What is an effective Agile Leader?
Munna PraWiN
Delivering Tailored Product Solutions | Agile Innovator | I help Startup’s to Build Next Big Thing ??????????
To build and lead an agile organization, it’s crucial that senior leaders develop new mindsets and capabilities to transform themselves, their teams, and the organization. A business can’t accomplish much without good leadership. Having a manager who can set an example for other team members is crucial to the overall success of a company, especially during trying times. Agile leaders were huge assets to their organizations throughout the pandemic, for example; those that thrived did so because dedicated, flexible leaders were willing and able to pivot for the good of the company.?
People often think an agile leader is just someone who can facilitate change quickly and efficiently. Being an agile leader is less about the process and more about a mindset committed to encouraging teams to self-organize, think, act and make decisions without the boundaries of traditional hierarchical structures. Agile leaders go beyond the pivot to create inclusive and empowered teams.?
To be agile is to be quick and alert. It’s an ideal quality in a leader when paired with intelligence and foresight. An?agile leader?is a person who fosters agile ways of thinking and working, creates an environment where teams can do their best work and champions agile throughout their organization.
An Agile Leader possesses the?Knowledge,?Mindset,?Skill,?and?Character?to lead, guide, coach and encourage others in the use of Agile Mindset and Agile Practices.
Having the Agile Leadership Edge means that you are a person trained with the?knowledge?of good practices and that you are?skilled?in facilitating and influencing people and that you are a person with?a character?such that you build trust and transparency.
You won’t learn everything you need to lead agile at Certified ScrumMaster training or Product Owner Training.?You’ll learn the big ideas.
Key Qualities That Define An 'Agile' Leader
Being Flexible: In past generations, good leaders were judged by staying the course and not changing their minds or sticking to their original decisions like glue. Now, good leaders are those with good reality testing. They are those who can take current changes and trends into account, factor them into their decision making and set a more appropriate course based on new information without the shame of changing direction.
Creating Inclusive And Empowered Teams: People often think an agile leader is just someone who can facilitate change quickly and efficiently. Being an agile leader is less about the process and more about a mindset committed to encouraging teams to self-organize, think, act and make decisions without the boundaries of traditional hierarchical structures. Agile leaders go beyond the pivot to create inclusive and empowered teams.
Stay Up To Date On Everything: Agile leadership means remaining up to date on skills, developments, and trends, keeping a finger on the pulse of your employees, customers, and industry, and maintaining a solution-focused, “How can I...” mentality. In this rapidly changing post-pandemic world, agility allows for quick pivots, innovation, and diversification, which are critical to a business’s survival and success.?
Leading By Example: Are you really okay with experimentation and learning? Are you taking the risks to bring in the agile approach that you want your teams to embrace? Lead by doing the things you want your teams to do, not just telling them. Collaborate from the start on how you can implement new common values to create a greater goal for the company and then let your teams see you fighting to bring those values to them.
Being Open: We need to be agile now more than ever. As our work and environment change on a regular basis, being agile is being open to shifting, getting feedback, and beginning again. Create a vision for what you want your team, work, or organization to look like in six months. Use it as a guide to inspire, but be willing to adapt.
Always Listening: An agile leader is always listening to their team, their markets, partners, clients and even competitors. They are ready to hear what needs to be heard and then do something meaningful with that information. They are not limited by the way it's always been done. In fact, they are suspicious of anything that's been done the same way for too long. They are the ultimate collaborator in all situations.?
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Being Accepting and Present: An agile leader has a "yes, and" mindset, is present in the moment and is open to new ideas and possibilities. They accept the given circumstances without resistance and leverage skills, talents and resources to meet the current need. With change being the only constant, agility allows leaders to release the need for absolute certainty to respond and lead with confidence in the face of ambiguity.
Empower People To Work Toward A Shared Vision: The principles of agile leadership are rooted in a desire to do more than just optimize efficiency; its focus is on empowering teams and individuals to work together toward a shared vision. Leaders who embody agile values, such as iterative decision making, continuous feedback and transparency, can create a shared sense of ownership and empowerment, which is essential for any company to innovate.?
Learning Continuously: An agile leader takes the time to continuously listen and learn before responding rather than being reactive and making knee-jerk decisions. You can’t stop listening to employees and to customers ever, but certainly not during a crisis. As you listen and learn, you will adapt your approach to how you deliver the experience based on current or immediate needs and pain points.
Responding To Changing Environments: Agile leaders can shift priorities, get everyone aligned and empower and focus their teams on the most important work. They take risks by trying new approaches and ideas, and they do this in a sustainable way. This is important, as it promotes greater leadership and team confidence in responding to challenging conditions.
Can Get The Best Out Of Others: One of the key strengths of an agile leader is their ability to flex their leadership style to get the best out of others. When you understand your own natural qualities and preferences, you’re more aware of how others are different. This means you can adapt your approach to get the best out of them, co-create better results, unlock talents and lift performance.??
Being Curious: Agility requires adaptability, and adaptability requires the practice of constantly monitoring changing conditions and formulating possible responses. Curiosity is your superpower. If you are always curious, you are always learning new things, new ways of work, and potential new approaches to solving old (or new) problems.?
Key Agile Leader Activities During Agile Transformation
Over the last 6 years, I have worked with many clients who are running Agile Pilots or attempting an Agile Transformation. There is a wide variance in the approaches that these leaders have taken and a wide variance in the results.
Which got me to wondering whether leaders really understand their role in an?Agile Transformation?or the importance of their leadership during this organizational change.
I don’t know if there is one perfect way to approach this. I do know that there are a handful of things leaders did that were common to all the successful Agile transformations. I’ve grouped those things into the following 4 categories:
“The Agile Leader?demonstrates that agility is not just about creating things. It’s also about ruthless prioritization, managing risk, and knowing when to stop. This book helps leaders to make choices that define their business success on a day-to-day basis. If you’re not moving forward and innovating and changing things, then your competitors will be.” -Humphrey Cobbold, CEO, PureGym
Now the question is: Do you want to beat yourself to death by enforcing process?changes? Or do you want to transform the way you and your organization think and behave and make lasting change?
References: Vitality, Forbes