top of page
THE HUMAN CAPACITY PROJECT

Frameworks for Human and Organizational Adaptation

Three complementary frameworks help leaders understand human development, examine adaptive capacity, and redesign the conditions surrounding the work.

The Human Capacity Project uses three interconnected frameworks to make capacity more visible and support intentional development. Each framework examines a different aspect of how people and organizations navigate changing conditions—from individual clarity and judgment to structural support and continuous growth.

The Three Frameworks

Each framework offers a distinct lens. Together, they create a more complete view of how capacity develops, becomes constrained, and can be supported under changing conditions.

01 · ADAPTIVE CAPACITY FRAMEWORK

Examines how people and organizations perceive change, learn from experience, exercise judgment, and respond intentionally. Its five connected dimensions —clarity, capacity, learning, judgment, and organizational conditions—help identify where changing demands may be exceeding current capacity.

02 · ORGANIZATIONAL SCAFFOLDING™

Examines the structures and conditions surrounding the work. It maps roles, decision rights, information flows, operating rhythms, and cross-functional relationships to identify where support, coordination, or decision pathways may need redesign.

03 · WHEEL OF GROWTH™

Supports intentional reflection, continuous development, and purposeful action under changing conditions. The Wheel helps people consider how they continue moving, learning, and developing when the path ahead is not entirely visible.

THE WHEEL IN THE FIELD

From a Structured Model to a Living Framework

The Wheel of Growth™ began in New York as a structured framework for intentional development, supported through weekly reflection. Over time, its ideas moved beyond the page. Experiences and observations across Portugal, Spain, and Panama deepened the Wheel into an ongoing field of inquiry. Changing environments offered practical illustrations of growth, adaptation, uncertainty, and human capacity in motion.

What had first been articulated through weekly insights became visible in practice: the Wheel is not fixed. It moves in relationship with the conditions shaping the path ahead.

A CONNECTED SYSTEM

A Connected System for Understanding Capacity

Together, these frameworks help leaders examine where capacity is being stretched, how surrounding conditions support or constrain adaptation, and where intentional development may strengthen clarity, learning, judgment, and purposeful action.

ADAPTIVE CAPACITY FRAMEWORK

Helps identify where changing demands may exceed current capacity.

ORGANIZATIONAL SCAFFOLDING™

Makes visible how structures and conditions shape what becomes possible.

WHEEL OF GROWTH™

Supports continuing reflection and development as circumstances change.

FROM FRAMEWORK TO APPLICATION

Explore the Work

Explore how these frameworks appear in practice through research, field observation, educational assessment, and field-based and illustrative examples of adaptation under changing conditions.

bottom of page