Leading for Results - Part 1: Attributes of an Agile Change Leader

Many business articles today highlight the growing discontent among employees, especially the millennial worker. Often poor leadership, or lack thereof is identified to be the root cause. It cannot be denied, the millennial generation is changing our concept of leadership, and many companies are struggling to make the transformation to meet their expectations. I believe we need to pay closer attention to their views, and the need to be agile change leaders.

In fairness, business today is faced with several challenges; increasing demands from the shareholder, a changing workforce demographic, loss of essential skill base through retiree's, and an increasingly competitive global economy. Leadership skills of the past are increasingly put to test.

Through multiple P&L leadership roles and various international assignments, I've had the opportunity to test my own ideas on what it means to an agile change leader. This article is intended to provide insight and stimulate further thought on the subject. Let's start with a simple question - what does it take to be an agile change leader? I've found there are four attributes that define this type of leader:

1. Be open to input from all stakeholders - Become comfortable in recognizing a simple truth - you don't have all the answers! Agile change leaders are comfortable in seeking input from their own management team, peers, employees, customers and suppliers. However, it means more than simply asking probing questions in an effort to show your expertise or master of the subject. Additionally, it does not mean forfeiture of your responsibility and role to probe. It means one must learn to be an active listener to gain deep understanding, and create an environment where others are willing to be transparent. Leaders who excel at this competency are very cognizant of how they are viewed in the process of seeking input. The responsibility rests on you to create an environment that allows for transparent communication and information sharing, while probing at the same time. Employees take great pride in sharing their knowledge, especially with a senior leader who demonstrates a willingness to be an engaged and active learner.
2. It is incumbent upon you as Leader to Demonstrate Passion, Pride and Personal Commitment to the change - These are attributes, which differentiate great leaders from average leaders. Passion - many confuse the definition as aggressiveness in your position/pursuit, or the need to be the most gregarious person in the room.  A passionate leader is usually one of a calmer influence, and one who can convey a vision of the end state with an intensity that is contagious to others - you hear it in their voice and see it in their body language. Pride - a transparent leader is one who is willing to be honest with employees about the state of the business (good or bad), and demonstrate pride when those same employees achieve milestones in their accomplishments. Conversely when there are performance issues, employees are looking to the leader to act, nothing erodes organizational pride faster than a leader who is unwilling to deal with a poor performer. Personal Commitment - issuing directives from the proverbial corner office is not enough. A change leader is one who gets directly involved in the change and is visibly present at multiple levels in the organization. This means a commitment to engaging with employees, listening and demonstrating you care.
3. Develop techniques that help you and your team stay the course, regardless the challenge - Everyone adapts to change in their own way and in their own time. This can be challenging to a leader faced with tight timelines and financial commitments. Through any change event, there will be moments of euphoria (employees are excited for change) and moments of despair (difficulties occur). An agile change leader finds and develops techniques to keep the team focused on forward movement, despite the challenges. I like to use the analogy of mountain climbing; reaching the top is not accomplished in one giant rush, it is a measured process that occurs one step after the next, while overcoming many obstacles. The obstacle(s) can be the mountain itself or your own physical or mental barriers. An agile change leader knows how to recognize and anticipate those obstacles, and if necessary make adjustments to the course. More important this type of leader knows when to stop and assess, giving the team a chance to catch their breath and even celebrate the distance they have already covered. In my experience, the great change leaders are effective at regularly re-imaging the picture of success to motivate forward movement.
4. To be an effective change leader, you must invest in yourself - Agile change leaders are known to invest in themselves in order to increase their effectiveness. Any assignment involving significant change requires a leader to take personal preparation serious. There are the usual preparation tasks of talking to others, and learning what you can in advance. It also means being mindful of the need to care physically for yourself. Any major change assignment will require extra commitment and often long days. Agile change leaders are cognizant of this, and remain mindful of the need to manage their diet, pursue routine exercise and make time for rest. This is important not only to your well-being and ability to cope with the change, but it will help you project a more positive presence with your employees. Employees are inspired by leaders who recognize the need to pursue a healthy work/life balance.

In Part 2, I will address the next question - how does the agile change leader successfully implement change and engage employees?

Author note: The comments & views expressed by the author in this article, are updated to reflect contributions previously made to the book titled "What No One Ever Tells You About Leading for Results: Best Practices from 101 Real-World Leaders", written by Jan Austin, PhD, MCC, BCC. Ms. Austin is an executive coach, organizational leadership development consultant, leadership program facilitator and published author.