Collaborative Adaptive Leadership 1

Collaborative Adaptive Leadership

Garett J. Oliphant

Fort Hays State University

Collaborative Adaptive Leadership 2

Collaborative Adaptive Leadership

What is collaborative leadership? Collaborative leadership is defined by a process not

what leaders actually do. Adaptive leadership on the other hand is the ability to take on

meaningful purpose in order to make a change. When it comes to collaborative leadership, I

look at it as everyone has a say in what is going on. There are many companies that use said

leadership in order to produce the best product that they possibly can. These companies include

Nike, GE, and Ford. These companies do not just give their employees a task to complete, but

rather form a team. You see when you form a team and give an employee a say in how they do

things, and how they believe something should be done, you let them help make decisions that in

turn let them feel that they have a say in what is going on. This allows the employees to feel

empowerment and a sense of pride in their work. When these employees feel this pride, they

tend to do better work. We see this type of leadership through communities who are banding

together in order to make real change. One or two people see something that they believe needs

to be changed and begin the recruiting process. Likely in a community many people will also

see the same thing that needs to be changed. This new form of leadership goes away from

having to try to get ahold of representatives in a political manner, and rather allows those in the

community to have a voice of their own and be heard. These groups go through different phases.

They form up, go through a recruitment phase, go through discussion to see how they believe

that the group should proceed in order to make changes that they see fit, take action and

involvement based on the best possible solution that they came up with in order to take care of

this problem, and lastly they continue to keep recruiting as some members will peter out as they

go.
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I think that the process of collaborative leadership and adaptive leadership are both things

that are exceptional when being used in all forms of business, community, and even in life. I

think that by coming together as a group and forming teams that allows employees and citizens

the ability to feel empowered and feel like they truly have a say in their community is what this

country needs. I think too often we sit by and watch as the world around us goes on with its own

business whether we like it or not. I think that when a group gets together and adapts to make

the changes that are needed, we see real progress. I think that we see in the fact that major

organizations use this leadership technique that it really does work. It gives the employees a

purpose in what they are doing rather than just a task. When you feel like you really have a say

in something it makes you perform better and take more pride in your work. I believe that this

type of leadership truly works in all forms of situations. In any situation you are able to come

together in order to overcome a challenge or make a change in the community. From needing a

change in how something is done in your hometown, to how something is to be setup and ran I

think that you can take collaboration and adaptation and run with it. I think that this is a point

that will be argued by others that there are certain situations where it would not be the correct

decision to use, but I would be willing to say that with collaboration almost all if not all

problems can be solved. This also includes adaptive leadership. I think that the two together

both collaborative and adaptive work hand in hand and form one leadership. When you are

working on something in a collaborative manner you have to be able to adapt to whatever is

thrown your way. “Leadership, based on position and authority, is inadequate for the challenges

we face today. We need leadership which increases our capacity to learn new ways of

understanding, defining, and solving the complex problems we are facing.” (Allen 1999 P.4)
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I like this quote because it does follow what I have said above. Collaboration is what is needed

for the modern-day challenges that we face today because what we have done in the past is not

working. Collaboration is a new way of leading and understanding a problem by working

together to adapt and overcome what is set forth. Problems are becoming more and more

complex as we continue to advance in this technological age, and with that means that with more

people working together towards a task we can come up with the best possible solutions.

“Collaboration is not just another strategy or tactic for addressing public concerns. It is a means

for building social capital, sustaining a democratic society, and transforming the civic culture of

a community or region.” (Chrislips 2002 P. 23) This quote I think shows as well that

collaboration is not just something that we have been doing and just keep doing. If something

doesn’t work we have to be able to adapt and make changes to what we are doing in order to

have the best results to the problem. This will help us with the ability to move forward as a

society, community, and as a region.

The issue that I would like to discuss is the concealed carry law that was put into effect

July 1st, 2017 allowing for the concealed carry of firearms on campuses in the state of Kansas

without the need for a concealed carry license. This allows students to carry a firearm concealed

on campus into any building unless the school provides security at every entrance of a building

as well as metal detectors going into said building. This law I think personally is great. I am an

advocate for legal concealed carry and believe that/ have facts to prove that it greatly can

increase the response rate to a threat of life and can be the difference between a mass shooting

and a single murder. The problem that I see with the new law that was put into place on July 1st

of 2017 is that it allows for the unlicensed of concealed carry on college campuses. On July 1st

2015 Kansas became a non-permit requiring state for concealed carry to residents of the state.
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This means that in the state of Kansas as long as you are legally able to own a firearm and are 21

years of age that you can carry a firearm concealed without any form of licensing. The problem

I see with this is that I believe that you should have to have some form of licensing in order to

conceal onto a college campus. I believe that there should be some sort of class that must be

taken that ensures that those that are currently using their right to concealed carry on campus are

aware of laws and regulations set forth by the state of Kansas regarding what is and isn’t

allowed, and the legal ramifications that may be imposed on those that are involved in a

discharge of a firearm whether that be in injuring or killing someone. I also believe that in this

class that the person that is concealed carrying should be required to show that they have expert

marksmanship in a normal shooting scenario. The current concealed carry licensing goes over

both of these things with the person that is looking to obtain their concealed carry must go

through a minimum of an 8-hour class as well as show that they are a proficient marksman. In

order to make this change I believe that collaboration with college campuses across the state of

Kansas, local and state law enforcement agencies, and citizens of the state of Kansas will need to

come together in order to make these changes. I believe that it is a right to conceal carry without

a permit as set forth by the 2nd Amendment of the United States of America; however, I believe

that this right should be able to be restricted in certain areas of the state and throughout the

United States as it is in some other areas. In order to get these groups involved I think that it

would take a group to be formed that would allow for members to be recruited. I know when the

issue first came to light back in late 2016 many college professors voiced their opinions on the

issue and even caused some to quit their jobs at certain institutes in order to go to a place where

these laws were not in effect. I think with collaboration and adaptation to the current laws that

change can be made for the better.

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References

Allen, K. E., Stelzner, S. P., & Wielkiewicz, R. M. (1999). The Ecology of Leadership:

Adapting to the Challenges of a Changing World. Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(2), 62–82.

Chrislip, D. (2002). The collaborative leadership fieldbook: A guide for citizens and civic

leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Chrislip, D. D., Larson, C. E., & American Leadership Forum. (1994). Collaborative

leadership: 3How citizens and civic leaders can make a difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.