How Adaptive Leadership Provides the Tools to Move Through Uncertainty in Complex Times
May 03, 2020
What struck me in that moment was that I did not see that man.
Eric Martin was walking in London’s Hyde Park with Acumen Fellow, Vimal Kumar. Vimal was born a ‘sweeper,’ the lowest caste in India, prescribed the role of cleaning toilets and sewers by hand, often without proper protection.
Vimal stopped before we entered the park and was looking at something. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me what he was looking at — then it dawned on me that he was looking at a sweeper.
Reminded of his own community in India, Vimal paused to take in the view of a London sweeper, though this man was fully adorned with the safety of yellow gloves, yellow boots, a push cart, and a mop.
Through this framework, leadership expands into a practice of seeing the brutal reality of where we are alongside the audacious vision of where we want to go — and lovingly holding the tension in between.
Through much trial and experimentation to translate this sophisticated set of ideas into daily practice, I’ve learned that it’s most helpful to view leadership as a moment, rather than as a trait, a behavior, and certainly not as a person.
To lighten the weight of the world’s most pressing issues, it’s helpful to break them down into what Eric calls ‘leadership moments.’ A leadership moment is a time when you need to make a tough decision in the face of the stubborn status quo. It could result in taking a stand on a polarizing issue, speaking up when it’s unpopular and uncomfortable, or doing what’s right instead of what’s easy (to steal a line from Acumen’s Manifesto).
One easy way to kickstart your growth as a leader is to begin practicing an exercise Eric calls ‘getting up on the balcony.’ In the video below, Eric describes how this simple habit can help you create space for reflection in the midst of action:
