{"id":47227,"date":"2026-01-06T06:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=47227"},"modified":"2026-01-09T17:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:36:14","slug":"ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronald Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership and Political Clout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>According to the father of adaptive leadership Ronald Heifetz, solving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-3-steps-for-assessing-adaptive-challenges\/\">adaptive challenges<\/a> requires you to have what he calls &#8220;political clout.&#8221; The more political clout you have, the more power, support, and influence you have, and the less people will resist you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/develop-influence\/\">gain influence<\/a> over people will help you in the long run as a business leader. To make sure your business survives any adaptable changes, here are six techniques to increase your political clout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><em>Originally Published: August 31, 2021<\/em><br><em>Last Updated: January 6, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-practice-of-adaptive-leadership-political-clout\"><em>The Practice of Adaptive Leadership<\/em>: Political Clout <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-practice-of-adaptive-leadership\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Practice of Adaptive Leadership<\/a><\/em>, Ronald Heifetz (co-authored with Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky) suggests the following approaches for increasing your political clout:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-1-increase-your-informal-authority\"><strong>Technique #1: Increase Your Informal Authority<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The more informal authority you have, the less you have to break expectations when exerting authority, and the more likely you are to be part of many factions with overlapping interests. All of this will make adaptive leadership easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To increase your informal authority:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use your formal authority to get access to people with more authority than you.<\/strong> For example, if part of your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/job-role-vs-job-description\/\">job description<\/a> is to organize meetings and invite attendees, schedule a meeting with supportive attendees who have authority that they can lend you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bolster your relationships with people<\/strong>, especially people who are invested in the adaptive challenge (whether they support your particular change initiative or not), by listening to them. Try to determine their allegiances and interests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gain credibility by creating small, early successes.<\/strong> Instead of announcing your initiative all at once, run small experiments or pilot projects, or fix small parts of the problem, such as the technical aspect, to build people\u2019s confidence in you. Then, when you tackle the harder, adaptive parts of the challenge, people will be more likely to follow you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Help people achieve their unrelated goals. <\/strong>People have plenty of goals that are separate from the adaptive challenge\u2014help people reach them to make them like you more. You may not get their support, but you might at least tamp down their future opposition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unpack your emotions regarding authority figures so you can handle them more easily. <\/strong>Most of us have had both good and bad experiences with authority by the time we enter the workforce, and the bad past experiences can taint our relationships with our present authority figures (unless we move past them). Often, we\u2019ll respond to authority figures unhelpfully by meekly following orders, rebelling, or avoiding them. (Shortform example: If you found it hard to stand up to your parents, you might find it equally hard to stand up to your boss.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>See the whole picture.<\/strong> When you realize how complicated authority is, you\u2019re likely to have more empathy for authority figures and a better idea of how to manage them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-2-recruit-allies\"><strong>Technique #2: Recruit Allies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Before you announce your change initiative, whether that\u2019s a formal announcement or just bringing up the idea in a meeting, you should recruit allies to support you.<\/strong> You especially need allies when you\u2019re dealing with a group of more than 20 people because the political relationships will be complicated and you won\u2019t be able to manage them by yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Potential allies are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>People who will benefit from your initiative<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People who have the same values and perspectives as you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People who have different but nonconflicting interests from yours\u2014they might be interested in teaming up with you in the future, so they might be willing to court your favor now.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People who owe you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People you have a history with, such as people you went to high school with<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People who see you as a positive symbol. (Shortform example: You\u2019re a morally upstanding person.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People who don\u2019t seem like they would ally with you, such as people who belong to groups you\u2019ve had a conflict with in the past. If you can get them on your side, it will suggest to everyone that the change is objectively positive because even your enemies support it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keep in mind that your allies are loyal to other people and perspectives too<\/strong>\u2014your allies won\u2019t necessarily prioritize your needs over their other allies\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, Jack and Harry, two engineers, had a good relationship and began working together on a new car design. Jack considered Harry an ally, but while Harry did agree that Jack\u2019s design was a good change, it required a huge workflow change for his team. When Jack brought up his ideas in a meeting, Harry, conflicted, didn\u2019t back him up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-3-manage-senior-leaders\"><strong>Technique #3: Manage Senior Leaders<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The third political-management technique is to manage senior leaders, who have the potential to greatly help or hinder the change initiative.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To best manage senior leaders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Determine how they individually feel about the adaptive challenge. <\/strong>Because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/adaptive-change\/\">adaptive change<\/a> involves a human element, feelings and emotions will come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Warn them about the chaos you\u2019re about to unleash.<\/strong> Once your change initiatives start creating discomfort, people are going to want to talk to senior leaders about you. People might complain to leaders, ask leaders to step in and stop the initiative, or even ask leaders to fire you. If you give the leaders advance warning that all this will happen, they\u2019ll be prepared for sabotage attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, Scandinavian Airlines CEO Jan Carlzon wanted to give frontline staff more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a> power so they could better serve customers (for example, they could authorize refunds themselves). He expected resistance, so before he started the initiative, he went to the board and spoke with them about the kind of pressure they\u2019d be receiving once he put his plan into action. Then, when people did try to sabotage him, the board members didn\u2019t question him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Use their knowledge and perspective as progress indicators.<\/strong> Senior leaders have a high-level view of both the external and internal overall environments you work in. They can take a step back for you and tell you how the initiative is affecting the organization and how much more chaos it can stand. If they\u2019re not chatty, you can also get this information by observing how they talk about the initiative, how they talk to you, and how they wield their political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-4-empathize-with-the-opposition\"><strong>Technique #4: Empathize With the Opposition<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The fourth technique is to manage those who oppose your proposed solutions to the adaptive change. To do this, you need to be aware of what\u2019s going on with them\u2014get close to them, solicit feedback, tell them you value their input, and listen. Find out how much discomfort they\u2019re experiencing and if they\u2019re reaching a breaking point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To manage your opponents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Determine who your opponents are. <\/strong>Consider who will suffer the greatest losses as a result of your initiative and who has very different perspectives from yours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Meet these people informally, in person.<\/strong> This will allow you to get more information by reading their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/body-language-crucial-conversations\/\">body language<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t try to convince them that their fears about the adaptive challenge are unfounded.<\/strong> It won\u2019t help and it might actually make things worse because people don\u2019t like being told how to feel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Empathizing with the opposition comes with some potential pitfalls:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>You might feel bad.<\/strong> Once you realize the full extent of what your opposition stands to lose, you\u2019ll have more compassion for them and it will be harder to make the necessary changes because you know you\u2019re responsible for hurting people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You might start doubting yourself.<\/strong> Once you know how much you\u2019re hurting people, you might start to wonder if your initiative is really worth it. This might lead you to weaken your plan and consequently lose allies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though empathizing comes with consequences, you should do it because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If people never interact with you, they can cast you as a monster. Once they <em>have <\/em>met you, you seem more human.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People may become less hostile when you show them that you understand they\u2019re suffering loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, President Ford expected the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to oppose his decision to grant limited amnesty to protestors of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/tim-obrien-vietnam\/\">Vietnam War<\/a>. To head it off, he personally delivered the news to the group in advance of announcing it publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-5-accept-responsibility-for-losses\"><strong>Technique #5: Accept Responsibility for Losses<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The fifth technique is to accept that your change initiative is the reason people have experienced loss. Spend time with the people who suffer losses, empathize with them, and help them endure or recover from the loss.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This has three potential benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It will make those who lost something feel more positive about you since you treated them well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will win points from your allies, who may have friends among the casualties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will show that you\u2019re accountable for damage you do. This is a version of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-lead-by-example\/\">leading by example<\/a> and may encourage others to embrace accountability, too.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-technique-6-listen-to-the-troublemakers-naysayers-and-skeptics\"><strong>Technique #6: Listen to the Troublemakers, Naysayers, and Skeptics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In every organization, some people are perpetually contrarian\u2014they\u2019re negative, critical, or unrealistic, or steer the conversation in an entirely different direction than what everyone is agreeing on. The sixth technique is to listen to these people\u2014they\u2019re often irritating, but they\u2019re also early-warning systems, and they\u2019re not afraid to ask hard questions. Therefore, they provide potentially more complete and accurate information than others about the adaptive challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Give troublemakers space to speak by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Leading by example. <\/strong>If you hold formal authority and a troublemaker speaks up in front of you, others will respond the same way you respond. Therefore, you should show openness and let them speak.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/learn-by-listening\/\">Listening and learning<\/a>. <\/strong>If you don\u2019t have authority, listen to the troublemakers and encourage others to let them speak. Get them invited to meetings. Filter the negativity to find the useful information, and challenge others to do the same.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouraging naysayers may encourage others to voice their dissenting opinions too. To encourage other minority voices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Whenever someone brings up something discomforting, prod the topic back to life when others try to drop it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leave space on meeting agendas for dealing with sensitive topics and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-brainstorm-effectively\/\">brainstorming<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give awards to the troublemakers who voice the most helpful pieces of information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assign new hires experienced buddies who can help them understand the organization\u2019s politics. This will allow the new hires to learn how to safely express their views.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Organize informal activities, such as brown bag lunches, because people will feel safer about speaking up when they\u2019re in informal contexts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t leave meetings right away\u2014stay for the post-meeting conversation so that if anyone brings up a dissenting view, you can support them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create a way for people to submit anonymous comments and read all the comments at staff meetings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Basis of Influence Is Character<\/strong><br><br>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/leadershift\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Leadershift<\/em><\/a>, Maxwell agrees that to be effective, you must develop your influence over others. He writes that the best way to do this is to <strong>enhance your <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/moral-authority\/\">moral authority<\/a><\/em>\u2014respect and recognition for exemplary personal qualities, values, and actions. <\/strong>Having a leadership position may <em>force <\/em>people to follow you, but earning moral authority makes people <em>want<\/em> to follow you.\u00a0<br><br>This is a broader perspective on how to increase your authority, and it suggests that before embarking on specific steps like the ones outlined by Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, you have to establish yourself as a person with authoritative <em>character<\/em>. This increases your informal authority, which is based on how people feel about you on a personal level. All the other techniques you might use depend on this. Other people must agree to a fundamental understanding of you as someone appropriate for a leadership role, or your efforts to, for example, recruit allies and bolster <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/realationships-with-others\/\">relationships with others<\/a> won\u2019t bear fruit.\u00a0<br><br>To develop moral authority, Maxwell suggests you:<br><br><strong>Demonstrate excellence. <\/strong>Prove to your team members that you\u2019re committed to producing excellent work even with the smallest of tasks. By regularly producing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/obsess-over-quality\/\">quality work<\/a>, you\u2019ll establish a reputation for competence and earn others\u2019 confidence and esteem. This can help you empathize with your opposition, as Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky recommend\u2014if you show that you\u2019re willing to work as hard as others, they\u2019ll see you as one of them, and will view you with less opposition.\u00a0<br><br><strong>Be consistent in your actions and values. <\/strong>Be steady and reliable by living according to good character traits like integrity, authenticity, humility, and love. This shows people that you mean what you say, which builds trust and security within your team.<br><br><strong>Face challenges courageously.<\/strong> Maxwell writes that leaders should be prepared to face difficult realities and to be the first to take action. Recognize that success doesn\u2019t come without sacrifice, and demonstrate bravery and resilience when confronting challenges. By demonstrating courage, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/be-an-inspiration\/\">inspire others<\/a> during crises and energize them to perform at their best.\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reflection-questions-and-exercises\"><strong>Reflection Questions and Exercises<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make a list of past bad experiences with authority. How does your past affect your present? Do you usually follow orders, rebel, or practice avoidance? Does this help or hinder your ability to lead adaptive change? The next time you encounter an authority figure, respond in a different way than you normally would.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who do you currently have a lot of unofficial authority with? Who do you need more from, and what strategies could you use to develop it? For example, you could exceed people\u2019s expectations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Arrive early to meetings and stay late. Use this extra time to assess what people thought of meetings and assess their relationships with others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The following five tables will help you get a handle on who plays which roles (ally, opponent, and so on) when it comes to adaptive challenges. Fill out each table and add as many rows as needed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Potential ally\u2019s name<\/td><td>Why is she a potential ally?<\/td><td>What\u2019s her priority? (Does she support the initiative, you personally, the company, and so on?)<\/td><td>How can she help you with your initiative?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Potential opponent\u2019s name<\/td><td>Why is she a potential opponent?<\/td><td>What will she lose if your initiative goes through?<\/td><td>How can you stop her from opposing you or get her to support you?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Senior leader\u2019s name<\/td><td>Why is she important to your initiative?<\/td><td>What does she tell you, or what signs does she give off, about the organization\u2019s reaction to your initiative?<\/td><td>How can you get her support?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name of the person who will experience loss<\/td><td>What will be lost?<\/td><td>What new skill could you help her develop to endure the change?<\/td><td>How could you help her get those skills?<\/td><td>Will she need to leave the company?<\/td><td>How could you set her up for success at a new company?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Troublemaker\u2019s name<\/td><td>What useful ideas has she mentioned?<\/td><td>How can you get others to listen to these ideas?<\/td><td>How can you protect her voice?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the father of adaptive leadership Ronald Heifetz, solving adaptive challenges requires you to have what he calls &#8220;political clout.&#8221; The more political clout you have, the more power, support, and influence you have, and the less people will resist you. Learning how to gain influence over people will help you in the long run as a business leader. To make sure your business survives any adaptable changes, here are six techniques to increase your political clout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,14],"tags":[468],"class_list":["post-47227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-management","tag-the-practice-of-adaptive-leadership","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ronald Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership and Political Clout - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to Ronald Heifetz, adaptive leadership requires good &quot;political clout.&quot; Here are six techniques to increase your political power.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ronald Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership and Political Clout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to Ronald Heifetz, adaptive leadership requires good &quot;political clout.&quot; Here are six techniques to increase your political power.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-06T10:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-09T21:36:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/leadership-team-ceo-executives.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Ronald Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership and Political Clout\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-06T10:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-09T21:36:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\"},\"wordCount\":2485,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/leadership-team-ceo-executives.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Practice of Adaptive Leadership\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Communication\",\"Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ronald-heifetz-adaptive-leadership\/\",\"name\":\"Ronald Heifetz: Adaptive Leadership and Political Clout - 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