Adaptive Cycle
The adaptive cycle is a conceptual model intended to expose the degree to which a complex system, such as an ecosystem or nervous system is resilient to change.
It consists of four distinct phases.
- Collapse or a breakdown triggers a change
- Reorganisation produces a breakthrough
- Growth or exploitation happens
- Conservation of practices and resources returns
A loop of connections shows the relationships between the four phases. For example, when the normal flow of change processes loses their adaptive qualities they become rigid and break down. This breakdown releases resources that can then be used to support new opportunities as they are reorganised and redesigned. This leads to a growth phase where resources and new actions are conserved and consolidated. This leads yet again to rigidity as relationships become less adaptable and so the cycle continues into a new cycle of breakdown and breakthrough.
The adaptive cycle is represented by Biggs et al. (2010).
The opportunities for innovation are greater in the conservation phase as the new structures are conserved for application. The collapse when it comes can be catastrophic yet also creates a climate for renewal and regeneration. These interventions can increase resilience in the system.
The challenge is to find a balance between sustainability, adaptive capacity and resistance to transformation.
The adaptive cycle model alerts researchers and policymakers to meet society’s goals of sustainability ignoring the internal and external shocks that can change local structures and functions. There are dangers in losing capital or locking in conservation strategies that could prevent release and reorganization. The cycle helps apply important ideas such as marginal return on investment.
The model offers insights into the accumulation of resources or capital within the structure of systems, with insights about the increasing complexity that results from ecological succession or social problem-solving.
The adaptive cycle includes a growth phase, leading to a conservation phase. Disturbance and stress, whether internal or external, can lead to a release phase, and if the resource base available to the system is not depleted by the disturbance, a reorganisation phase can set the stage for a subsequent growth phase
Resource loss can establish a new system with a different structure on the impoverished resource base, while social and institutional arrangements that “lock in” the mechanisms of conservation can prevent the system from taking advantage of the inevitable release
Other Tools
– Noticing what’s happening and sensing what could be hidden from you.
THE CDE MODEL
– Identifying the conditions and rules that produce different patterns of interaction
THE OAR MODEL
– Improving your observation skills to choose actions to will deliver what you care about.
THE SCARF MODEL
– Identifying the core concerns that shape your emotional responses
ONTOLOGICAL LEARNING
– Understanding how to change your Way of Being
THE PSYCHIC SYSTEM
– Knowing how to change your Way of Being to fit the prevailing context
ONTOLOGICAL BREAKDOWNS
– Dealing with disruptions in the flow of your life
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
– How you give meaning to to your experience of internal senses and external events.
QUADRANTS OF CHANGE
– Achieving a more holistic and balanced response to complex situations.
ACTION LOGICS
– Assessing leadership behaviour and effectiveness in different contexts
THE U PROCESS
– Using your senses to improve your effectiveness now to shape your future.
SPIRAL DYNAMICS
– Explaining the growth of human capacity and values
THE HERO’S JOURNEY
– Finding a bigger purpose and passion to lead your life from.
ACTIVE LISTENING
– Knowing how to actively listen for understanding and empathy
REFRAMING
– Looking for possibilities to question and reshape perspectives.
THE OODA LOOP
– Achieving a bigger impact when working with other people
ADAPTIVE ACTION
– Examining the dynamic patterns of thought involved in decision making
THE LENS OF INQUIRY
Using the power of questions to get breakthrough results.
THE NINE PANES MODEL
– Discovering new perspecives when dealing with breakdowns in the flow of life.
THE JOHARI WINDOW
– Identifying alternatives to unseen or disruptive behaviour
THE FOUR TRUTHS
– Recognising and considering alternative perspectives in any situation
THE CIRCLE OF CONTROL, INFLUENCE & CONCERN
– Clarifying how you interpret what you see, hear and feel.
THE MIRACLE QUESTION
– In your ideal world, what do you want to be feeligs, thinking and doing?
A “BOTH/AND” PERSPECTIVE
– Dealing with paradox and ambiguity.
THE ADAPTIVE CYCLES
– Resisting breakdown and maintaining your viability for a breakthrough.
CREATING A WELL-FORMED OUTCOME
– Reducing the chance of facing unintended consequences.
WAY OF BEING
– Connecting words, emotions and body presence to be more effective.
CYNEFIN
– A sensemaking framework to help you crack different types of problems.
YOUR INNATE WISDOM
– Knowing what makes you who you are and using it to lead a more fulfilling life.