Qu'est-ce que le leadership adaptatif, concrètement ?

C'est la capacité d'un leader à modifier son comportement de façon appropriée quand la situation change (Yukl et Mahsud, 2010). La recherche récente le décrit en quatre comportements : percevoir avec justesse ce qu'exige la situation, disposer d'une large palette de comportements, équilibrer des exigences opposées (par exemple contrôler ou responsabiliser) et appliquer ces comportements avec souplesse, au bon moment.

Le leadership adaptatif peut-il vraiment se développer ?

Oui. Il ne s'agit pas d'un style de personnalité, mais d'un ensemble de comportements observables. Il s'appuie sur des capacités elles-mêmes entraînables, comme la flexibilité cognitive et la lecture des émotions d'autrui. Les auteurs de l'échelle soulignent d'ailleurs que décrire ces comportements concrets permet de concevoir des interventions ciblées pour élargir le répertoire des managers.

En quoi votre approche diffère-t-elle d'une formation au leadership ?

Une formation transmet surtout des modèles. Nous agissons sur les trois conditions d'un comportement, selon le modèle COM-B : la capacité (savoir le faire), l'opportunité (un environnement qui le permet) et la motivation (y trouver un intérêt). Nous entraînons donc les managers sur leurs situations réelles, et nous ajustons ce qui, dans l'organisation, les empêche d'adapter leur conduite : marges de manœuvre, droits de décision, instances.

Comment mesurez-vous la progression ?

Nous utilisons l'Adaptive Leadership Behavior Scale (ALBS, Nöthel et al., 2023). Ses 15 items ont été validés au fil de trois études menées auprès de plus de 650 personnes, avec une fiabilité très élevée (alpha de 0,95 à 0,97). L'échelle est renseignée par les membres de l'équipe : la progression est donc mesurée là où elle compte, dans la perception de ceux qui sont dirigés.

Quel lien avec nos projets de transformation ?

Une transformation confronte les managers à des défis inédits, pour lesquels leur expérience ne fournit pas de réponse toute faite. Ils doivent lire des situations ambiguës, arbitrer entre exigences contradictoires et changer de posture selon les phases du projet. Le leadership adaptatif est la compétence qui leur permet de le faire, au lieu de répliquer ce qui marchait avant.

Un leader adaptatif n'est-il pas un leader qui manque de constance ?

Non. L'adaptation porte sur les moyens, pas sur le cap. L'un des comportements mesurés consiste justement à rester concentré sur l'objectif tout en restant flexible sur la manière de l'atteindre. À l'inverse, appliquer le même style quelles que soient les circonstances relève de la rigidité, que la recherche associe à un leadership moins adaptatif.

‍ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM

Reading the situation, mobilizing a broad repertoire of behaviors, balancing competing demands, and adjusting your style at the right time. We develop these behaviors in your leaders and managers, and we measure their progress from the perspective of their teams.

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SCIENTIFIC GROUNDING

Leading in uncertainty is a skill that can be measured and trained.

Research now describes adaptive leadership in terms of concrete behaviors rather than as an abstract style. This is what makes it measurable and developable.

Managerial effectiveness

Managers who adapt their behavior to the situation and to each individual team member are rated as significantly more effective by their teams (Nöthel et al., 2023).

flexibility

Teams led by adaptive managers report significantly higher levels of overall job satisfaction. When a leader genuinely understands and responds to individual needs, their own engagement deepens naturally — and so does that of everyone around them.

team effectiveness

Adaptive leadership fosters a calmer, healthier work environment. It significantly reduces psychosocial risks by creating a workplace where employees feel heard, supported, and aligned with managerial expectations.

the ability to handle the unexpected

Transformation presents what are known as adaptive challenges: no known solution applies. These require different behaviors than technical problems, which expertise alone can solve (Heifetz et al., 2009; Yukl and Mahsud, 2010).

Format

A Scientific, Structured and Measurable Journey.

The program

Adjusting your leadership is a skill you can train.

Adaptive leadership is based on four behaviors: reading the situation, having a broad repertoire, balancing competing demands, and adjusting your style at the right time. We measure these using the Adaptive Leadership Behavior Scale (Nöthel et al., 2023), completed by the team itself. We then train these behaviors using your real-world situations and address the daily obstacles that hinder them: decision-making autonomy, governance, and rituals. This is the principle behind the COM-B model.

Prevention or Remediation

Depending on your organizational context, activate this program in a proactive or curative mode.

Pragmatic

We develop this behavioral and relational competence at the heart of the action, for an immediate and lasting impact.

Measurable

We model this skill at the beginning and at the end of the program to measure its real impact.

Individual or Collective

This development program can be deployed at the level of an individual, a team and an organization.

Tailor-made

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Scientific foundations

For whom?

A different challenge for every stakeholder in your transformation.

Staying the course without being rigid

In a VUCA world, the survival of your organization depends on leadership that can navigate uncertainty. This program guarantees sustainable performance by teaching your leaders to balance short-term requirements and long-term vision. Maximize overall efficiency to secure your strategic goals.

Operational agility and perceived efficiency

Develop a behavioral “toolbox” to adjust your style — from control to autonomy — according to each situation. This program increases your perceived effectiveness and the satisfaction of your team, while reducing your own irritability to the unexpected and the stress of change.

Job satisfaction and social climate

Adaptive leadership is a proven driver of mental health: it increases employee satisfaction and reduces the exhaustion associated with change. Create an environment where uncertainty is no longer experienced as stress, but is managed calmly through a better perception of human needs.

VUCA-compatible leadership development

Move from abstract leadership styles to concrete and scientifically measurable behaviors. The ALBS model offers a precise framework to train your talents to perceive situational needs and to diversify their behavioral responses. Ensure the employability and resilience of your human capital.

Successful transformation plans

The success of your transformations depends on the ability of leaders to decode weak signals and to mediate between opposing demands. Adaptive leadership makes it possible to adjust strategies in real time, facilitating the adoption of change and guaranteeing the effectiveness of teams in the long term.

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UNREST at a Glance

OUR JOB

Setting the stage for your next transformation to succeed.

Because transformation shouldn't be driven in the dark, we model and build your teams' capacity to navigate upcoming changes. Our goal: maximize the success rate of your transformation initiatives while safeguarding your human capital.

Driving AI Adoption

AI adoption is less a technological hurdle than a human and behavioral challenge. Using the COM-B framework (Michie et al., 2011), we dissect what comes down to capability, opportunity, and motivation, role by role. We then adapt workplace conditions and practices, tracking usage nature and frequency before and after the intervention. The result: real, daily, and measurable adoption.

Delivering Strategic Project Success

A strategic initiative rarely lands on a blank slate; it usually layer onto ongoing reorganizations, tech rollouts, and shifting priorities. The pressure to move fast can mask underlying change fatigue and hidden execution risks. Before launch, we assess team readiness and conduct a pre-mortem to uncover unspoken friction. These insights enable clear trade-offs on pace, scope, and resource allocation.

Successfully managing a reorganization

Changing an organizational chart means changing managers, teams, and sometimes even roles for hundreds of people. We measure team readiness before the announcement, prepare managers to lead the transition, and then monitor the implementation of new ways of working. The goal: a living structure, not just a diagram.

Transforming your corporate culture

Transformations rarely start on a blank slate: teams are often already navigating other changes, sometimes leading to cumulative fatigue. We assess their readiness, evaluate the existing change load, and stress-test the project through a pre-mortem. This allows you to set the stage and make informed decisions on launch, scope, and pacing. Throughout deployment, we track targeted behaviors to guide necessary adjustments.

Building a More Resilient Organization

Strengthening your teams’ adaptability in these uncertain times is a strategic imperative. Yet resilience, much like agility, is not a personality trait; it is a set of cognitive and behavioral skills. As such, it can be measured and developed.

Bringing Your Organizational Culture to Life

A company’s culture is nothing more than the sum of its members’ micro-behaviors. We translate your core values into clear, measurable managerial routines. By shaping the work environment, we enable desired norms to emerge naturally and sustainably.

Developing your resilience and agility

When changes happen in rapid succession, teams wear out before they can adapt: shifting priorities, delayed decisions, and quiet disengagement. We measure their ability to withstand pressure and reorganize, then develop this as a core competency so they can navigate uncertainty without burning out.

Successfully managing an integration/merger

A strategic project is often added to changes already underway, and the pressure frequently masks team fatigue. Before launch, we assess their readiness for change and conduct a pre-mortem to uncover unspoken risks. This allows for better decisions regarding scope, pace, and resources.

Changing your business or operating model

Shifting from a product-based to a service-based, platform-based, or agile model changes everyone's work without necessarily touching the organizational chart. Habits from the old model often persist for a long time. We identify the routines that need to be replaced and design the conditions that make new practices easier to adopt than the old ones.

INSIGHTS