Technical vs Adaptive

Understanding Technical and Adaptive Leadership in
the Context of Simple, Complicated and Complex Problems

A Simple Problem is like a Recipe

The recipe is essential
Recipes are tested to assure replicability
No particular expertise is required; knowing how to cook may increase your success, but you could do okay without it
Recipes produce standard products
There is a high certainty of the same result every time

Technical Leadership (also known as Management)

A Complicated problem is like sending a rocket ship to the moon

Formulae are critical and necessary
Sending one rocket increases the assurance that the next one will be ok
Requires a high level of expertise in many specialized fields and collaboration across the fields
Rockets are similar in critical ways
High degree of certainty of outcome

Technical and Adaptive Leadership

A Complex Problem is like a relationship

Adaptive Leadership

From Michael Quinn Patton, Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute workshop, 2007