The picture that accompanies this article sets out a simple model for adaptive leadership, highlighting the inner capacities that expand our sense of choice in any moment.
In this article I argue that one of the crucial elements of adaptive leadership (as well as response‑able leadership and personal resilience) is choice: my ability to choose how I respond, in any moment, to what is happening around me and to me. Leaders today face multiple demands in complex, volatile situations that are constantly changing, and this makes choicefulness increasingly important.
To be able to adapt, leaders need to be able, at any moment, to choose a new route in ambiguous circumstances with many unknowns. They also need to be trusted by the people they lead, who are often living with inconsistency, uncertainty, ambiguity, fear and a sense of lost control. The model I use sets out some of the inner capacities that expand our room for manoeuver when it matters most.
Choice in the face of circumstances
Most of us have very little choice about what happens to us, but we have significant choice about how we respond to the circumstances we are in. There are ways we can prepare ourselves so that, in the moment, we are more ready and more able to choose.
These include mindfulness and an ability to be present and awake, listening carefully to what is happening around us rather than operating on autopilot. They also include curiosity and openness to what is happening, instead of judgement, righteousness, or quickly deciding we already know what something means. We are better supported in this work when we focus on what we have, with a sense of gratitude, rather than dwelling on what we lack. In any given moment, what we have not got is, in one sense, irrelevant – because we do not have it. However, we can certainly learn from that recognition and prepare more fully for the next time a similar situation arises.
Awareness: widening what we can see
One key contributor to greater choice, for individuals and for leaders, is awareness. Awareness has several dimensions:
- Active awareness of context as it changes, staying awake to what is really happening rather than what we think should be happening.
- Awareness of myself: my limiting beliefs, my automatic responses, my strengths and capabilities, so that I give myself more choice over my reactions and can respond more deliberately.
- Awareness and understanding of others, especially those we lead and work with: their limiting beliefs, fears, emotions and needs (met and unmet), and how these shape their motivation and behaviour.
- Awareness of what is needed in this moment, not just what would be nice to have in theory.
- The ability to see the wider system at play and to put events in perspective, rather than getting caught up in minor aspects of what is happening.
The broader and deeper our awareness, the more options we can see and the more thoughtfully we can choose.
Purposefulness: letting meaning guide choice
A second contributor is purposefulness: giving direction to my choices based on my core purpose in life, my values, what gives me meaning, and what matters most right now. When I am connected to this inner compass, I am less likely to be blown around by anxiety or external pressure, and more likely to respond in a way that is congruent and sustainable.
The more I understand the purpose and values of others too, the more I can choose responses that fit the wider system rather than simply serving my own preferences.
Resourcefulness and preparedness
A third contributor is resourcefulness: my ability to draw on everything that is genuinely available to me in a given moment. This includes my relationships and support, my skills, experience and knowledge, and my deeper wisdom. It includes being willing to ask for help and to make use of the strengths around me, not just my own. It also means refusing to be paralysed by what I do not have; if it is not available to me right now, then, in this moment, it is not relevant.
Closely related is preparedness. I can ask myself: next time I am in a situation even remotely like this, what would I like to have available, and how can I prepare for that now? That might involve developing specific skills, building relationships, cultivating a more constructive attitude to life, or learning to step back and view situations with more perspective. Each act of preparation increases my sense of choice when the next testing moment arrives.
A sense of possibility and the courage to act
Being able to make a choice requires me first to notice that choices exist: to cultivate a sense of possibility in any moment. This is easier when I deliberately widen my view beyond the immediate, short‑term problem; when I can easily generate alternative options; when I notice my fixed patterns of thinking and step beyond them; and when I invite diverse perspectives from others. In uncertainty, this includes seeing the possibilities that ambiguity can open up, rather than allowing the anxiety of uncertainty to undermine my confidence.
Finally, several deeper qualities support us in enacting the choices we make: trust, courage and love. Trusting myself and others, and trusting my intention, enables me to step forward with confidence rather than hesitation. Courage allows me to act even when I feel exposed or unsure. Bringing a genuine love to the system, to others and to myself reinforces my trust in my good intention as a leader and as a human being. When I stand in that trust and love, I am more willing to commit to my choices and to stay present with their consequences.
A call to senior leaders
For senior leaders, this model is not an abstract ideal but a daily practice. Every board meeting, staff conversation and difficult decision is an opportunity to notice what you are aware of, reconnect with your purpose, draw on your resources and preparedness, and choose a response that serves the wider system rather than your immediate comfort. The more deliberately you exercise this muscle of choice, the more you model adaptive leadership for your organisation, build resilience in your teams, and create the conditions in which others can also step forward with courage, trust and a deeper sense of shared purpose.
