)
)
)
When good solutions fail: The adaptive leadership challenge
Purpose:
The opening session introduces the distinction between technical problems and adaptive challenges, providing participants with a framework for understanding why many of healthcare's most persistent problems continue despite repeated technical interventions. Drawing on practical experience from international healthcare systems as well as within the NHS, the discussion explores how leaders recognise adaptive challenges and respond differently.
Themes:
- Diagnose before you prescribe: Understanding technical versus adaptive challenges
- Leading beyond authority: mobilising your people to tackle behavioural and cultural change
- Practical examples from organisations that changed the results by changing the conversation
Why this matters:
Many of healthcare's most persistent challenges cannot be solved through technical expertise alone. Recognising when leaders need to adapt rather than simply apply more expertise is fundamental to creating organisations capable of learning and sustained improvement.
