How do you assess your own strengths and weaknesses as an agile leader and create a plan for improvement?

1 Identify your agile leadership competencies

Assessing your own strengths and weaknesses as an agile leader starts with identifying the relevant and important competencies for your role and context. Agile leadership competencies are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable you to lead agile teams and organizations effectively. Examples of these competencies include vision and strategy, collaboration and communication, empowerment and engagement, learning and innovation, and self-awareness and self-management. To help identify your agile leadership competencies, you can use tools such as the Agile Leadership Competency Model, the Agile Leadership Canvas, or the Agile Leadership Radar. Through these resources, you can articulate a clear and compelling vision for your team and organization, foster trust among stakeholders, delegate authority responsibly, promote learning and experimentation, recognize your own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, and more.

4 Set your development goals

The fourth step to assess your own strengths and weaknesses as an agile leader is to set SMART development goals that align with your vision, strategy, team, and organizational goals. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, you could improve your collaboration and communication skills by attending a workshop on agile facilitation techniques and applying them in the next sprint review meeting. You could also increase your empowerment and engagement skills by delegating more tasks and decisions to your team members while providing regular feedback and recognition. Additionally, you could enhance your learning and innovation skills by conducting a retrospective with your team after each sprint and implementing at least one improvement action in the next sprint. To document and track these goals, you may use a simple template or tool such as the Agile Leadership Development Plan or the Agile Leadership Development Tracker.

5 Choose your development activities

The fifth step to assess your own strengths and weaknesses as an agile leader is to choose development activities that will help you reach your goals. These activities should be diverse, challenging, and relevant to your learning style and preferences. Examples of development activities include reading books, articles, blogs, or podcasts; attending courses, workshops, webinars, or conferences; joining communities, networks, or groups; seeking coaching, mentoring, or advice from experts or peers; practicing or applying new skills or techniques in real situations or projects; and seeking feedback or reflection from others or yourself. To plan and schedule your development activities, you can use a simple list or table like the Agile Leadership Development Activities List or the Agile Leadership Development Calendar.

6 Review and adjust your plan

The sixth step to assess your own strengths and weaknesses as an agile leader is to review and adjust your plan regularly based on your results and feedback. You should monitor and measure your progress and performance against your development goals, using tools such as metrics, indicators, or dashboards. You should also seek feedback and reflection from others or yourself on your strengths and weaknesses, using tools such as surveys, interviews, or 360-degree feedback. You should then celebrate your achievements, recognize your challenges, and identify your opportunities for improvement. You should also update or revise your plan as needed, based on your changing needs, goals, or context.

You can use a simple template or tool to review and adjust your plan, such as the Agile Leadership Development Review or the Agile Leadership Development Adjustment.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?