In times of change, people often try to hold onto the values of their culture that have had personal meaning and significance to them. When dominant cultures are confronted with stresses, they are called to examine their values and take on very difficult integrative work. The leadership required must point out values their cultural values; in the United States, for example, one would be: We stand for freedom and respect for all people, and our policy does not align with what we say we stand for.

How do we make space for this evolution? What are the “gives” and “gets” required to evolve cultures? How can we hold steady to our cultural DNA and still evolve? In nature, when an organism adapts, it builds on its old capacity and generates radically new functionality. Heifetz suggests that “God didn’t do zero-based budgeting in evolution.” We honor our past, yet determine what parts of the past we can release.

ILA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Ronald Heifetz, is among the world’s foremost authorities on the practice and teaching of leadership. His best-selling Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, and Leadership Without Easy Answers are go-to guides for organizations and societies looking to build their adaptive leadership capacity.