Program Overview
Polykala’s Adaptive Leadership Development is designed to challenge the notion of leadership, generate insight and offer tools to catalyse change. It is delivered with an emphasis on experiential learning modes. You won’t be asked to sit through hours of theory and there won’t be a single powerpoint. Instead you’ll be on your feet, learning in real-time through creative and reflective activities, as you gain tools and awareness to tackle tough challenges, navigate complexity and thrive in uncertainty.
Fundamental to the training is the view that a person’s leadership effectiveness is tied directly to their reflective skill. A sequence of structured exercises are presented to elicit predictable ‘automatic’ behaviours so that participants can observe themselves and explore alternative ways of responding that might enhance their leadership capacity.
We explore four key ideas/actions from the adaptive leadership framework and apply them to your context:
- Distinguishing leadership and authority
- Diagnosing technical and adaptive challenges/opportunities
- Unpacking the emotional and social qualities of systemic adaptation: ‘what do we keep, let go and, grow?’
- Learn and apply the peer-consultation method to gain practical insights on your adaptive leadership challenges.
Key Components
- 1. Learn the core Adaptive Leadership framework.
- 2. Apply the framework to the change dynamics at play in your context.
- 3. Distinguish between technical and adaptive challenges.
- 3. Practise the Harvard case-consultation method to make progress on present challenges.
Topics Covered
Leadership & authority
Technical & adaptive challenges
Harvard peer consultation methodology
Cultural adaptation and loss aversion
Articles
Case Study – University of Newcastle’s Ma & Morley Scholarship Program
In 2019 and 2020, Polykala travelled to Newcastle to deliver two intensives on Adaptive Leadership and Facilitation to the scholars of the University of Newcastle’s Ma & Morley Scholarship program.
“We aren’t change averse, we are loss averse”
Change often means one of two things: loss and/or growth. Too often, we give all the airtime to the ‘growth’ and opportunity surrounding a change agenda.
Case Study – Australian Rural Leadership Foundation
In March and June 2018, Polykala helped deliver the inaugural ‘For Our Future’ Forestry Industry Leadership Program for folks in the Forestry industry in Australia.
Course Information
Adaptive Leadership Development training
Book a session for your workplace or organisation- Workshop length: Full day to Multi day
- 2 Harvard-trained facilitators
- 10-25 participants
- Participant evaluation
Case Studies
Australia Council for the Arts
Polykala designs, curates and delivers the Australia Council for the Arts Future Leaders Program for emerging arts workers in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific. The year-long online and residential fellowship focuses on leadership development, advocacy and building the professional networks of participants to better advocate for the value of the arts and artistic practice in Australia. The program has an emphasis on working with First Nations guests and facilitators to explore a different way of enacting leadership in Australia.
University of Newcastle
Polykala designs and delivers the leadership development and facilitation training components of the University of Newcastle’s Ma & Morley Scholarship program. This intensive session introduces participants to the work of ethical leadership trains participants in the art of facilitation for leadership development and personal insights. This training has been delivered to both staff from the university as well as the scholars of the Ma & Morley Scholarship program.
Australia Rural Leadership Foundation
Polykala has designed range of leadership development programs for the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, from multi-year adaptive leadership development programs to short-form interventions into existing programs. In particular, Polykala delivered a program to the forestry industry to assist them to collaborate more effectively across organisations and regions. Our approach to ‘loss aversion’ and change management ensured that people were better equipped to have tough conversations in an industry facing tough challenges.