Lily Pad Leadership: Get Consistent Results In An Inconsistent World
Recent events—uncertainties in the financial markets, political shifts and changes in consumer spending behavior—have prompted companies to make strategic pivots, led to shelved projects and caused a major slowdown in decision making. With things changing so fast outside the office, leaders are struggling to maintain their footing, and teams are becoming frustrated and disengaged.
At ProjectNext Leadership, the executives we work with say they're overwhelmed, under more pressure than ever to deliver and struggling to lead a change-weary workforce. With the landscape constantly shifting around us, traditional change management tactics are no longer cutting it. Our 2025 Leadership Insights Report backs up those comments, with adaptability and leading through change identified as the most critical leadership capabilities today.
Change management strategies like Kotter's 8 Steps promote the idea that organizations can meticulously plan a linear path to success and control every aspect from start to finish. But what we need is to lead in the moment, make decisions on the spot and adapt on the fly. And we must accomplish all this while leading in a way that ensures employees stay engaged, aligned and equipped to do what needs to be done
Today, successful change leadership embraces elements of what we're calling lily pad leadership. You may be thinking, "Lily pads? As in ponds and frogs?" Read on to learn what I mean.
What Is Lily Pad Leadership?
Picture lily pads floating on the surface of a pond. Though delicate looking, they can withstand disturbances like heavy winds because their strong, pliant roots are firmly anchored in the sediment below. So, the plant is able to sway and drift to a degree, accommodating its changing environment with ease. This resiliency is what makes lily pads a safe pathway for creatures looking to cross the pond. A frog, for example, can hop from pad to pad as if they were stepping stones leading to its ultimate destination.
In an uncertain environment, lily pad hopping illustrates a better approach to change management. Lily pad leadership, then, can be characterized by incremental progress, frequent assessment, directional adjustments and in-the-moment resource deployment and development. It's a style that allows leaders to set expectations of iteration right from the start, allowing for quick responses to changes in the environment.
Another key aspect of lily pad leadership is providing teams with stability. Lily pads move, but their roots keep them from floating away. In a similar sense, leaders can keep their team together by reminding everyone of the organization's mission, high-level vision and core values. These are the roots that anchor the workforce when changing conditions make it hard to see more than a few steps ahead.
There are countless examples of companies struggling to lead through this newer type of change. Here's one example. We know a tech firm that recently acquired a company with a complementary product line, nearly doubling the workforce. By all accounts, things went smoothly, and they were ready to roll. However, uncertainties in the financial markets, political shifts and consumer spending behavior prompted multiple pivots in direction, shelved projects and a major slowdown in decision making—even at senior levels. Meanwhile, the Board kept the pressure on to increase revenue and ship new products, leading to major burnout. The CEO repeatedly tried to communicate a compelling vision of the future, but things were changing so fast that leaders lost their footing. Their teams were frustrated and unsure how to achieve the promise of the CEO's vision, causing low trust and even lower engagement.
3 Ways To Apply Lily Pad Leadership
If you want to keep your team steady in uncertain times, here's how you can turn this metaphor into more effective leadership.
Trust isn't unique to lily pad leadership, of course, but there's a particular discomfort that comes with not always knowing where you'll jump to next. Your employees need to believe in your leadership and trust that you'll steady them when their landing is wobbly or pull them up when they fall. Their confidence in you will help fuel agility and decisiveness.
To start building trust, share the "why" behind business decisions, even when they're difficult. In a team meeting, walk through the factors that led to a recent strategic shift, then acknowledge the trade-offs and uncertainties involved. This level of communication demonstrates honesty and respect for the team's intelligence.
Not even your most talented team members will want to hop to a new lily pad when they're already mid-flight. Changing priorities with unfinished projects, even when it's expected, can undermine the achievement needs of your team. It's important, then, to recognize the emotional and mental impact of constant change and help employees redefine what accomplishment looks like.
Openly discuss your team's frustrations and the uncertainties that come with shifting priorities. Share your own experiences with navigating change, and create a safe space for team members to express their feelings without judgment. Ask, "What can I do to help you feel more confident in this transition?"
Your team members aren't the only ones trying to cross a body of choppy water right now. Your fellow leaders are navigating these uncertainties as well. When it comes to successful change management, there's strength in collaborating with colleagues, collecting ideas and co-creating strategies for moving forward.
One of our clients had an innovative way for encouraging relationship building and knowledge sharing: adding a guest speaker slot to regular team meetings. Invite a colleague from a different team or department to present a brief overview of their work, including their current goals, challenges and any potential opportunities for collaboration. Then encourage your team to seek ways to help or brainstorm solutions. A constant flow of new ideas and perspectives is key to quick shifts.
Lily pad leadership is a way of framing the mindset and skills needed to truly model agility. It's about continuous alignment and engaging team members through the twists and turns of uncertain business conditions. You'll be more successful as a leader if you focus on iterative progression—hopping across the lily pads—rather than trying to rigidly map out a fixed, long-term change strategy.
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