Adaptive Leadership™
Certification
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Profound adaptive change awaits those seek mastery of Adaptive Leadership.
The Only Adaptive Leadership™ Certification - Designed Specifically for Facilitators
Adaptive Leadership is the leading framework for mobilizing people to tackle complex challenges without clear solutions. Developed at Harvard Kennedy School and applied globally across sectors, it has shaped how governments, corporations, NGOs and educational institutions approach change.
This is the only pathway that equips practitioners to design and deliver adaptive leadership experiences with full fidelity to the Harvard Kennedy School methodology, and with access to ACA’s proprietary frameworks, materials and licensing.
The cornerstone of this program is a conviction: to facilitate adaptive work well, you must first internalize the very capacities you seek to develop in others.
“Facilitation” in these contexts extends beyond simple training to holding—and even leading—stakeholders through a process of creative disequilibrium to undergo deep experiential learning.
What You’ll Develop
Through an immersive onsite and field-based learning process grounded in adult learning principles, ALFC participants develop the capacity to:
See adaptive challenges where others see only resistance
Stay present under pressure
Intervene with precision – knowing when to move, when to hold, and what the moment actually requires
Hold competing perspectives without resolving them prematurely
Depersonalize conflict and direct attention to systemic
Shape your authority and role to elevate what’s possible in the room
Design adaptive programs
Facilitate high stakes conversations
Format
This program is offered in two distinct but related pathways.
Pathway 1: Foundations | Adaptive Leadership™ Facilitation I
A two-day immersion into the core practices of Adaptive Leadership facilitation. This is the entry point into the certification pathway, or a standalone experience for those needing immediate application. Those who continue to Pathway 2 receive full credit toward Certification.
YOU’LL LEARN TO
Distinguish technical problems from adaptive challenges
Read group dynamics as they unfold
Intervene without collapsing tension
Stay present when the room gets difficult
REQUIREMENT
ACA’s Adaptive Leadership Introductory workshop or demonstrated experience in the Harvard lineage of Adaptive Leadership.
IDEAL FOR
L&D and OD professionals building in-house adaptive capacity across teams
HR and talent leaders shaping culture and leadership pipelines
Consultants, coaches, and facilitators supporting systems-change efforts
Change agents, strategists, and innovation leads working across boundaries
Managers and team leads navigating diverse stakeholder environments
Anyone seeking to strengthen their ability to diagnose adaptive challenges, guide group learning, and hold productive tension.
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Pathway 2: Certification
Adaptive Leadership™ Facilitation II
A five-day certification program delivered over three months.
YOU’LL LEARN TO
Design and facilitate adaptive interventions and Adaptive Leadership programs
Apply the framework in your own professional context
Work through real adaptive challenges between sessions
Receive powerful feedback through peer coaching and facilitated reflection
FORMAT
This program begins with the Pathway 1 Foundations program. You then engage in a three-month field and community practice phase, applying your learning in real contexts supported by structured peer coaching, facilitated reflection and a shared learning platform. The program culminates in a three-day ‘teach-in’ for advanced skills building in the design and delivery of adaptive interventions and programs.
REQUIREMENT
Certification participants must complete all 5 days of the program and participate in the asynchronous sessions between November and February.
IDEAL FOR
Professional facilitators and workshop designers seeking to enhance their adaptive toolkit
Educators and trainers integrating experiential and transformative learning methods into their teaching
Leadership development consultants looking to deliver Adaptive Leadership programs with depth and fidelity
Senior L&D and OD professionals seeking certification to credential their expertise
Internal leadership faculty or academy leads building institutional capacity for Adaptive Leadership
Change and transformation specialists who design or convene large-scale learning processes
Independent consultants and trainers seeking access to ACA’s licensed frameworks and materials
Certification
Upon successful completion of the program, facilitators receive certification in Adaptive Leadership™ along with access to proprietary materials and trainer assets.
Fees
Pathway 1: Foundations (2 days)
$4,000 Corporate/Large NPO
$3,000 Academia/Government
$2,500 Small NPO/Individual practitioners
Pathway 2: Certification | Includes Pathway 1 + 2 (5 days)
$12,000 Corporate/Large NPO
$10,000 Academia/Government
$7,500 Small NPO/Individual practitioners
Limited scholarships available
Facilitator Guide
A facilitator guide and other resource materials are provided upon completion of the workshop.
Lead Faculty
Eric R. Martin is a renowned Adaptive Leadership advisor, speaker and trainer and author of the book Your Leadership Moment.
He has served in various capacities at places such as: The White House Executive Office of Presidential Personnel, Google, Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, The Sustainability Consortium, Sustainability Leadership Initiative, Clean Energy Leadership Institute, Verizon, US Business Council for Sustainable Development, United Nations Innovation Network, World Bank, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, USAID, Democracy Fund, Aspen Institute, Cornell University, and Acumen. Eric's work to "democratize leadership" has put the powerful framework, tools and techniques of Adaptive Leadership into the hands of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
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