Emporia State McNair Scholars Research Forum

Throughout this paper, readers will learn about adaptive leadership, the transformative strategy for personal, group, and organizational change developed at Harvard University. This kind of change can come from a person who initiates an act to lead, not just from a person of authority. While adaptive leadership is evident in how people interact in the environment, interpretations of that leadership play a major part in how people perceive a scenario. An interpretation can guide ideas of what to do next and how to work toward a desired outcome or goal. There are various factors in how an interpretation is utilized in a situation, whether it is seen in a technical problem or within an adaptive challenge. Interpretations can help aspiring leaders in education, business, politics, and at home with close loved ones. In society, there are stories to explore and support the concept of adaptive leadership. The stories of adaptive leadership surround challenges that evolve a person to think in ways one did not acknowledge before. Overall, an act of initiative can begin with anyone. If a person believes there is a necessity to change, then one is willing to take risks. There are aspirations for adaptive leadership to accomplish in society. Hopes of understanding the value of developing growth and demonstrating the power of interpretations are emphasized in this research.