Prerequisites: None

Exam Type: No Exam

This seminar will explore how the adaptive leadership model developed by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government can be applied to help lawyers thrive and lead change in uncertain times. We will first explore the origins of the adaptive leadership model and use interactive exercises to understand the difference between technical and adaptive problems, particularly in the context of legal organizations. In successive modules, we will then use discussion-based lectures and interactive exercises to help students understand:

• The complexity of adapting and evolving in turbulent times at both the personal and organizational level;
• How to lead and hold people through change;
• How to thrive in uncertainty by increasing your tolerance for risk and ambiguity and gaining perspective about the dynamics of social disequilibrium;
• How individuals, teams and organizations can achieve goals that have proven impervious to the best laid plans and intentions, by identifying and challenging operating assumptions, core values and motivations;
• How to have courageous conversations to address the competing interests and conflicts that an adaptive challenge presents, in order to engage stakeholders and lead change more effectively; and
• How to stay anchored, patient, engaged and creative in an adaptive, stress-filled situation, as you are doing the hard work of adaptive leadership.