Why Leaders need to Adapt Constantly
Leaders need to shift approach to tackle different situations.
If you ride a motorbike slouched like a teenager, you’ll end up hurting.
The reason is simple: as you ride, you constantly need to shift your position based on what’s happening around you. Since you never know what’s next, you need to be ready to very quickly sit upright to brake, or swerve around a hazard. If you’re slouched and unaware of your surroundings, you’re not at all prepared to react, let alone pre-empt a hazard.
Part of this preparation starts before the ride, in equipping yourself for the trip. If you’re going seriously off-road then a road bike is not your best choice. If it’s pouring rain, you probably want to get waterproofs on.
It’s no different for leaders. You cannot expect to lead with authority and impact if you’re oblivious to the reality around you.
The Danger of the Default: Why Static Leadership Fails
I have watched incredibly competent executives struggle because they refused to change their position.
They try to lead a high-stakes regulatory discussion with the same forceful energy they used that morning in a Sales meeting. Or worse, they walk into a room of anxious junior staff during a merger and treat them with the cold, bottom-line precision required for a Board report.
I was once leading a team through a period of "sunlight and open roads." We were in growth mode, the atmosphere was collaborative, and my leadership style was, quite frankly, like a pudding; soft and settled. I was leading with a light touch, giving the experienced team a high degree of autonomy. We were cruising comfortably.
Then, another AML directive was issued by the European Commission, and it was harsher than expected.
That sudden shift in compliance standards meant that the road beneath us had instantly turned from smooth tarmac to treacherous terrain.
Shifting Weight: From Pudding to Anchor in a Crisis
At that moment, if I had stayed in my pudding state, relaxed and hands-off, we would have been non-compliant with our license at risk. The team was operating in a vacuum, unaware that the familiar tarmac had vanished.
I had to change position. I couldn’t be the ‘Relaxed Leader’ anymore; the situation demanded an anchor.
As I walked into the office to inform the team, I used the Doorway Trigger. As I gripped the handle, I consciously shed my relaxed posture and literally stood up straighter. I became precise, directive, and intensely focused on the micro-details of our processes.
Once we had embedded the new way of working, I could ease off again and allow the team more autonomy.
“You cannot lead with authority and impact if you’re oblivious to the reality around you.”
Reading the Road: Three Dimensions of Situational Awareness
You wouldn’t wear your thickest thermal gear in a summer heat wave. Use the right tool for the terrain. Competent leaders fail when they apply a style that doesn’t fit the context. Leading a fledgling start-up with heavy processes and protocol kills innovation, whilst leading an authorised firm without regard for compliance will get you shut down.
Situational awareness is about recognising patterns. Read the traffic and the room. Before you enter a high-stakes meeting, pause for a 30-second scan. Is the environment stable or chaotic? Is the mood in the room anxious or energised? If you don't adjust your approach to the curve of the room, you’ll run wide.
With your team, you need to approach each individual differently. Handle your people as they need. The one struggling with self-doubt might need a dose of encouragement and praise, but the over-confident one might need to be reined in slightly. Some need detailed instructions, others just need to know the direction and they’re off.
The Pre-Ride Check: Tools for Intuitive Flexibility
Consider the below ideas to reduce your rigidity and better build your adaptability.
Know Your Defaults: Identify the style that comes most naturally to you. Is it coaching, directive, or visionary? Challenge yourself to use a different approach in your next one-to-one.
Coffee Break Wargame: Mentally rehearse scenarios whilst stuck in traffic or waiting for your brew. If your biggest client left tomorrow, what are your first three moves?
The Doorway Trigger: As you reach for the handle of a meeting room (or click ‘Join’ on a call), ask: Who do they need me to be right now?.
Your Waypoint
Flexibility is not the same as being spineless. Riders change their body position to enter a curve, but they never let go of the handlebars. As a leader, you can vary your style whilst holding fast to your integrity and core values.
The goal is to reach a state of intuitive flow, where you shift your weight and adjust your speed simply because that is what the road demands.
Mirror Check
Think about the next door you are about to walk through. If you walk in with your default style, what is the one hazard you might be too rigid to swerve around?
Thank you for reading this far. If any of this resonates, I’d love to welcome you as a reader and to stay connected. Please join the mailing list for future posts, share your thoughts in the comments, or find me on LinkedIn.
