5 Principles to Guide Adaptive Leadership

How you respond to a crisis will have repercussions for years to come.

by

and

Leni Wild

by

and

Leni Wild

September 11, 2020

Sensor Spot/Getty Images

Summary.

Responding to Covid-19 uncertainty requires adaptive leadership, which is defined as the ability to anticipate future needs, articulate those needs to build collective support and understanding, adapt your responses based on continuous learning, and demonstrate accountability through transparency in your decision-making process. To tap into successful adaptive leadership, follow five common principles to guide your response and shape long-term recovery plans.

The Covid-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, with leaders facing unpredictability, imperfect information, multiple unknowns, and the need to identify responses quickly — all while recognizing the multi-dimensional (health-related, economic, social, political, cultural) nature of the crisis.

BR

Ben Ramalingam (@benramalingam) is a senior research associate at the Overseas Development Institute, London. His forthcoming book, Upshift, about navigating pressure and stress through creativity, will be published by Flatiron Books (Macmillan) in 2021.
DN

David Nabarro is the special envoy of World Health Organization’s director general on Covid-19 and co-director of the Imperial College Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London.
AO

Arkebe Oqubay is senior minister and special adviser to the prime minister of Ethiopia.
DC

Dame Ruth Carnall is managing partner of Carnall Farrar, London, a trustee of the Kings Fund and the former chief executive officer of the National Health Service London.
LW

Leni Wild is a senior research associates at the Overseas Development Institute, London.

5 Principles to Guide Adaptive Leadership

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