Time to Adapt
One of the unique aspects of working in the DC office is that it happens to be the location of the company’s headquarters. This has given me the opportunity to gain exposure to some C-suite executives in addition to my coworkers and directors within my practice.
Last week, my intern class had the unique opportunity to hear from the Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer where we learned about the company’s strategy and growth over the past decade. The CTO was recognized last year by Savoy Magazine for his leadership as one of the most influential blacks in corporate America, and I was excited to meet and hear about his career and insights into the company strategy. He discussed his role in implementing new strategy to make segments of the company that aren’t doing as well, more profitable. As he continued to tell us how his team was able to turn around the IT segment a few years ago when it was facing software challenges, his leadership to adjust to the context of the changing market and adapt reminded me of the adaptive work we learned about in T & M.
In adaptive work, there are type 1, type 2, and type 3 situations. In Type I Situations, there is a clear diagnosis of the problem and easy solution. In Type II Situations the leader has solution but may struggle to implement it and leans on his or her followers, in Type 3 situations, the problem definition is not always clear cut, and furthermore implementing a solution requires strong leadership and agency from followers. This problem appeared to be a type 3 problem. The CTO knew that turning around the IT segment would be a challenge and rather than waiting for the outcome to be clear, utilized his leadership as a process and gradually made the segment more profitable each year.
The biggest point of turning the segment around came when the decision was made to make a switch from their old software. This change required a change in beliefs and norms, but the CTO was able to pitch the trade-offs of learning a new software internally and the benefits that the new change would bring of taking on more clients and business. While making this decision was difficult and costly at first, the ability of the company to adapt to meet our clients’ needs ultimately helped the segment succeed. I feel fortunate to be able to connect with such successful and impactful leaders within the company.
Indeed, I think that many of your fellow classmates have encountered the reality that adaptive work is pretty requisite in any field/industry. In that your major paper in the fall will be a deep dive into a theory, should you choose to dive into adaptive work this will give you a head start. Good to elaborate on the three different kinds of situations and identify the extent to which the leader and/or followers contribute in each situation. But for the paper this fall, you’ll need to provide some more concrete examples that illustrate each element of whatever theory you choose. You didn’t quite go all the way here to describe, with this type 3 situation, the agency that the followers brought to the situation; the role that they played, the way in which they were able to make the decision to make the change and make the change itself.