Discussion and Reflection Questions

Resources to Explore the Topic of Adaptive Leadership During a Crisis

Adapting for the Long Haul

Discussion and Reflection Guide

IDENTIFYING YOUR PURPOSE

• Consider your organization’s purpose. 

• What are your personal passions?

• How might that purpose need to change during these difficult times?

COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS

• Who hears your thought process and plans? 

• What language do you use (verbal and non-verbal) to communicate your ideas? 

• What about good news or bad news? How do you communicate those? 

• Do your followers/partners understand why you make the decisions you make? 

• How transparent are you with why you do what you do? 

• How can you become a clear, thorough, and transparent communicator?

LISTENING TO OTHERS

• How often have you stopped to listen since mid-March? 

• To whom do you listen? 

• What have they shared? 

• How did you process their ideas/questions/criticism? 

• How open are you to accepting help, suggestions, criticism, and feedback? 

• Do your followers see you as approachable or a good listener?

DELEGATING AND COLLABORATING

• How often do you engage in collaboration? 

• When others in your organization bring an idea to the table, how likely are you to encourage him/her to run with it? 

• In what ways have you (or can you in the future) given others opportunities to shine? 

• How willing are you to delegate tasks to others? 

• Can you stop to recharge your own self?

EMBRACING CONFLICT

• When you think about conflict, how do you feel? 

• How likely are you to embrace opposing opinions (dissenters) within your community or organization? 

• When changes need to be made, how do you communicate with your team? 

• How can you balance conflict in a way that others don’t feel threatened but instead have a chance for growth?

• Consider the dissenters that challenge you and your organization. How can you give them a voice without giving them power?

THRIVING INSTEAD OF SURVIVING

• What technical challenges have you tackled since mid-March? 

• How can you shift the focus from those challenges into more adaptive change? 

• How can you be more purposeful and Gospel-centered in your decision making? 

• What is going to have to change for you to move from surviving to thriving?