A little background …

In 1994, Ron Heifetz wrote Leadership Without Easy Answers. He argued that leaders face both technical problems and adaptive problems. Technical problems can be solved by competent managers using tools already invented. Adaptive leadership requires innovation and can not be solved with existing tools. This launched the field of adaptive leadership that Tod Bolsinger illustrates and contextualizes for the church world.

Now to the book at hand …

Bolsinger illustrates adaptive leadership with the story of Lewis and Clark, the famous explorers whom Thomas Jefferson commissioned to find a practical route across the western half of the continent. It turned out that the land mass was larger than expected and the techniques they used at the start had to be abandoned when faced with mountains (thus, the title)!

Canoeing in the Mountains is an important leadership book for the church to grapple with. Given the rapid shifts in culture, we are faced with adaptive problems that cannot be solved with existing management techniques. Bolsinger explores Heifetz’ adaptive leadership theory to show how we can tackle adaptive challenges today.

Bolsinger, Tod. Canoeing in the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. IVP Books, 2018.