Running head: THE ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY
The Adaptive Challenge of President Kennedy
Carrie G. Connolly
Virginia Commonwealth University
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THE ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY
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The Adaptive Challenge of President Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, and he was the youngest
president, elected at the age of forty-three. Due to Kennedy’s lack of corporate experience and
young age, he struggled with the ability to plan strategically. The United States was still
recovering from the Peal Harbor attacks and current Cold War when Kennedy took office.
Americans felt threatened by the possibility of a nuclear war, and President Kennedy needed to
be able to create a strategic plan to alleviate these fears. Drath (2001) refers to this as an adaptive
challenge. An adaptive challenge is defined as a challenge of which there is no precedent or
preexisting resources, thus causing the leader to make a change in his or her leadership style to
adapt to the situation and resolve the issue. Adaptive challenges are different from everyday
challenges as everyday challenges already have resources available for the leader to use (Drath,
2001). Kennedy, facing an adaptive challenge with strategic planning, was forced to create
additional resources and make executive decisions to help Americans feel protected and safe
under his leadership.
President Kennedy
President Kennedy needed to create credibility with his constituents due to his lack of
experience. President Kennedy was elected by a small margin of votes, and Beschloss (2000)
points out that America did not know Kennedy well. The president worked hard to make a good
impression on the American people once in office. Kennedy was not a large corporate
businessman nor had he held an executive cabinet role. When Kennedy spoke in public or at
televised events he would remain stiff and formal in order to portray an older, serious, and more
experienced president (Beschloss, 2000). President Kennedy wanted to do well as president, and
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he knew he needed the support of the American public. He did not want them to question his
abilities or decisions due to his age.
As many presidents do, Kennedy had goals for his presidential term. He wanted to land a
man on the moon, and he also wanted to create a nuclear test ban treaty. Beschloss (2000) states
that Kennedy’s leadership method was not a grand vision, but rather “crisis management, hour to
hour” (p.67). While Kennedy’s presidency ended prematurely with his assassination, one can
see growth in leadership from the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis (Benchless, 2000).
His catastrophe with the Bay of Pigs embarrassed Americans, but his extensive strategic
planning with the Cuban Missile Crisis showed Americans that President Kennedy was
overcoming his adaptive challenge of using his resources wisely and learning to plan
strategically.
Example One: The Bay of Pigs
Kennedy was constantly concerned about his reputation as president, however, there were
many who were excited for the change of having a Democratic leader in the White House after
eight years of Republican terms (Raven, 1998). His Executive Committee, eager to make their
mark in history, presented the president with a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba,
using CIA trained Cuban exiles. This was a covert mission that excluded the American military.
President Kennedy attended several meetings with his Executive Committee to learn about the
plan before he agreed to the mission (Kramer, 1998).
Raven (1998) notes that with the high
enthusiasm from his Executive Committee, groupthink began to take over and those who
dissented the plan were overlooked and forced to change opinions. The notion of groupthink,
making poor decisions to keep group cohesiveness, is seen as one of the reasons Kennedy lacked
the strategic plan to execute the Bay of Pigs effectively (Raven, 1998).
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The Bay of Pigs is described as one of the most disastrous events in American history as
the plan failed miserably (Raven, 1998). The Bay of Pigs invasion was not successful. Castro’s
army defeated the CIA trained Cuban exiles, and the entire nation was then made aware of the
failed attempt. Americans were embarrassed, and leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev
began to think of Kennedy as weak (Landers, 2012). Kramer (1998) states that although the
group had one opinion, in the end it was President Kennedy who made the decision to execute
the plan for the Bay of Pigs. Although Kennedy had expressed some opposition to the plan, he
still moved forward with it because he was concerned about the poor political backlash of not
acting on the plan at all. His intense focus on the political implications of his career prevented
him from creating a strategic plan for the Bay of Pigs (Kramer, 1998). Kennedy was criticized
for acting too hastily early in his presidential term and not using his advisors to the full extent or
utilizing resources outside of the Executive Committee to seek alternatives (Grattan, 2004).
Documents state that there were several members of the Executive Committee who did have
concerns, but President Kennedy did not create an environment in his meetings that allowed for
these members to speak up and voice their opposition (Kramer, 1998).
In a hope to regain confidence from the American public, Kennedy put additional
resources into his man on the moon plan (Beschloss, 2000). His decision to move forward with
the Bay of Pigs had been largely to protect his political reputation, but the plan backfired and did
the opposite. In addition to questioning the president, Americans were concerned about how his
Executive Committee presented and advised him on a morally disastrous plan with poor
execution. His Executive Committee had previously been thought of as one of the best-educated
and well-prepared committees, but the Bay of Pigs brought a negative stigma to this group
(Kramer, 1998).
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Example Two: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy’s executive leadership was put to the test again when he learned that the Soviets
had placed missiles in Cuba. He knew Americans were still in doubt of his abilities due to his
poor handling of the Bay of Pigs. America had never faced a situation like this, so he was unable
to look to past resources and learn from previous presidents about how to proceed. He opted not
to tell the American public about the situation in order to give himself more time to devise a
plan. Kennedy understood the urgency of the matter, but he could not allow another catastrophe
like the Bay of Pigs (Gratton, 2004). President Kennedy chose his own team of advisors to
work on the Cuban Missile Crisis, which included his brother and confidant, Robert Kennedy
(Beschloss, 2000). He took time to listen to all of his advisors and asked questions. He
remained non-assertive as he challenged his advisors to think about the situation before giving
solutions. He led the committee using a Socratic method. His advising team had extreme views
on the correct path of action, but President Kennedy learned from the Bay of Pigs that an
extreme measure might not be the best option. Everyone agreed that the missiles needed to be
removed, but the decision of how to make this happen was more complex (Gratton, 2004).
Kennedy not only needed to make a decision on how to handle the missiles, he also
needed to establish a plan on how to communicate his decision to the world. Kennedy made a
televised announcement to America. This announcement was also sent to the Soviet Nikita
Khrushchev in a letter. Even without a corporate background and a botched plan with the Bay of
Pigs, Kennedy remained confident in his speech as he communicated his decision. His
confidence was comforting, but the reality of a potential nuclear war frightened Americans
(Landers, 2012) Kennedy decided to put a blockade around Cuba until the missiles were
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removed. If the missiles were not removed, he threated further military action against the Soviet
Union. Kennedy listened to his advisors, but he was able to keep his eye on the goal of removing
the weapons. He was not sidetracked by other agendas, such as overthrowing Castro. Kennedy
did not pick an extreme measure. He selected the option that worked to resolve the crisis and
keep Americans safe (Gratton, 2004). Kennedy created several plans of action based on each
potential response of the Soviets. These plans did not indicate a lack of confidence, but rather
they indicated his desire to be well prepared. He did not want to have another situation like the
Bay of Pigs (Landers, 2012).
The Soviets removed their missiles, but the waiting time between the announcement of
the Cuban Missile Crisis and the removal of the missiles seemed long for freighted Americans.
During this time Congressional staff urged Kennedy to take stronger action, such as invading
Cuba (Landers, 2012). Kennedy took a risk and stayed to his word. He understood that World
War Three was in the looms (Beschloss, 2000). Landers (2012) describes Kennedy as working
well under pressure by using his intelligence and tough façade to remain calm. The president
showed restraint by not listening to extreme military measures that could have had prolonged
effects, and he did so while presenting a confident appearance (Landers, 2012). Unlike the Bay
of Pigs, Kennedy was able to use his resources wisely and adapt to the situation. His reputation
as an effective leader grew after the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis (Gratton, 2004).
Conclusion
President Kennedy was a young president who faced an adaptive challenge of strategic
planning based on his lack of experience. Kennedy was determined not to have his age give
Americans a negative impression of his abilities as president. However, the failed mission with
the Bay of Pigs brought much skepticism. Kennedy was able to learn from his mistakes, and he
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showed tremendous growth in his leadership and strategic planning during the Cuban Missile
Crisis. Kennedy’s ability to overcome his adaptive challenge and utilize his calm, confident and
persistent leadership style avoided a nuclear war for the United States.
THE ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY
References
Beschloss, M. R. (2000). A tale of two presidents. The Wilson Quarterly, 24(1), 60-70.
Drath, W. (2001). The deep blue sea: Rethinking the source of leadership (pp. 1-61). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Grattan, R. F. (2004). The Cuban missile crisis: Strategy formulation in action. Management
Decision, 42(1), 55-68.
Landers, R. K. (2012). Statecraft as stagecraft: How JFK managed the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Commonweal, 139(17), 20.
Kramer, R. M. (1998). Revisiting the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam decisions 25 years later: How
well has the groupthink hypothesis stood the test of time. Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes, 43(2/3), 236-271.
Raven, B. H. (1998). Groupthink, Bay of Pigs and Watergate reconsidered. Organizational
Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 73(2). 352-361.
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