Agile Mindset

What Is An Agile Mindset?

An agile mindset focuses on “being agile” as a foundation for success in “doing agile.” Agile, generally refers to Values, Principles or Frameworks that use practices, processes, and methodologies to achieve the result intended by those values and principles.?Having an agile mindset means that you’re able to respond quickly and dynamically to changes. It’s about adapting as you go and openly working in partnership with other members of the organization to discover the best solutions for company issues and customer needs

Doing Agile vs. Being Agile:

The difference between being Agile and doing Agile is akin to the difference between simply believing in the values and principles espoused by the Agile manifesto, and actually putting those beliefs into practice.

Doing Agile

If you are “doing Agile,” that means you have implemented Agile processes into your organization in some way. You have adopted an iterative approach to your projects, breaking each one down into incremental steps to manage them more effectively.

Being Agile

Applying an Agile mindset to all areas of your business. This Agile outlook means you can adapt to change quickly and are always willing to learn something new.

To be considered fully Agile, your organization must undergo an Agile transformation. In this transformation, every employee must embrace the teachings of the Agile Manifesto. This doesn’t mean mindlessly following guidelines and viewing them as a tick-box exercise — true Agile practitioners are inspired by the core values and principles of Agile and are fully committed to incorporating them into their everyday practices.

The Benefits of an Agile Mindset

The customer today is in a constant state of motion. To achieve customer-centricity, an agile mindset acknowledges the need for learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement that enables people and their organizations to be more flexible in how they meet a customer’s needs.

An agile mindset is crucial to success in an uncertain environment. Processes will evolve as organizations grow to meet emerging challenges. With an agile mindset, people embrace these challenges and view failure as a learning opportunity. They can truly surprise, delight, and fulfill the needs of their customers by co-creating, experimenting, adapting, innovating, and being okay with failure along the way.

Most importantly, an agile mindset gives you the ability to blend agile methods and frameworks to meet the emerging needs of your organization.