Adaptive Leadership
🎶 Southgate you’re the one…! 🎶
Four years ago, when I initially became interested in Gareth's leadership style. I observed traits that I had also implemented in my leadership roles. Fast forward to July 2024, I wondered if his leadership
style had changed and I wanted to delve deeper. As it became evident that he is continuously developing himself as he leads his team.
Gareth Southgate is a very disciplined man with a respectable track record when it comes to leading England to victory (Second is better than third!)
Regardless of debates around formation, attack, and defence, Gareth's leadership has taken the England team to new levels. Regardless of personal feelings towards football or Southgate, it is clear that his team members respect and are attentive to him.
He mentors younger players, works with senior members, and on occasion provides tough motivation. He adjusts his approach to suit each player, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment.
Southgate’s adaptive leadership style has proven successful on the pitch, and you could implement a similar coaching strategy into your workplace too.
This article should give you the basics you need to utilise a similar approach and lead your team to the top.
Who is Gareth Southgate?
Ok, so this section is more so for those who have been living under a football rock… Feel free to skip to 'Why is Adaptive Leadership Important' if this isn’t you. I don’t generally follow football, World Cup and Euros aside (fair weather supporter) but I observed and learnt enough through the Euros 2020 and 2024 to give you this (semi)-informative account.
In short, Southgate used to be a player himself, starting at Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and latterly, Middlesbrough in the premier league. He made it to the Euros in 1996 and unfortunately missed what would’ve been the winning penalty for England. This led to the infamous Pizza Hut advert – Which looking back, could be considered quite demoralising for Southgate.
Following this catastrophic event however, Gareth went onto flourish within his career. He moved to manage Middlesbrough from 2006 to 2009, then England’s Academy, England Under 21’s team and latterly England’s team manager from 2016 – A lot more of an accomplishment than the potential contrary (scoring the winning penalty in the euros).
In summary, Over eight years, the Three Lions reached the semi-finals of a World Cup and the final at both Euro 2020 and 2024.
How does Gareth Southgate lead his team?
So now you have a basic outline of who Gareth Southgate we can move on to adaptive leadership is, we can begin to dissect how Southgate leads/coaches one of the most well-known teams in the UK and possibly the world.
To start with, Southgate is considered, by many, a role model primarily based on the immense comeback made following the missed penalty. A metaphorical visual representation of Southgate’s grit and determination can be seen on the ITV’s ‘Bears mission with Gareth Southgate’ where Gareth undertakes numerous physically challenging tasks but manages to overcome them – It’s a really enjoyable watch!
You learn in the show that Southgate admires his grandfather who was a member of the British Army and many of his disciplinary outlooks which he carries throughout life were inspired by his grandfather. That being said, it was quite apparent that this experience was one of the main contributory factors which influenced Gareth to be as much a role model as his grandfather was to him.
If you want to analyse further what could have been improved in the game against Spain. This article cited in Training Zone suggests a slight challenge to Gareth's leadership style by proposing the introduction of a 'Systems' approach. In my opinion, there is a potential risk in shifting towards a systems leadership style as it may conflict with Adaptive/ Transformational leadership, but it's worth considering. Combining approaches could be beneficial.
Adaptive Leadership Theory
Adaptive leadership helps solve business problems by identifying and focusing on key aspects while eliminating unnecessary elements. The theory of adaptive leadership was developed by Harvard professors and leadership experts Marty Linsky and Ronald Heifetz.
What’s adaptive leadership?
Adaptive leadership is a management strategy which ensures all subordinates are individually motivated and mentored.
Truth be known ( in my opinion), the idea of one big boss enforcing their will is considerably outdated and quite simply ineffective in the world we live in today. More and more tasks are becoming more and more technical and complex which requires unique and innovative ideas to be successful.
Using just one motivational model won’t maximise the productivity of every member of a team, everyone has a unique way of learning and communicating, and the adaptive leadership model guarantees that individuals' needs are specifically met.
Why is adaptive leadership important?
Approaching leadership with an adaptational outlook is becoming ever more important as workplace teams face evolved practical problems and we realise that individuals require specialised approaches, and everyone works in different ways.
By making small adjustments to your outlook, you will be able to cater better to specific needs. For example, by offering guidance and training to a team member who’s less experienced will steadily improve their know-how on a subject. Where as a colleague who’s already experienced might require much less guidance and rather need to be pushed to maximise on their potential.
Every team is different, and each member is too - one might still be developing skills while another is competent in the same area. As a leader, using one specific approach might not always work depending on the dynamics of the team and may lead to conflict. If you’re at a stage of conflict, here are 5 ways to cure fears of conflict resolution.
Ultimately, adaptive leadership is important so that a dynamic team can be nurtured and appropriately progress through whichever complex and difficult tasks arise – You can read more on the importance here, where the CFI go into much greater depth than I have here,
When are adaptive leadership strategies appropriate?
This form of leadership is important when developing a dynamic team with varied abilities. Building a team who can collectively come together and use their individual strengths to overcome a challenge is crucial.
In all situations, big or small, a leader will always want their team to be successful. Using an adaptive leadership model will help by ensuring inclusivity while allowing for diversity.
Potential Cons of Adaptive Leadership
On the other hand, it could be argued that when a team is undertaking a ‘basic’ task, it might be more efficient to manage in a more authoritarian manner whereby subordinates are told what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be done for. The only motivating factor here for these people though will be to avoid punishment if something goes wrong.
Yet while this method of leadership may work with some types of people. Due to human nature, most will eventually push back and ultimately, the team will begin to deteriorate. It’s also likely that retention levels will decrease, resulting in a higher level of employee turnover.
Thus, catering to specific needs will likely be more beneficial in the long run no matter what style of task or team already in place.
Why is an adaptive leadership style important for Gareth Southgate?
The England team is made up of diverse backgrounds and cultures, not all players will learn the same way. Southgate must account for each individual for this reason and coach in a varied way which will ensure everyone receives the same message.
Every player wants to win, but if managed incorrectly, it’s likely the field would end up a free-for-all. Southgate’s job is to draw everyone in and devise a strategy based on each player's strengths and weaknesses – After all, you can’t have a goalie trying to score!
It’s by no means easy to pull off but for a creative and ever-varying industry like football, a differing yet distinctive approach is a must when trying to encourage personal development and nurturing the team’s relationship.
NB Some suggest Gareth's leadership style is transformational but it is my belief (and experience) that the two styles can readily combine:
Transformational Leadership:
focuses on inspiring employees to innovate and contribute to shaping the future of the organisation.
Adaptive Leadership:
focuses on assisting employees to embrace challenges and learn from their mistakes
5 Lessons to be learnt from Southgate’s adaptive leadership style
Ultimately there are 5 main lessons shown by Southgate which should be taken on board when trying to convert to an adaptive leader, they’re as follows:
Adaptive Leadership Process
- Adaptive leadership framework that promotes flexibility and agility.
- Emphasis on building resilience and adapting to change.
- Encourages innovative thinking and problem-solving.
- Helps leaders effectively manage uncertainty and ambiguity.
- Supports individuals in developing key leadership skills.
- Practical tools and strategies for implementing adaptive leadership.
- Ideal for leaders in diverse industries facing unpredictable challenges.
- Provides support and guidance for leaders looking to drive positive change within their organisations.
Observations of Gareth
Southgate values teamwork. He is willing to keep learning. He starts each game with a positive attitude. He can bounce back from setbacks. He can make difficult decisions. He listens to all sides and promotes open dialogue in the team
Start Implementing Adaptive Leadership
First, you must understand the learning and communicating personalities of your team.
Everything DiSC® profiling an ideal method for assessing and identifying behaviours and how best to work alongside each style of personality.
Once you manage to uncover ‘what makes people tick’, you should work with it when decision making – Never use it as a weapon or to brand people.
You often find that everyone has a disposition to grow, it just might be hidden well. Uncovering it and nurturing the growth at a pace suitable for the individual is what will achieve results.
Adaptive leadership then also involves the skill of interwinding and coordination of everyone’s characteristics to be developed into a larger broad-scale plan for succession as a group.
Start by Knowing your Team and You
So, adaptive leadership isn’t something one can pick up overnight, but more of a long learning curve which is developed through experience and expertise. Knowing how to unlock and figure out someone’s professional drive is learnt and can’t be taught because as we know, absolutely everyone is different.
That’s why we’re here to help with that through Everything DiSC® Profiling, You can simply Order Profiling Questionnaires for your team (and yourself) . This information can be held by you and you’re then able to run with the baton and secure a team of elites in your field.
Just remember though, there’s a difference between a manager and a leader so the information will be worthless if It’s not handled with care.
Why not unveil your leadership style to yourself by taking the Everything DiSC® for Leaders Questionnaire
If you are in management, there is an Everything DiSC® Report for Management too.
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