It calls for adaptive leadership where the leader does not have the answers. Instead, the leader has to orient people to their places and roles, control conflict, and establish and maintain norms in order to orchestrate people working together to find new solutions that will succeed. These skills are all part of the leadership development program toolbox developed by MAT for state fish and wildlife agencies, and they provide the “connective tissue” for the focus of the National Conservation Leadership Institute.