"When progress on an issue requires people to change their beliefs, behaviours or values then, according to Heifetz and co-workers, the issue is an "adaptive issue" and requires a different leadership style – known as Adaptive Leadership. [2]

One of the key insights from Heifetz‟s work is that people resist change because they perceive the losses more clearly than the benefits. The losses may be of familiarity, of dearly held values or beliefs, of some aspect of self-esteem or simply loss of resources or power.

Heifetz and his colleagues stress that one of the key tasks in facilitating change is to acknowledge these losses. What they do not emphasise is the degree to which this requires those fostering the change to appreciate the perspectives of those involved so that the nature and depth of loss can be acknowledged." [1]