Adaptive leadership program equips leaders for uncertainty

A leading Australian bank engaged Nous to design this innovative and engaging program for their top 300 leaders.

Developed from Harvard research, adaptive leadership aims to achieve productive, sustainable outcomes in times of uncertainty and complexity. Adaptive challenges necessitate changing values, habits, practices and priorities. To provide a context for exploring adaptive challenges, Nous negotiated a partnership with the Victorian Corrections system. Participants visited regional prison and a community correctional facility and engaged with the staff and inmates. Participants also undertook experiential activities outside their comfort zones including real-plays with actors, writing workshops with a professional writer and media training with a professional journalist. This program was designed to engage participants’ whole mind and tap the competencies that generate active listening and presence, creativity and empathy.

Participants gained significant understanding of how leaders help people address complexity and ambiguity in complex modern organisations, and reported significant benefits not only to their leadership role, but also their role as citizens.