The idea of “agile leadership” work procedures emerged from the awareness that middle management frequently did more to impede employees’ success than to support it.
Since then, the idea has expanded beyond scrum masters and software development to assist workers in several sectors and professions in being more successful, efficient, and productive.
Agility is fundamentally a framework for making and carrying out decisions. It is a term for a live organism’s survival strategy or mechanism rooted in evolutionary biology. Although the name “agile” has gained popularity recently, the idea has been applied for decades in various circumstances. One of two examples—the OODA-loop, created by military strategist John Boyd in 1987—is the best way to illustrate it in this sense. OODA is short for “Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.”
But what does agile leadership mean? How does it manifest itself within your company?
How Can Agile Leadership Help Your Company?
For staff to be more efficient and productive, agile leadership aims to remove obstacles to success. Agile leadership produces better business results with less wastage of time and money because agile teams collaborate more effectively. Agile enterprises can unlock the full potential of their workforce by empowering teams.
In a workplace environment that is continuously changing, business agility is crucial. Companies may respond to external influences more rapidly by using principles from agile methods. Adopting an agile mentality enables teams to test improved goods and procedures, which aids firms in visualizing change on a finer scale.
Agile organizations versus traditional organizations
Traditional organizations are prone to bureaucratic sluggishness. Since the top makes all significant choices, they might be hesitant to adapt to change. This may have far-reaching effects. A corporation risks losing its relevance and market share if it can’t develop quickly enough (or at all).
Conversely, agile companies place less emphasis on maintaining and improving existing procedures to promote better work. They decentralize authority and acknowledge the benefits for businesses of paying attention to workers on the front lines.
Agile businesses respond fast to the change that occurs around them. Teams will not always succeed in their endeavors, but even failures may teach the company valuable lessons. An iterative strategy enables teams of individuals from different parts of the company to experiment with change to see what modifications can yield the most significant outcomes.
Organizational Leadership in Agile Settings
- Finding the traits of an agile leader is a must before you can introduce agile transformation to your team.
- Candidates for leadership positions are often chosen based on how well they perform in their current positions. However, top achievers in other roles may not always have the traits you want in an agile leader.
- Instead, look for leadership candidates who swiftly adjust to change, exhibit curiosity, are receptive to innovation, and successfully communicate with their people.
- You may assist those who have leadership potential in becoming agile.
- You’ve identified individuals who possess the necessary leadership attributes; now, give them the encouragement they need to develop them.
- Training programs for agile leaders can be developed by HR in collaboration with learning and development departments.
- Giving leaders time to learn on the job is one of the most acceptable ways to increase agility.
- In cross-functional training, shadowing agile leaders may help leadership aspirants see agile behaviors in action so they can subsequently put them into practice for themselves.
A few illustrations of agile leadership personalities and styles
Agile leadership has made many of the largest businesses successful.
To keep each of the 23 hospitals in the system on the same page, Mark Harrison, President and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, has instituted 15-minute huddles.
Employees are empowered to speak from the bottom up thanks to these huddles since any issues or suggestions they bring up there may be quickly escalated to management.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon prioritizes serving the consumer’s needs and encourages innovation from all parts of the company.
His “many roads to yes” strategy promotes a robust internal idea-sharing process. The chance to present an idea to firm executives is available to every employee.
Three Essential Approaches for Agile Leadership
1. With their teams, agile leaders are open and honest in their communication.
Agile leaders are always watching and listening. Their first objective is to get obstacles out of the way so team members can accomplish their daily goals. Agile managers may foresee and remove barriers to success by communicating clearly.
To develop better procedures, team members consult stakeholders when they handle a problem or when team leaders see one that crops up regularly.
2. Agile leadership depends on listening to front-line workers.
Agile leaders know that those most familiar with a problem’s specific details are most likely to be able to solve it practically.
3. Agile leaders are also aware of external factors.
Agile leaders are ready to respond quickly to maintain focus on the requirements of their workforce and customers. They know how shifts in the economy, market, or public health may affect the workplace. They frequently reevaluate the strategic goals to ensure their continued applicability.
As a result, businesses with really nimble leadership may change with the times, even as more established institutions become obsolete.
Analysis of agile leadership from a holistic perspective
The term “agile leadership” refers to a broad category of evidence-based techniques, including team mental models, goal-setting, effective communication, transformational leadership, and complexity leadership.
As a result, agile leadership cannot be classified under a single Solidity Level.
However, most ideas and concepts that underlie agile leadership have a solid empirical foundation, making it a comprehensive view that, when used correctly, may favor organizational performance.