Who are we?
The Center of Adaptive Leadership (ALC) is a space for enthusiasts of Adaptive Leadership. In cooperation with the Kansas Leadership Center and local partners, we research, share good practices, give recommendations, and organize seminars and conferences.
Why was such a Center needed?
It has already been a few years since the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University (IIRPS VU) learns, teaches and researches leadership-related topics. We believe that Lithuania, as well as other countries, currently lack the skills to lead through the massive change that is taking place in society. Even more, this lack of competences is among the key hurdles to a successful resolution of local, regional, and global challenges. Our goal is to create space and opportunities for people to learn and share their leadership skills, to mobilize their communities and lead them through changes. In the end, according to one of the creators of the concept, Ron Heifetz, “adaptive leadership is the practice of mobilizing people to tackle through challenges and thrive.”
The current political and economic situation in Lithuania and the Western world challenges the very core of democracy. The events of recent years demonstrate that big groups in our societies feel marginalized and disappointed with the politics and government. They express this dissatisfaction while voting or, in the case of Lithuania, emigrating. In post-soviet societies, the situation is even more demanding as the transformation of culture and values did not catch up with massive changes in economy and politics. We still need to tackle nepotism and corruption, while society, in general, is still apathetic and searches for paternalistic leaders. Consequently, the trust in liberal democracy falls, while people are searching for scapegoats and avoiding taking responsibility. To change this situation and achieve prosperity and stability, we need more than “just” good education and analytical skills. Besides these instruments, we also need to reflect, accept, and tackle adaptive challenges requiring not only simple, technical solutions, but the transformation of our values and beliefs.
What do we do?
We share:
The last conference was held on November 27, 2019. We were delighted to talk about the change and why it is so difficult to agree. ALC expert Eglė Daunienė moderated the discussion on the adoption of the Labor Code and VU IIRPS lecturers dr. Vilius Bartninkas and Ieva Giedraitytė shared theirthoughts on changes in the final panel of the conference. The conference or individual papers can be viewed on its website.
We analyze: