I'm just starting "Leadership on the Line - Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading" by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky.
When a problem is solvable by what is presently known and available, and simply requires discussion, organization and careful implementation, it is "technical."
When a problem requires people to face their fears, change their behaviour, forge new relationships or give up something that they hold dearly, it is "adaptive."
When leaders have to solve adaptive problems, they are entering dangerous territory, since many people are not ready to make adaptive changes in their lives. Various tactics to discredit, remove, bypass or harm the leader may result.
Excellent leadership doesn't pretend that adaptive change is merely technical, nor does it enter into adaptive problem solving lightly. The key to success is learning to ask the right questions....
