Start hereClassicKey manual or guideBook

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World

A practical handbook on adaptive leadership for people leading change in organisations and communities. It builds on Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line. Using stories, diagrams, cases and worksheets, it helps readers tell technical problems from adaptive challenges, diagnose the system and themselves, and act when change meets resistance. Readers use the exercises alone or with a team to plan interventions and build their own leadership practice.

Why it is in the libraryThe hands-on handbook for adaptive leadership, with worksheets for telling technical problems from adaptive ones.

Find the book →

Keywords

How to cite

Ronald A. Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World. Harvard Business Press. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/practice-adaptive-leadership-tools-and-tactics-changing-your-organization-and-world

Related in the library

  • 4.1C041

    Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Nonprofits

    A guide for nonprofit leaders who are thinking about coaching. It draws on 3 years of data from the Coaching and Philanthropy Project, gathered from coached leaders, coaches, intermediaries and funders. Sections explain what coaching is, what it yields for leaders and organisations, common barriers and when to use it. A practical part covers readiness, finding and selecting a coach, running the engagement, paying for it and checking results. Case examples close the guide.

    ClassicKey manual or guideFree
  • 4.1C043

    A Guide to Building a Successful Leadership Development Program

    A step-by-step guide for organisations that design or fund leadership development programmes. It draws on evaluations of the fellowship programmes run by Schusterman and the Rockwood Leadership Institute. It sets out 5 recommendations: make space for openness, develop emotional intelligence, build relationships on purpose, design a sound coaching approach and promote collaboration across sectors. It also includes a programme-building checklist, evaluation findings and further reading on equity in leadership development.

    CurrentKey manual or guideFree
  • 4.1C044

    Nonprofit Leadership Development Toolkit

    A free toolkit for nonprofits that want to grow leaders from within. It comes with the Bridgespan article How Nonprofit Leadership Development Sustains Organizations and Their Teams. It contains sample competencies from Bridgespan's competency bank, a 70-20-10 development plan template that a manager and staff member fill in together, and guidance on rolling the approach out across an organisation's systems and culture. It is a download from the article page.

    CurrentTool or templateFree
  • 4.1C045

    Theory U Tools (u-school for Transformation)

    A free online set of Theory U methods from the Presencing Institute's u-school for Transformation, released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike licence. Tools include container building, the iceberg model, stakeholder and dialogue interviews, shadowing, learning journeys, case clinics, 3D modelling, empathy walks, guided journaling, prototyping and a listening assessment. Social Presencing Theater practices are also included. Facilitators and teams use them for group reflection and organisational or systems change.

    CurrentKey online resourceFree
  • 4.1C046

    Nonprofit Leader All-Rounder 360

    A 360-degree feedback survey for nonprofit leaders with 74 questions across 16 leadership domains. The leader rates themselves and invites colleagues, board members and staff to rate them, so self-view can be compared with others' views. It takes about 30 minutes to complete and is meant to be repeated every 6 to 12 months. Org360 produces a report with scores, strengths, growth areas and a development plan.

    EmergingTool or templateFree with sign-upNonprofit Builder tool

Suggestion box

Something to fix or add here?

Know a better resource on this subject, found a broken link, or spotted a mistake in this record? Tell us.

About C042 The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

A person reads every message. A title, a link or a few words is enough.

What is it about?
Why is it useful, or what needs fixing? A title or a link alone is fine too.