1. Time for a game-changer in Local Authority leadership:  Adaptive leadership in complexity and change
Liz Skelton
Director Collaboration for Impact
17 May 2016

2. Effective leadership is characterised by actions that have positive impacts beyond ourselves. It is not management, entrepreneurism or dictatorship. It involves using our privilege and power to connect with others to create progress for the whole, not just our part. It enables people to understand and solve their own problems, not look to someone (in authority) to fix it for them. Leadership always embodies a higher dream and purpose that things are left better than we found them – more resilient communities, sustainable organisations and people. The Australian Leadership Paradox: What it takes to lead in the lucky country. Aigner. G & Skelton L. Allen & Unwin 2013

3. An adaptive or complex problem is a challenge that is difficult to solve
Incomplete or contradictory knowledge;
Has number of people and opinions involved;
Is hard to understand or predict
Has long time horizons for cause and effect; and
The interconnected nature of these problems with other problems.

4. Mainstream responses to complexity
FORMAL
TECHNICAL
AUTHORITY DRIVEN
DETACHED

5. Adaptive responses to complexity
EXPERIMENTAL
SOCIAL
FORMAL
TECHNICAL
AUTHORITY DRIVEN
DETACHED
SYSTEMIC
POWERFUL

6. Adaptation What do we Conserve? What do we Discard?
Where do we innovate?

8. Balcony and Dancefloor

9. Role of Authority
Protection
Direction
Order

10. Eg carbon pricing – a nerve was being tapped.
Our idea about leadership belongs to another time when we had less complexity and uncertainty, the only certainty we have in change .
We need a way of leading which allows us to face our new realities and doesn’t rely on those in authority to fix our problems.
We confuse authority - those appointed with the task of managing our systems – direction , protection and order with leadership.
Authority/Tech – ok when we have technical challenges that we ve seen before and we know how to fix. They don’t require us to change they require us to respond. Eg.
Leadership/Adaptive – Require us to learn new way of doing things , adapt – requires some loss, shift in our beliefs/values.
Example: Climate change, Reconciliation , Media industry – new platforms , refugees
Eg carbon pricing – a nerve was being tapped.
Really talking about – how we live, what we value and how much it may cost.
Leadership: face new realities, there is no quick fix – requires loss as well as gain.
This is when we hear the cry for leadership, someone who will fix things with as little disturbance to our way of life. This is our fantasy, it plays out in a particular way in Australia so if we want to change it we have to first understand it and how we got here.
Liz Skelton. The Adaptive Practice

11. Role of Leadership Diagnose & question Surface difference
Challenge norms

12. Creating the foundations for collaboration and learning
Liz Skelton, The Adaptive Practice

13. Creating foundations for adaptive work

14. Purpose

15. Diagnostic Skills
Liz Skelton, The Adaptive Practice

16. Power & authority
POSITIONAL POWER - Formal
INFORMAL POWER - PERSONAL

17. Productive conflict for innovation
Liz Skelton, The Adaptive Practice

18. Competition happens behind closed doors
We value personal relationships. Mateship is an important part of life and work. Which means competition, an inevitable and important part of life, gets relegated to the shadows. We don’t openly value ambition and competition anywhere but on the sports field.
Mates maintaining hierarchy? – boys club – clear manifestation of egalitarian values
And “non-mates”? - women have to play the game, working hours, in and out group -
Competition – in sport we punch above our weight. Outside competition for power is hard to discuss.
Eg education – tension between individual choice/opp and egalitarian values and mateship .
Competition happens behind closed doors
Implications : We lose ambition & innovation?
Mateship – means we often do business with ourselves and people who look/think like us. Innovation requires diversity. Don’t allow conflict or diversity – we walk familiar rather than necessary ground.
Opp: use mateship whilst owning roles of leadership and authority. Use positional and personal power but we cant just rely on one. Mobilise ‘mates’ for purpose
Current Example:
Liz Skelton. The Adaptive Practice

19. Working with the ‘No’ What happens to the No in your organisation?
Visibly
Subtly
Liz Skelton, The Adaptive Practice

21. Curiosity, experimentation & Risk Taking

22. Mindsets & skills for adaptive leadership
Creating foundation for change and learning
Purpose
Power
Diagnosing
Collaboration:
Working with diversity and conflict for innovation
Tolerance for risk and failure
Curiosity

23. Questions, Reflections, Insights ????

24. Thank you!
“When an old culture is dying the new culture is created by those of us who are not afraid to be insecure”
Rudolph Bayo
Liz Skelton
Director. Collaboration for Impact