Policy & Practice February 2018

editor‘s note By Jessica Garon

Leading at All Levels

W hen we first introduced our themes for the year, a few pro- spective authors reached out to ask what we mean by “adaptive leader- ship.” Internally, we’ve been using this term for a few years but this was a gentle reminder that our “latest language” isn’t always on everyone’s radar. The same goes for our most common frames and tools. While a lot of you—especially those of you who are repeat readers—are probably quite familiar with our mindset and the accompanying frameworks like social determinants of health, whole family approaches, and the Value Curve, it’s our job as your membership association to continue introducing and reempha- sizing these concepts that ultimately have the ability to move us toward population health and well-being. So back to answering the question at hand: What is an adaptive leader? As explained by Ronald Heifetz, Founding Director of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, “Adaptive leaders diagnose the situation in light of the values at stake, keep the level of distress within a tolerable range for adaptive work, and focus their atten- tion on ripening issues.” Echoing that sentiment at a leadership conference, our President and CEO, Tracy Wareing Evans, said adaptive leadership was “ideally suited to drive creative approaches in complex environments.” With the human services sector so often seeking ways to overcome complex challenges during uncertain times, the ability to adapt is key. It’s also important to understand that you can adapt and lead others through these challenges without having all the answers—sometimes we simply need to guide (or be guided) through the uncertainty at hand.

to you, we can all be leaders in the workplace. Whatever your position empowers you to do, take full respon- sibility for providing the best quality work in every situation. Spend time improving relationships within your own department and then develop and manage relationships across depart- ments. Engage and encourage team members regardless of their position, history, or age and, before you know it, people will be looking to you in times of uncertainty. If we all strive to enable families to live their best lives and reach their full potential, we also need to enable and inspire those around us on a daily basis.

This brings me to my next thought: leading at all levels. I think we all know you don’t have to be the director of your agency or organization to possess and use these valuable skills. Not many people know this, but in addition to my work here at APHSA, I’ve also had the opportunity to teach communication courses at my alma mater. In one of my courses, where we discuss leader- ship skills and styles, I always ask my students if they think leaders are born or made. It will always be an interesting question to me because I’m convinced that there is no right or wrong answer. Someone can certainly become a leader through the process of teaching, learning, and practicing but there’s also no denying that qualities often associ- ated with leadership come easier for some people. And there is no clear-cut answer as to why that might be. No matter what your current job title, the skills you strive to achieve, or the skills that seem to come naturally

Jessica Garon , Communications Manager at APHSA, can be reached at jgaron@aphsa.org.

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February 2018 Policy&Practice