Navigating Adaptive Challenges

During 2020, one day I walked right up to my husband and said, “Honey, I have a newfound respect for Noah's wife.” He paused, tilted his head, knew that I likely wasn’t going anywhere since the world was on lockdown so he went ahead and asked me to expand. I said, “Well, I was prompted to look up this story, and I had the story wrong. I thought they gathered two animals (one of each kind), they got onto the ark, it rained 40 days, they got off, and they lived happily ever after. But that's not exactly how the story went.” 

You see, they were actually on the ark around 364 days round. They took some time to gather the animals, they had the 40 days of the rain, and they spent 150 days on the ark. Then, they sent out a couple of the doves, each of those had a seven day turnaround time. It wasn't like Amazon Prime. These birds took around seven days each. When you fast forward and add all that together and it was around 364 days. 

During that time, Noah’s wife had some adaptive challenges. There was no manual for what happens when the the alligators jump in with the elephants, she had to face the challenge.

Back in 2020 and 2021 we definitely all faced situations for which there was no existing playbook or preset solution. These are called “adaptive challenges.” 

Adaptive challenges often require changing perspectives, trying innovative approaches, and moving into uncharted territory. While navigating adaptive challenges can push everyone outside of our comfort zones, it also provides an opportunity for positive transformation. 

Unlike technical problems that can be solved by following established steps and procedures, adaptive challenges have three key traits:

1. There are no existing manuals, guidelines or examples to follow. You face ambiguous circumstances without a clear path forward. 
2. Overcoming an adaptive challenge requires changing attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. Simply working harder within the old frameworks won’t cut it.
3. Because adaptive work causes disequilibrium and pushes people beyond their comfort zones, resistance and discomfort are natural responses.

The upside of adaptive challenges is that innovating creative solutions can lead to better results and deeper learning. So how do we, as Christian women in leadership roles, help navigate adaptive challenges:

1. Assemble and rally the team to take on the challenge collectively. Different perspectives are invaluable. When brainstorming, create the rule that every idea is a good idea- and the best ideas will be the ones that are pursued. Make a rule that people have to say “yes, and…” when brainstorming. Then set a separate meeting to discern the ideas and assign tasks. 

2. Pray together for wisdom, clarity and alignment. Seek God's guidance and vision. 

3. Approach options with an open mind to new possibilities and let go of old assumptions. 

4. Do not work in a silo. Get feedback, test prototypes of solutions, reflect and iterate based on what works.

While human wisdom helps map out practical steps during such ambiguity, spiritual discernment is just as crucial. During adaptive challenges, as Christian leaders we need to:  

- Trust that God has divine plans beyond our limited human understanding. His ways are higher.

- Humbly seek God in prayer for the wisdom and creativity needed to see fresh solutions.

- Listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Be guided by truth, not fear.

Chances are, if you are reading this you have had to navigate adaptive challenges and my prayer is that it has nothing to do with what Mrs. Noah had to go through and does not involve keeping alligators away from the elephants. Whatever you, your business, or your church may be facing, leaning on God and one another opens spaces for rebirth through crisis. There is opportunity for hope-fueled transformation when we approach such adaptive challenges together guided by faith and love.

Who Wrote This?

Jenn Clauser

Jenn Clauser is an experienced Church Communications professional who feels her call is to “Curate Content that Calls Hearts” (Jeremiah 1:4-10). She uses that calling to creatively extend the Gospel message and strategic vision of the church. Jenn has been featured on Esther Littlefield’s, Christian Women’s Leadership Podcast (Episode 146), The UnSeminary Podcast, speaking on Pandemic Learnings from Church Online, and has been a guest speaker in the She Leads Church Conference in March of 2021. She is passionate about church growth whether that is from the ground up, or through innovative use of creativity, processes, and resources to extend outreach. Jenn sees online as a mission field ready to be reached in the name of Jesus.  Jenn works directly with churches to oversee and coach communication efforts.