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The Agile Leader: A Unique Style of Leadership
The idea of “agile” work procedures emerged from the realisation that middle management frequently did more to impede employees’ success than facilitate it.
Since then, the concept has grown beyond scrum masters and into software development to help workers in several fields and professions become more successful, efficient, and productive.
But what does agile leadership mean? How does it manifest itself within your company? And how does it appear?
Here’s how to recognise the characteristics of agile leadership and apply its tenets within your organisation.
How Can Agile Leadership Help Your Business?
To make it possible for staff to be more efficient and productive, agile leadership aims to remove obstacles to success.
Agile leadership delivers better business results with less wastage of time and resources because agile teams collaborate more effectively. Agile organisations can unleash the full potential of their workforce by empowering teams.
In a workplace environment that is continuously changing, business agility is crucial. Companies can respond to external influences more quickly by adapting concepts from agile methods. Adopting an agile mentality enables teams to test out enhanced goods and procedures, which aids organisations in visualising change on a finer scale.
The Agile leadership’s nine principles
- Actions speak louder than words: Agile leadership involves turning into change and driving and promoting it. Those who set an example for others encourage others. As Gandhi famously said, “Be the change you wish to see.” Agile leaders demonstrate compassion, generosity, and caring for their employees to foster humility and empathy. Inspiring leaders put their interests first before focusing on others.
- Improved thinking leads to improved outcomes: Agile Leaders place a premium on the high-quality review that leads to action. They solicit input from individuals closest to the situation, which helps ensure that they are in touch with reality. It entails giving time for reflection and focusing on the most important tasks at any given time.
- Organisations improve through effective feedback: Because receiving feedback may be a bad experience, Agile Leaders set the example by bravely seeking meaningful, relevant, and timely feedback from peers and other colleagues. While asking for feedback is vital, Agile Leaders also take the time to ensure they are visibly responding to their colleagues’ comments to close the feedback loop. Agile Leaders are known for their open, honest, and polite feedback.
- To be fulfilling, people need meaning and purpose in their work: Agile leaders focus on developing and sharing a common vision and purpose. For the organisation, there is a vision for transformation that is relevant and helpful. The agile leader must be aware of the thoughts and feelings of their team members before putting these ideas all together and putting them into action.
- Emotion is the basis for greater innovation and inventiveness: Agile leaders motivate others to bring their best selves to work. They understand that Emotion is a key component of the human experience. The Agile Leader develops respect by being approachable, open, honest, and transparent. Care is essential for innovation and creativity.
- Leadership permeates every area of the organisation: Agile Leadership should affect every aspect of any change initiative or organisation. Realising all its employees’ leadership potential helps the business grow and adapt quickly. An agile leader deepens the organisation’s leadership capabilities by allowing individuals to lead. Mentoring young managers in the ideas and methods of servant leadership helps sow the seeds for achieving an Agile culture.
- Leaders assign the correct amount of power and authority because: given source, involved and inspired people perform at their best. Empowering workers is crucial as the Agile Leader controls the organisation’s evolving requirements and tensions. Agile leaders are aware that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for empowerment. Instead, it comprises a set of leadership traits that change as the environment does.
- Collaborative communities accomplish more than individuals do: Agile Leaders build communities that depend on an elevated degree of mutual respect, trust, and meaningful collaboration. They are responsible for providing those communities with what they need to operate efficiently and granting them independence inside their borders. A productive workplace requires optimism, kindness, thanks, and forgiveness. By guaranteeing the group’s healthy functioning and maintaining psychological safety, the agile leader can encourage learning and development while balancing sustained output and performance for the benefit of the business.
- Great ideas may originate from anywhere in the organisation: Those who are closest to the issue tend to be the individuals who have the best solutions. Agile leaders equip themselves to be open to the impact and ideas of others, regardless of their position or level. To do this, the Agile Leader stops; the Agile Leader encourages an ongoing supply of creativity by assisting people in determining which ideas can be beneficial and which aren’t, even if some aren’t eventually implemented.
Conclusion
Therefore, contemporary leaders should practise what they preach regarding change and foster an environment that facilitates change. It means self-evaluating their performance and being receptive to team criticism. Beginners in agile can register in agile training to learn the methods and ensure their company keeps up with new advances.