Six Adaptive Challenges

In my previous two posts I have been discussing the differences between adaptive challenges and technical problems. Here are some questions that will help you identify the various types of adaptive challenges:

1. Activist Challenge: Is the group, or a particular faction, refusing to face some aspect of reality?

2. Development Challenge: Is the group, lacking in capacity or resources to do the job or address future demands?

3. Transition Challenge: Does the culture of the group need to be shifted to accommodate new realities?

4. Maintenance Challenge: Does the group need to sustain its current values and practices because it is under threat?

5. Creative Challenge: Does the group need to invent new practices, processes, and procedures in order to do something that has never been done before?

6. Crisis Challenge: Is the group facing a potentially explosive situation, and is the value it has amassed in jeopardy?

Over the next several posts I will be drilling down on each of these challenges to provide you with some aditional details for leading in these situations.