People Don't Change Without This
Creating Space for Adaptive Work
Earlier this week, we explored the distinction between technical and adaptive challenges and why developing adaptive leadership capacity is essential in today's rapidly changing landscape. Today, I want to dive deeper into one of the most crucial skills for adaptive leadership: creating effective "holding environments."
What is a Holding Environment?
The concept of a holding environment comes from developmental psychology, which initially described how a caregiver provides security and appropriate challenges for a developing child. In leadership, a holding environment serves a similar function—it's the container that provides the safety and structure needed for people to engage in difficult adaptive work.
Think of it as creating a space where:
People feel secure enough to face uncomfortable realities
The pace of change is regulated to prevent system breakdown
Different perspectives can be expressed and heard
Learning and experimentation are encouraged
The anxiety that naturally accompanies change is contained
Holding environments take on additional significance in multiethnic contexts as they must create safety across cultural differences while facilitating the discomfort necessary for growth.
Why Holding Environments Matter
Without effective holding environments, adaptive work often fails in predictable ways:
People avoid the necessary discomfort and revert to technical solutions
Anxiety overwhelms the system, leading to fight-or-flight responses
Diverse perspectives remain unexpressed or unheard
The pace of change becomes either too fast (creating resistance) or too slow (preventing progress)
Learning remains superficial rather than transformative
I've seen this pattern repeatedly in churches attempting to become more multicultural. Without intentional holding environments, these communities often experience one of two outcomes: