#agileleader #agileleadership #agile #leader #agileleaders
Leadership should be practiced at all levels of the company. It is not limited to those in positions of leadership, such as those in charge of a team, a group, or an organisation. This idea is about having a new perspective on leadership.
Agile Leadership always begins with a self-evaluation (individual level). It must be present at all levels of an organization, rather than being confined to the top. This is very important during times of transition as sometimes, a leader is concerned not being seen as an Agile Leader.
Lambert, an Assistant Professor and Managing Director of the Centre for Executive Education at the Fox School of Business defined Agile Leadership as a leadership for the next generation of business leaders. It is about re-engaging teams, revitalising organisations and changing the way work gets done. He also stated that traditional leadership practices are outdated and ineffective in today’s workplace, especially among millennials because they have different needs and wants when it comes to work. They demand more from their organisations and have different motivators than any generation before them.
It is true, given these distinctions, organisations must abandon traditional thinking and embrace the distinct traits of the millennial workforce to attract and keep these individuals. They were raised in the digital age and interact in the workplace differently as a result. They also have no qualms about questioning authority and pushing limits.
Steve Hart, an executive coach at the Centre for Executive Education has identified how to diagnose and decide what’s an appropriate agile-like approach for an organisation, recognising that agile is not a replacement for other types of business management. He also said that deciding what to do in an agile manner is critically important. The roles begin with diagnosing and deciding what’s an appropriate agile-like approach for an organization, followed by understanding how to be an agent of change in the organization are the first two.
Therefore, being agile is a way of working that delivers a lot of good change for organisations of all sizes and industries. It means an agile leader is ready to assess and respond to what is going on in real time. It is letting go of the plan and paying close attention to what the rest of the team has to say.
Imd.org were able to identify several key competencies and business behaviours of Agile Leaders who thrive in this type of environment. There are four characteristics distinguish agile from non-agile leaders. Agile leaders are:
Humble: They can accept feedback and acknowledge that others know more than they do.
Adaptable: They accept that change is constant and that changing their minds based on new information is a strength rather than a weakness.
Visionary: They have a clear sense of long-term direction, even in the face of short-term uncertainly.
Engaged: They have a willingness to listen, interact, and communicate with internal and external stakeholders combined with a strong sense of interest and curiosity in emerging trends.
Agile Leaders exhibited three key behaviours helping them to successfully navigate disruptive environments. They are:
Hyperawareness: They are constantly scanning internal and external environments for opportunities and threats.
Making Informed Decisions: They make use of data and information to make evidence-based decisions.
Executing at Speed: They can move quickly, often valuing speed over perfection.
Your organisation may value resilient, adaptable, and flexible leadership, while they are necessary attributes for a leader to be successful, they are difficult to quantify and track in performance evaluations. But do you possess such qualities? How do you say so?
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