How do we strengthen our adaptive capacity and establish realistic plans and goals for strategic purposes that readily meet the needs of those in our sphere of influence?
The world is changing so fast and is much different than it used to be. Many of the tried and true solutions and paradigms that may have worked in the past are no longer working. The result can lead to getting stuck, becoming frustrated, or even feeling overwhelmed.
Adaptive capacity as defined by Heifetz, Linsky & Grashow:
“The resilience of people and the capacity of systems to engage in problem-defining and problem-solving work in the midst of adaptive pressures and the resulting disequilibrium.” (Page 89)
How do we actively strengthen our adaptive capacity?
- Choose to calmly face the unknown
- Engage and inspire others in the learning and transformation necessary to take on the challenge that is before them
- Ask questions that reveal competing values and gaps in values and actions
- Raise up the deeper issues at work in a community so that you can interrogate reality
- Learn and change without sacrificing personal or organizational fidelity
- Help those around you to make hard, often painful decisions to effectively fulfill their mission in a changing context
Pivoting with Perseverance is the ability to embrace both the challenge AND the opportunity that life brings. The power of pivoting while using perseverance allows words, actions, thoughts, and attitudes to work together for good.
Part of growing in our Adaptive Capacity is having the ability to Pivot and Persevere in order to ask those hard questions, engage others in learning, and address the issues while interrogating reality.
The ChangeMaker Culture Map provides an opportunity to identify and diagnose internal organizational culture to strengthen the ability to pivot and adapt.
“When our old maps fail us, something within us dies. Replacing our paradigms is both deeply painful and absolutely critical.” – Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains
How can you strengthen your adaptive capacity personally? Professionally?
What are some areas of your life (personally and/or professionally) where you need to spend time interrogating reality?
Who in your life can help you Pivot with Perseverance when needed?
What might it look like to identify and diagnose internal culture using the ChangeMaker Culture Map?
“Navigating the Geography of Reality.” Canoeing the Mountains, by Tod Bolsinger, Intervarsity Press, 2015, pp. 89.
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