Situational adaptability

Situational Adaptability  - Leadership series interview

[RMIT ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER ERIN FREEMAN TALKS TO PROFESSOR KATHY DOUGLAS, DEAN, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW, ON A SPLIT-SCREEN VIDEO CALL]

[ERIN FREEMAN IS SHOWN SEATED IN AN OFFICE AND SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO CAMERA]

[Start transcript]

[Erin Freeman]

Kathy, thank you so much for joining me. We're going to jump straight into it, I've got a couple of questions for you.

As you know, according to research, situational adaptability is one of the hardest leadership competencies to develop, and it's actually one of the most correlated with high performance.

I really wanted to talk to you because your research is in the area of conflict and negotiation and mediation, and I imagine that situational adaptability is a pretty key element of this.

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

I’d agree. One of the things we know it's important when dealing with conflict is being able to understand and listen to what's being said to you, and then reacting.

So, very often we have our fixed ideas about what another person is saying about a conflict. And then when we really listen we do understand what they're saying so much more deeply. And then, we're able to adapt to change our position to really engage with the problem at hand.

[Erin Freeman ]

And so, is there anything then unique about higher education leadership that sort of demands a particular style of situational adaptability?

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

Well, I think one of the things we're experiencing at the moment with COVID-19 is how quickly our environment is changing.

We're affected by not only what university thinks is the best way forward, but also the government, our community, students - the list goes on. So what we have to do is be even better listeners and more able to adjust, as we know more about what other people's needs and interests are.

[Erin Freeman]

And - thinking about your experience, what's one thing that someone could do to sort of appropriately respond or adapt to a situation?

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

Well, when you say ‘appropriately respond or adapt’, what do you mean?

[Erin Freeman]

So, I suppose I think you're talking about sort of active listening at the moment and making sure that you're actively listening to someone. Is it just about the active listening, or is it also body language is that sort of repeating what people have said? Are there particular things people could do that help demonstrate their listening?

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

Often in conflict resolution, they point to a few of those techniques. One is asking open questions, which I think a lot of people are aware about. And it's basically not providing the answer, or asking for an answer that's yes or no, but being really open-ended and curious in what you're asking of another person.

Another option is to summarize at key times in a discussion with another person. So a quick summary. “I think you're saying this about x, y,z” can really help to clarify what is going on between two or more people.

A third one might be - and it's a really something you practice and can get very good at - is when someone is quite angry, emotional, feeling not heard - they can make very barbed comments. Sometimes we reframe those comments to try and take the toxic part out, but still really honour what's been said to us. That's a skill that you can develop over time, that's highly effective in engaging with conflict.

[Erin Freeman]

Okay, so I can say why situational adaptability is one of the harder ones to develop then. That sounds like a pretty difficult technique to master?

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

It can be, and it really is about practice, but also a belief that it's worth giving a go. And a lot of people understand after a while that you can take out that toxic moment, but still really get to the heart of what the concern is.

I think that's what's important in any of these engagements: that we really have the dialogue; that we explore and look for underlying interests and concerns and then we look for solutions; that we are creative in our problem solving; and that we do that with empathy and also with an eye to what the university needs - remembering, even in the most conflicted experience, there's often a lot of good that can come out of it.

Conflict is not always about a negative - it can actually be a real push for change.

[Erin Freeman ]

I did read a definition once that conflict is when one person has a need of another that's not being met, and I always liked that definition

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

It's a terrific definition. I think particularly in our COVID-19 impacted times, we are really facing a lot of things that are happening that we can't control, and I think often there's a sense of powerlessness. One of the things I really would say is try and affect what you can, in the circumstance, and try to care deeply about what's happening to the people around you.

[Erin Freeman]

Thank you so much for your time today Kathy, that was really helpful.

[Professor Kathy Douglas]

I hope that it has been helpful.

[Erin Freeman]

I really appreciate your insights and I'm sure we will talk again. Take care.