Technical Problem or Adaptive Challenge?

Many of the problems faced in complex organizations are adaptive challenges that do not have ready-made, tried and true solutions. Adaptive challenges require a learning mindset to both understand and solve the challenge. Yet, many leaders have difficulty admitting that they don't have a solution ready for implementation and thus they treat any adaptive challenges as if they were actually technical problems.


When faced with an adaptive leaders must be willing to give the work back to the people who have the problem and facilitate the process of solving that problem. This requires a secure ego on the part of the leader. It also requires a maturity on the part of followers because they have to accept responsibility for solving the problem they are facing

How do I know if I am facing an adaptive challenge instead of a technical problem?
Here are the key characteristics and distinctions between technical problems and adaptive challenges.

Technical problems are clear and the solution to the problem is clear and understood. The locus of solution for these problems is the manager who knows what to do to fix the problem and tells the team what to do.

Adaptive challenges are different. Defining the problem requires learning and there is no known off-the-shelf solution. So solving the problem requires learning as well. Rather than a leader having the answer, the leader's job when facing an adaptive challenge is to facilitate the learning necessary to understand and solve the problem. In this sense, adaptive challenges require the leader to give the problem back to the people who have the problem.

This is not abdicating; it is facilitating. But this requires the humility that can only come from a an ego-in-check. The leader has to be willing to say, "I have never seen this before and I am not sure how we are going to deal with this. But, there are several really good people on this team and together I think we can figure this out."

Of course, when the ego is not in check, the leader cannot say that. Thus, when the organization is facing a true adaptive challenge they continue to treat it as a technical problem, and the problem never goes away.

Are you facing an adaptive challenge or a technical problem?

Will your ego allow you to call it for what it is?