The Adaptive Dilemma, Leadership versus Authority

“Good leaders ask great questions that inspire others to dream more, think more, learn more, do more, and become more.”- John Maxwell, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership

Quick thought and discussion about The Guardian Academy Foundations- The Adaptive Dilemma Part 3: Adaptive vs Technical Problems, Leadership vs Authority…

In the Wildland Fire profession we face problems that require both a technical and adaptive problem solving approach. When there is a lot of risk and severe consequences for actions taken or not taken, awareness about the environment and the situation is critical for effective decision making and safety.

Something that the Wildland Firefighting community does very well is give everyone the authority to lead. This happens by encouraging the asking of questions and being open to various perspectives?

The most important priority for fire fighters is safety. It is ingrained in all the training courses that everyone, down to the first year firefighter, is responsible for maintaining awareness and safety of themselves and the crew. If something doesn’t seem right or if they have questions they are encouraged to speak up. Everyone is given the authority to lead by respecting and honoring the perspective of others regardless of rank or experience.

Every good learning organization respects and encourages multiple perspectives. This is what The Guardian Academy refers to as “open loop” or “multi loop” learning.

This idea of open-loop and multi-loop learning is being demonstrated by all the contributions being developed by various members of the Community. It is put into action with the encouragement of 6WU’s (6 Word Updates for summarizing an individual’s take on various principles being taught). The principles being taught in TGA are not just about crypto or investing. It’s not about web3 or blockchain. The principles apply to whatever field or game you are playing.

I am sharing some of the things I’ve been learning from The Guardian Academy, the Wolf Den, and Forge Communities.

These are Communities I have found that are changing the game for so many, opening loops and helping to make better humans.

It’s More than a Crypto thing. If you know, you know. Otherwise, just watch.