Abstract
Adaptive leadership is an essential skill for leaders at all facets of an organization. Leaders undoubtedly establish leadership styles that are different and uniquely theirs. Each individual follows the leadership strategy that makes the most sense to them. When school leaders know how to partner with their team members through effective dialogue, the relationship between the leaders and those they work with strengthens, and the way they lead is founded on trust. Leaders in the post-pandemic age must grasp the need to generate agreements and communicate honestly to foster mutual empathy among individuals and communities. This study reports on an investigation into the practice of adaptive leadership as a leadership style in the post-pandemic era. Principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of the practice of adaptive leadership in schools were interpreted to offer guidelines for the successful enactment of adaptive leadership. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Six participants employed in the Z. F. Mgcawu district in the Northern Cape, South Africa, were interviewed. The primary research question that guided this study was to determine how the practice of adaptive leadership in a post-pandemic era can be conceptualized. The findings revealed that principals and teachers should foster enabling school environments that espouse adaptive change while using adaptive learning to ease the difficult process of change in schools. In such adaptive spaces, principals and teachers should be willing to be involved in sharing ideas to promote innovation. This study also emphasized the role of school leaders to be goal-oriented whilst providing counsel, guiding the professional development of teachers, as well as assisting others to adapt by aiding diverse groups and individuals to interact, share information, and work towards common goals. The study proposes that principals be mindful of the creation of opportunities to apply new approaches and practices to implement the process of change expeditiously, inspire positive values, recognize discomfort among colleagues quickly, and take action to strengthen an adaptive culture during uncertain times.
Keywords: adaptive leadership, adaptive change, adaptive learning, principals, teachers