Working with Adaption-Innovation in Leadership Practice: What Works and What's Missing?

The current paper reviews examples of working with organizational leaders and integrating adaption-innovation (A-I) theory and its associated psychometric, the Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI; Kirton, 1985). Three specific in-depth cases are reviewed and analyzed, and a series of learning insights are shared. A set of key enabling factors are argued to transform A-I related insights to valuable actions. These include emotional intelligence capabilities focused on self-and-others; the role of a structured learning process to aid reflection and action; effective coping behavior that sustains the options for action; and examples of the sourcing and use of diversity. Areas for further research into practice are also described.