In 2025, the rapid pace of policy change created an environment of uncertainty, disruption, and shifting priorities across the entire health sector, particularly for health policy and health services researchers who aim to inform decision-making with evidence. In this climate, policy professionals and health services researchers need more than resilience to meet the moment. Leaders must be able to nimbly interpret change and communicate direction. They must also help organizations make meaningful progress and thrive despite shifting systems, priorities, and expectations in their environment.
By applying leadership models such as Adaptive Leadership and High Impact Leadership, policy professionals, health services researchers, and other leaders working across the health system can learn and evolve during periods of rapid policy change. Effective leadership today is not defined simply by authority—but by adaptability, learning, and a clear sense of purpose. Effective leaders catalyze organizational learning and social impact by clarifying a shared vision, guiding teams through uncertainty, and providing stability, which is especially vital when systems are under pressure.
Adaptive Leadership
Adaptive Leadership allows leaders and organizations to adapt to changing environments and tackle complex or evolving challenges. This model emphasizes leadership as a process rather than a position or set of traits. Adaptive leaders seek to facilitate learning by encouraging experimentation and helping groups make progress on tough problems even when clear answers do not yet exist. This model of leadership is especially useful now, as our current health policy landscape demands leaders who can navigate ambiguity and bring people together to solve complex challenges that span multiple sectors.
High Impact Leadership
High Impact Leadership emphasizes purposeful growth of the individual leader through intentional, experiential, and relational practices. This model involves real-world engagement and continuous feedback to strengthen leaders’ ability to perform effectively and connect to a broader sense of mission. High Impact Leadership is particularly useful in times when traditional systems are breaking down and organizations must innovate, redesign processes, and rethink existing structures.
Applying the models
Think of two hypothetical scenarios that could arise in today's climate:
Scenario 1
Policy professionals at an organization are required to update evaluation metrics for a national program due to a new federal requirement with minimal guidance.
Scenario 2
A new reporting system is introduced due to a regulatory change. Members of the staff resist using the system because they felt they were not meaningfully included in shaping the implementation and that the system is too complex.
In the first scenario, an adaptive leader would first acknowledge the ambiguity. They would bring together policy and evaluation teams to clarify what is known, what is unknown, and where differing assumptions exist. Instead of waiting for direction, they would take practical steps to move the work forward, such as testing early versions of the new metrics on a small scale and adjusting based on any discoveries made by the team. Through creating a space to test new ideas and learn from each step, an adaptive leader enables a team to move forward even when clarity is not present.
In the second scenario, a high-impact leader would form test groups that use the system hands-on, identify issues, and provide feedback. By giving staff meaningful participation, the leader connects them to the “why” behind the change and empowers them by inviting them into the process.
Evolving leadership for modern health systems
Our understanding of leadership has not been static, but evolving in response to real-world challenges. As the unprecedented challenges facing policy professionals, health services researchers, and other leaders working across health systems continues, there may be new insights and tools that will help to strengthen the ability of leaders to guide their organizations through uncertainties or challenges that might arise in the future.
As our understanding of leadership continues to evolve, policy professionals, health services researchers, and other leaders across health systems face unprecedented challenges. In response, new insights and tools may emerge to strengthen leaders’ ability to guide their organizations through uncertainty and future challenges.