Adaptive leadership in health care: a rapid review

Objective Adaptive leadership has gained attention in health care as a useful framework for navigating increasing complexity and unpredictability. This rapid review examined the application of adaptive leadership in healthcare settings and the associated outcomes. Methods The systematic search was conducted in Medline Complete, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and PsycInfo databases. Articles were included if they were peer-reviewed empirical studies on adaptive leadership in primary and acute healthcare settings that assessed an organisational or individual outcome, and were published between 2010 and 2025. Results Fifteen peer-reviewed studies were eligible for inclusion. Several main study designs were present, with one-third being case studies, case reports or case series. Three studies used a cross-sectional quantitative survey and another was quasi-experimental. Adaptive leadership was primarily used as a framework to analyse qualitative data. Two studies applied it as a problem-solving approach and three studies measured it quantitatively. While acknowledging the limitations of drawing causal inferences from case studies and qualitative research, study authors generally interpreted their results as supporting positive effects of adaptive leadership, including its role in: (a) supporting change initiatives and innovation in care planning; (b) improving safety citizenship behaviours, increasing employee engagement and facilitating the identification of process improvements; and (c) enhancing trust, helping patients co-create solutions and learn new skills. Conclusions The scarcity of research and diversity of outcomes limits the overall conclusions that can be made regarding the efficacy of adaptive leadership in health care. Further research is required with more rigorous study designs examining direct applications of adaptive leadership.