by Chris Duncan
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine represented a paradigm shift for the way the world fights wars. For the units who were activated on an Immediate Response Force (IRF) deployment to Poland in anticipation of this threat, the shockwaves from the invasion were felt especially poignantly. For the last twenty years, our Army had fought a counterinsurgency (COIN) fight, working eventually out of well-established bases and on a semi-regular deployment schedule. Russia’s actions brought the gruesome reality of large-scale combat operations (LSCO) back into stark focus in the public eye, especially for our military leadership. Instead of counterterror operations in which one side held massive fire and technical superiority, we needed to prepare for long, stalemated battles along massive fronts between near-peer competitors and leading to hundreds of thousands of casualties. The new way of warfare opened in 2022 was a culture shock to military leaders at all echelons. Adaptive problem solving is now the most important skill for leaders at any level.
ADP 6-22 mentions the word “adapt” over 64 times, without providing an effective definition nor actionable advice that provides leaders with a blueprint to manage organizational change in the face of uncertainty. In the article The Work of Leadership, Ronald Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie provide an approach to solving complex problem sets now known as Adaptive Leadership theory. Their work posits that organizations face two types of problems: technical problems and adaptive challenges. Technical problems have clear solutions. Adaptive challenges are those that require a paradigm shift from the organizational status quo. To take my division’s IRF deployment as an example, a technical challenge may be preparing for and executing outload operations along practiced and defined procedures. Conversely, an adaptive challenge is the type that faced us after the invasion: an unprecedented way of war in the 21st century. The six skills that Heifetz and Laurie offer are best suited to solve the adaptive leadership challenges organizations will face–challenges which place immense strain on existing systems, team members, and leaders themselves.
Skill 1: Get on the Balcony
“Getting on the Balcony” is the foundational skill for the adaptive leader. It refers to stepping back and seeking a broader perspective of both the organization and its operating environment. It can be likened to the Army Design Methodology, or the Battle Command task of Visualization. This practice allows a leader to have a clear understanding of the patterns and factors at play in each situation, without getting caught up in the nitty-gritty details of the challenge. A leader under duress may find themselves seeking a sense of control by micromanaging or suffocating their subordinate leadership. In doing so, they lose sight of the bigger picture. Getting and remaining on the balcony allows the leader to take a strategic approach to their operating environment at any level.
Skill 2: Identify the Adaptive Challenge
From the Balcony, leaders have the strategic vantage to clarify adaptive from technical challenges. Leaders must be able to take a step back and diagnose where their efforts are best applied. Technical problems should be effectively delegated, while leaders should spend most of their time identifying and attempting to solve adaptive problems. This may look like a commander relying on their executive officer to manage the outload phase of a deployment while they continue to form a strategic vision of the operating environment in theater. In addition to higher-level strategic issues, leaders should also be attuned to their subordinates’ experiences and watch for adaptive challenges that may impact operations at the company level and below. A prime example is when an E-5 solved the problem of hedgerows that blocked the Allied advance after D-Day.
Skill 3: Regulate Distress
In high stress environments created by adaptive challenges, leaders must juggle mission accomplishment and the welfare and morale of their team. To do so, a leader creates a “holding environment,” allowing enough pressure to encourage ingenuity and action without burning the team out. The leader should give appropriate amounts of work and detailed information at the right time and pace to keep this holding environment steady. Simultaneously, a leader must regulate their own internal state to present an aura of stability for their organization. Both stress and calm have a trickle-down effect; the leaders must limit their own stress and prevent it from taking up space in the holding environment for their subordinates. The confidence a leader displays empowers subordinates to confidently tackle their own adaptive challenges.
Skill 4: Maintain Disciplined Attention
Since adaptive problems are complex and likely have several ‘correct’ solutions, leaders can easily get distracted by exploring too many options or avoiding uncomfortable decisions. The adaptive leader must overcome these tendencies to keep their organizations on track and focused on the critical components of the problem. In deployment preparation, a leader must be able to identify the most important training tasks and barriers to success, visualize an effective path forward, and generate buy-in from the team. While the temptation may exist to focus on immediate technical challenges during the pre-deployment period, the effective leader cuts through to the heart of the problem set and clearly delineates the path forward. Simultaneously, the leader cannot allow their organization to be overcome by counterproductive workplace behaviors. By injecting a sense of focus into problem-solving processes, the leader provides motivation and direction that gives subordinates a way to channel their energy and frustration in a productive manner.
Skill 5: Give Work Back to the People
The best solutions to adaptive problems arise from a collaborative, diverse thinking process. However, our tendency as humans is to consolidate control at the top of the hierarchy. We aim to maintain a sense of influence that places us in the driver’s seat. But this undermines the ability of our subordinates to exercise their own disciplined initiative. The skill of “Giving Work Back to the People” allows subordinates to solve their piece of the pie. This is at times a challenging culture shift–especially in the military, and even more so in high-stress situations like an unexpected deployment. In such scenarios, the organization will rely on everyone, from the PV2 on the gun line to the O-6 commander in the TOC. Leaders will benefit most from effective delegation, even to the point of discomfort. It is better in this situation to allow more work to be out of the leaders’ direct control so that more eyes are focused on more facets of the problem. The commander still ultimately retains approval authority for those critical pieces on which the operation rests.
Skill 6: Protect Leadership Voices from Below
Though challenging to our egos, especially as rank increases, “Protecting Leadership Voices from Below” involves the consistent practice of giving subordinates the chance to speak up, dissent, and contribute solutions without fear of retribution or being ‘squashed’. Most ADM processes only involve the high-level staff of an organization. Where are the guys who have on-the-ground experience with the problem? While logistical concerns may preclude SPC Snuffy from participating in every MDMP session, the principle still applies– what are we doing, as leaders, to encourage every member of our team to be present and involved in the problem-solving process? Conversely, have we created an insular, exclusive planning environment? We cannot expect our organizations to thrive, especially in paradigm-shifting operational environments, if we lean on a culture of dictation, insularity, and exclusivity. This quickly becomes a recipe for burnout, low morale, and ultimately for an organization that will fail to adapt and thrive in anything other than the most comfortable, familiar environments. In sum, it is a recipe for precisely the kind of organization the military preparing for large scale combat operations cannot afford to become.
Conclusion
The way wars are fought has already begun changing, and soon the Army and the DoD as a whole will need to adapt to a new generation of warfare. It is paramount that rather than treating the transition to a LSCO military as a technical problem, we view it as an adaptive problem. As such, we must develop adaptive leadership skills in leaders at all levels. The next generation of Army leaders must implement the adaptive leadership toolkit if we wish to remain on the cutting-edge of power projection and responsiveness. Barring this, we risk countless lives and will fail to achieve strategic objectives if we cannot teach ourselves to adapt. The ability of our nation to effectively defend herself and her allies rests squarely on the shoulders of those leaders who will guide her into battle, wherever the call may be. We must learn to adapt, for failure is the only other option.
Chris Duncan served for four years as a Quartermaster Officer in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. His assignments included Distribution Platoon Leader, Maintenance Control Officer, Executive Officer, and Brigade Logistics Planner, in which position he deployed as part of Operation European Assure, Deter, and Reinforce to Poland in February 2022. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and now works as a leadership and Executive Coach.
Photo by ALAN DE LA CRUZ on Unsplash
