The Hard Truth About Leading Change: Why Good Leaders Disappoint People
How the most effective leaders know when to push forward and when to slow down
The notion that "leadership is the art of disappointing people at a rate they can stand" captures a profound truth about modern leadership. As leaders navigate challenges, I've witnessed how this adaptive leadership philosophy transforms both patient outcomes and team dynamics. This approach, rooted in Harvard Kennedy School research, recognizes that effective leadership often requires making difficult decisions that challenge the status quo while maintaining the trust and engagement necessary for sustainable change.
Distinguishing Technical Problems from Adaptive Challenges
The foundation of adaptive leadership lies in understanding the critical difference between technical problems and adaptive challenges. Technical problems have clear solutions that experts can implement—like setting a broken bone or updating software systems. Adaptive challenges, however, require fundamental changes in behavior, mindset, and approach that only the affected individuals can make.
"The work of leadership is disappointing people at a rate that they can tolerate. If you're able to diagnose and recognise the loss, you can bring it in smaller pieces so people can absorb it at an appropriate pace," explains Adjunct Professor Farayi Chipungu from Harvard Kennedy School. This diagnostic capability becomes crucial in healthcare settings where adaptive leadership has shown effectiveness in fostering teamwork and improving patient care.
Recent research demonstrates that healthcare organizations implementing adaptive leadership approaches see measurable improvements in both staff engagement and clinical outcomes. Studies show that adaptive leadership enhances employee resilience, contributing to organizational effectiveness and long-term success even in high-stress environments.
Pacing Change to Preserve Trust and Momentum
The "rate they can stand" component of this leadership philosophy requires emotional intelligence and strategic thinking. Leaders must calibrate their pace of change based on their team's capacity to absorb loss and uncertainty. This isn't about avoiding difficult decisions—it's about implementing them thoughtfully.
Successful adaptive leaders understand that 70% of organizations now recognize the importance of leaders mastering a wider range of effective leadership behaviors to meet current and future business needs. This expanded skill set includes the ability to sequence changes strategically, create quick wins to build confidence, and communicate the underlying purpose behind difficult transitions.
The pharmaceutical industry provides evidence of this approach's effectiveness. Studies involving employees demonstrated that organizations using adaptive leadership saw improvements in innovation capacity, with learning organizations showing positive correlations between adaptive leadership and organizational outcomes.
Honoring Those Who Cannot Make the Journey
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of adaptive leadership involves recognizing that not everyone will be able to navigate significant organizational or operational changes. The philosophy acknowledges this reality while maintaining compassion for those who struggle with transformation.
"And then sometimes, there'll be people who just can't come along for the journey. And we need to honour that too," notes Professor Chipungu. "We need to think about how to help them through the transition because everybody else is watching how you handle casualties to decide whether they're going to get on that ship as well."
This approach requires leaders to balance organizational needs with individual dignity. Recognizing that sustainable transformation depends on how leaders manage transitions for both those who thrive and those who struggle with change.
The evidence supporting adaptive leadership continues to grow, with systematic reviews identifying flexibility, empathy, innovation, and long-term vision as primary characteristics of effective adaptive leaders. Organizations that embrace this approach to leadership—accepting that meaningful progress sometimes requires difficult decisions implemented at a sustainable pace—position themselves to navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain future while maintaining the human connections that make healthcare truly healing.