Module 6: Parallel Narrative Reflection 2 (Discussion)
Overview
Parallel Narrative Reflections
Parallel refers to writing from both an academic/critical scholarly perspective and a personal narrative perspective. Thus, this reflection on the reading is assigned for narrative reflection on how the readings resonate with your own personal leadership experiences.
Here’s the details:
Parallel Reflection Assignment OGL 510.docx I attached it
Here are examples of the questions from other students
PART 1:
1.
What is the main premise of the article or chapter
?
In
Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th Edition) by Peter G. Northouse, Chapter 11 focuses on Adaptive Leadership in which the leadership approach is designed to help teams and organizations to work through complex challenges and uncertainty. Unlike traditional leadership models that focus on directing and problem-solving, Adaptive Leadership is about encouraging teams to develop solutions themselves. Adaptive Leadership is especially useful in fast-changing environments where there are no clear solutions, requiring leaders to focus on learning, experimentation, and team engagement to drive progress.
2.
What are your reactions (both positive, negative, and/or neutral) to the readings, including the theories, premises, methods, findings, implications, arguments, etc.?
Coming from a military background, Adaptive Leadership is something that very relatable with me. The Marine Corps thrives on structured leadership, but what most people don’t realize is that adaptability is at the core of effective command. You train for countless scenarios, but real-world missions rarely go as planned. Leaders have to improvise, adapt, and overcome for their teams to make real-time decisions under pressure.
What I appreciated most about this chapter was its emphasis on giving the work back to the people. In my current role in Learning & Development, I’ve seen too many leaders fall into the trap of solving problems for their teams rather than coaching them to develop solutions. Adaptive Leadership reinforces the idea that great leaders don’t need to have all the answers but instead, they create environments where their teams can think critically and adapt effectively.
One challenge I see with Adaptive Leadership is that it requires a high level of trust. Leaders must be comfortable with a certain level of uncertainty and discomfort, which can be difficult for organizations that rely on rigid structures and predictable outcomes. I’ve seen leaders struggle with this, especially those who feel the need to control every aspect of a project. Adaptive Leadership works, but only when leaders let go of control and focus on empowering their teams.
3.
What questions, confusions, and/or ideas for future research emerge as you read?
– How can Adaptive Leadership be applied in highly structured industries, like manufacturing, where flexibility can sometimes be seen as a weakness?
– At what point does adaptability become a liability? How do leaders find the balance between flexibility and maintaining direction?
– How does Adaptive Leadership apply in remote or hybrid work environments, where leaders may have limited direct interactions with their teams?
4.
What is one position you would take or a discussion question you would pose to get your classmates talking?
– Can a leader be too adaptive? When does adaptability start to hinder progress rather than drive it?
PART 2:
Reading in the chapter on Adaptive Leadership helped in cementing my belief that great leadership isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about building teams that can solve problems without waiting for orders.
One of my first lessons in this was during my time in the Marine Corps. One experience that stands out was during a field training exercise on Camp Pendleton, CA, where we were having overheating issues with our vehicle and it was beginning to fail. We were miles away from the Command Operations Center, with no immediate backup plan. Instead of panicking or waiting for permission to request a wrecker or another vehicle, I had to step back, assess the situation, and trust my team to come up with a solution. The Marines who knew the most about the vehicle and the ones operating the equipment daily had some very unique ideas I would have never considered. By stepping aside and letting them take ownership, we got the mission back on track, and fixed the issue with a bike repair kit. That moment taught me that leadership isn’t about doing but it was about enabling.
That lesson has carried over into my role now in the corporate world. When I started leading L&D programs, I initially felt like I had to be the expert, always providing solutions. But I quickly realized that the best way to drive real change was to empower those closest to the work. A recent example was when my team was rolling out our new learning platform. Leadership wanted a top-down approach, but after speaking with frontline members, we realized they needed flexibility and customization. Instead of pushing a rigid system, we iterated based on their feedback, resulting in a much smoother rollout with higher engagement.
I’ll be the first to admit that adaptive leadership isn’t always easy. I’ve worked with leaders who struggle with uncertainty and they want clear answers and immediate results. I’ve also seen instances where too much adaptability led to constant course changes, leaving teams feeling like they lacked clear direction. There’s a balance that needs to be between adapting to new information and sticking to a strategic vision. The best leaders I’ve worked with know when to improvise, adapt and overcome, but also when to hold the line and push forward
Part 1.
1. What is the main premise of the article or chapter?
Two essential leadership styles were covered in chapters 11 and 12, Adaptive Leadership and Inclusive Leadership. Adaptive leadership focuses on assisting individuals and teams in navigating difficult transitions by promoting learning, creativity, and problem-solving. It emphasizes identifying problems and helping followers to come up with solutions as a group. Inclusive leadership on the other hand focuses on diversity, equity, and psychological safety. It promotes an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and able to make a significant contribution regardless of background, age, or experience. Both strategies support flexible and people-focused leadership, which is crucial in today’s quickly evolving workplaces.
2. What are your reactions (both positive, negative, and/or neutral) to the readings, including the theories, premises, methods, findings, implications, arguments, etc.?
Reading about Adaptive and Inclusive Leadership felt very relevant to my experiences working with teams in different settings. I would highlight Adaptive Leadership because I’ve seen firsthand how leaders are often expected to have all the answers. In reality, many challenges don’t have clear-cut solutions and they require flexible and creative solutions. I remember working on a project that was always changing deadlines, priorities were altering, and issues kept coming up. Instead of claiming to have the perfect answer, our leader encouraged us to be creative and try new things, learn from small mistakes, and make adjustments along the way. Although that type of leadership had a huge impact, I also observed how draining it was for them to constantly manage uncertainty. Flexibility and adaptability are extremely important skills to have in leadership roles and to master these skills you need to have experience.
3. What questions, confusions, and/or ideas for future research emerge as you read?
As I read through these chapters, I wondered how companies navigate the tension between needing to be adaptable and some form of stability. It would seem that being infinitely adaptable would be exhausting, but being too inflexible structured would prevent handling unexpected problems. I also couldn’t help but ask myself whether particular industries or company cultures would be more likely to be conducive to adaptive leadership than others, although I’m not entirely certain which ones. With Inclusive Leadership, a question in my mind was how in practice leaders can react to unconscious bias during decision-making. There are plenty of training sessions out there, but do they ever actually bring about long-term, or do people simply learn the “right” answers without a shift in their behavior? It would be interesting to know more research on whether such companies that take inclusive leadership seriously find measurable gains in areas like employee satisfaction, performance, or even innovation. Another observation that kept recurring was the way work-from-home and technology are altering the dynamics of leadership styles working similarly when the teams are spread across geographies.
4. What is one position you would take or discussion question you would pose to get your classmates talking?
Something that stood out to me while reading leadership literature was the conflict between stability and adaptability. While teams look to leaders for stability and consistency, leaders are also expected to be adaptable and flexible. This raises the question of how effective leaders manage to combine stability with flexibility. Are there any particular practices or illustrations that show how leaders may be both creative and trustworthy at the same time?
Part 2.
Personal Reflection Entry
Reading Adaptive and Inclusive Leadership caused me to think about my own leadership experiences both as a person who has been led and as a person who has had to take on leadership roles. Maybe the most important lesson for me was that it is so hard to balance stability and adaptability. On paper, Adaptive Leadership seems like the perfect approach because it lets organizations change along with shifting conditions. But in real life, I have witnessed the struggle that leaders face to cope with the constant pressure of not knowing. Throughout my experience working in sports and team environments, I have seen that the best leaders and coaches were not necessarily the most informed but rather the most versatile in the context that they were capable of adjusting without making their team feel insecure. However, even the most adaptable leaders struggled when faced with too much uncertainty. It made me wonder if there’s ever a time when being too flexible is really a weakness.
Inclusive Leadership, on the other hand, resonated with me on a more personal level. I’ve been in environments where inclusion felt genuine and others where it was clearly just a talking point. What struck me the most was the idea that true inclusivity isn’t just about bringing diverse voices to the table but making sure those voices actually influence decisions. I have seen situations where people from different backgrounds were being invited to meetings but never really given actual decision-making powers, thus the feeling of inclusivity being performative. I too have been there, in our staff meetings when I voice my opinion, it is not always taken into consideration because of my youth and lack of experience in the leadership environment. It takes a lot more than policies or diversity initiatives to create a culture where everyone feels valued, and I’m curious about what it takes for leaders to make that shift in a way that truly impacts an organization.
Overall, these readings made me think about what leadership, beyond theory, looks like in real life. It is easy enough to say that leaders need to be flexible and inclusive but operationalizing those ideals in real situations requires constant effort, self-awareness, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. I wonder how much good leadership a product of development is and how much it is a result of personality and intuition.
1. What is the main premise of the article or chapter? (summarize in a few sentences)
In Chapter 12 of
Leadership Theory and Practice, Northouse discusses Inclusive Leadership, which emphasizes valuing diversity in the leader-follower dynamic. This approach helps organizations identify communication barriers and support followers, enhancing global effectiveness. Rooted in
Workforce 2000, which stressed the need for organizations to integrate and support women and people of color to remain competitive (Johnston & Packer, 1987), Inclusive Leadership has evolved. While it still focuses on diversity in personal characteristics, it has broadened to include out-groups, aligning with the Leader-Member Exchange Theory.
2. What are your reactions (both positive, negative, and/or neutral) to the readings, including the theories, premises, methods, findings, implications, arguments, etc.?
When I started reading this chapter, I immediately thought of my DEI training, and with today’s political climate, it almost felt like a moot point. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see the theory applied to in-group/out-group dynamics, emphasizing inclusion and participation. What excited me most was that the focus wasn’t solely on race or gender but on ensuring all followers feel valued, included, and encouraged to contribute to the organization’s success.
3. What questions, confusions, and/or ideas for future research emerge as you read?
With DEI taking a back seat with the new political administration, how does it affect organizations the government does not oversee? Will companies continue to have DEI movements, or will they start to suppress?
Most leadership approaches and theories focus on individual treatment within a team. Inclusive Leadership, however, emphasizes bringing everyone into the in-group and fostering a sense of belonging. While this is an effective strategy, what other leadership method could be paired with Inclusive Leadership to maintain a more individualized leadership approach?
Looking back at the Leader-Member Exchange Theory, it seems like there will always be an out-group—after all, the world often feels like one big high school. With Inclusive Leadership, is it possible to create an environment where everyone is part of the in-group?
4. What is one position you would take or discussion question you would pose to get your classmates talking?
This approach feels more like a temporary solution for organizations struggling with cohesion or division. While its practices can be incorporated into a leadership style, it shouldn’t be the sole approach for leadership development. Leadership styles are most effective when combined, and while Inclusive Leadership improves upon Leader-Member Exchange Theory, it seems to be one of the weaker approaches we’ve explored so far.
Is Inclusive Leadership truly sustainable, or is it more of a temporary fix for struggling organizations? Should leaders rely solely on this approach, or is it most effective when combined with other leadership styles?
PART 2. Personal Reflection Entry (15 points)
In my previous role as a Learning and Development Specialist, one of my biggest contributions was advancing DEI initiatives in an organization that desperately needed change. The company was originally built within the LDS church, and leadership at all levels primarily consisted of church members. As the organization grew, employees began noticing this pattern, which created concerns about diversity and inclusion.
My role involved initiating conversations with leadership about diversity and developing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to bridge the gap between LDS members and the rest of the workforce. Without realizing it at the time, I was applying many principles of Inclusive Leadership. First, I helped identify the diversity issue and worked on setting hiring criteria that encouraged inclusivity without violating right-to-work laws. I also helped create ERGs that connected employees through shared interests beyond religion. Lastly, I implemented educational efforts focused on recognizing employees for their performance rather than perceived religious affiliation. This included adding a section to our newsletter that highlighted promotions based on work ethic and achievements, shifting the focus to merit rather than personal background.
While Inclusive Leadership stems from DEI initiatives, it has evolved beyond focusing solely on demographics. Today, it emphasizes fostering inclusion for the greater good of the organization rather than simply meeting diversity metrics.
Your Parallel Reflections include three parts.
PART 1. Scholarly Entry (50 points)
1. What is the main premise of the article or chapter? (summarize in a few sentences)
Chapter 11 of
Leadership: Theory and Practice by P.G. Northouse explores adaptive leadership. Adaptive leadership lets leaders help followers tackle challenges, problems that require innovation, and shifts in behavior rather than just fixing normal issues. The main premise is that leaders facilitate adaptation by creating a supportive environment that guides followers through uncertainty and empowers them to find solutions together.
2. What are your reactions (both positive, negative, and/or neutral) to the readings, including the theories, premises, methods, findings, implications, arguments, etc.?
My reaction to adaptive leadership is that it is challenging and intriguing. I think the theory is positive overall. Leaders should guide followers through adaptive challenges that require leadership intervention. With the ever-changing environments of today’s world, you have to be adaptable. I appreciate the empowerment focus by Northouse. Followers need positive reinforcement from their leaders. Followers will need help with different problem-solving; it is the leader’s job to guide them through technical and adaptive issues. However, I am worried about how adaptable can I be? How can one be so adaptable? I would imagine the leader becoming overwhelmed by constantly having to adapt. What if the leader’s followers are not ready to adapt or can’t keep up? Every follower is different, so you have a different relationship with each (think servant leadership). Overall, adaptive leadership highlights navigating challenges and its implications for building adaptability. It relies on group dynamics, which leaves me struggling to use it in a large work environment.
3. What questions, confusions, and/or ideas for future research emerge as you read?
In Chapter 11 I noticed several future research ideas to enhance utility and depth. One idea I would practice is to adapt to different situations. For example, if my team is short-staffed during a busy period, I reflect on how to improve for the future. Another idea would be to explore how adaptive leadership performs across the workplace individually versus as a whole. One factor to consider is how individuals or the collective responds to authority. Research could investigate warning signs of readiness or resistance and strategies to overcome challenges. In today’s day-in-age online workshops, and learning material are extremely important. Websites like LinkedIn and YouTube have ample free resources to access. Especially with being an adaptive leader in a remote setting. Comparing other theories like transformational leadership could signal when adaptive leadership excels. Using historical data like scenarios of crisis or innovation will provide valuable insights. This would offer leaders clear guidance through live experiences and online material.
4. What is one position you would take or discussion question you would pose to get your classmates talking?
What other theory would adaptive leadership pair well with?
PART 2. Personal Reflection Entry (15 points)
After personal reflection on adaptive leadership, I realized it is much harder than I thought. I want to focus on empowering people to tackle complex challenges. I want to create a helping environment that is a safe space for my followers. If they need help I want to be the person they go to. For example, if they need help with resume building or interviewing. I know I would need to be patient. It is a slow process to become an adaptive leader.
