Adaptive Leadership: Slowing Down when Dealing with Complex Problems
I’ve noticed a pattern in my life of defaulting to action—moving quickly, speaking up first, and jumping in. This has often served me well, giving me the confidence to voice important, if unpopular, perspectives. But it has also meant learning to slow down, to let others finish, and to stay present rather than anticipating the next step. I still work intentionally to practice this.
Over time, I’ve also learned the value of rest—not just to recharge so I can go fast again, but to simply slow down for its own sake. I heard this for the first time from Rich Roll, who is famous for being a vegan ultra-endurance athlete. In his recent recovery from a spinal fusion surgery in May 2025, he came to embrace “go slow to go slow”. Meaning that if you reject the world’s addiction to productivity, and use observation and mindfulness, you can foster patience, gratitude and mental resilience. Whether caring for someone ill or recovering from something personally, slowing down allows clarity and renewal.
I’ve come to realize that speed is pointless in some circumstances. Especially if you are facing a complex problem, speed matters less than being in the right mindset to think deeply. Complex problems rarely have quick fixes; if they did, we’d have solved them already. Slowing down creates the space for reflection, deeper understanding, and new perspectives. When we pause, we see what we once sped past.
This idea is core to a course we’re developing at Kwela on Adaptive Leadership, which builds off some of the work of Heifetz, Linsky, and Grashow. They distinguish between technical problems—solved through expertise—and adaptive problems, which are complex, ambiguous, and unfold over time. Navigating them requires sitting with discomfort, listening closely, and resisting the urge to control or resolve tension too quickly.
Rather than choosing between two opposing approaches, effective leaders learn to hold the tension between them. Their role is to “regulate the heat,” adjusting the balance as conditions shift.
Consider an organization in a rapid growth phase. Early on, it may prioritize frontline autonomy, empowering those closest to customers to act quickly and decisively. Speed and responsiveness feel essential, so freedom becomes the default.
As the organization expands, however, relying on every leader in the field to exercise the same level of judgment becomes less dependable. Costs can rise, quality may become inconsistent, and decision-making can drift. At this stage, introducing more standardized processes becomes necessary to maintain coherence and reliability.
The leader’s challenge is not to choose autonomy or control, but to cultivate both—deliberately, proportionately, and at the right moments. Doing so requires patience, curiosity, and the capacity to continually sense, diagnose, and adjust as the environment evolves.
In our upcoming course, we will be asking leaders to experiment with tactics that help “regulate the heat” and recognize their strengths to sit in discomfort and ambiguity.
If you or leaders you work with are navigating adaptive or complex problems (and truthfully who isn’t today), you may want to consider this theory or connect with us if you are interested in how to support leaders.
Joanne Spalton, Partner
joannes@kwelaleadership.com
