Episode F.035 Agile for All - The Principles of Agile Leadership

Introduction
Even though the new quarter doesn't start until Wednesday, we are jumping into it with both feet. BTW - that is also the theme for July - Being Agile. Two quick reasons for this theme now. First is we are in new territory when it comes to the economy, social factors, government action and how it is affecting our ability to run a profitable business. The second is how it matches with our previous emphasis around building a "Lean Organization'. The difference is simple - Agile is a mindset that uses the principles of Lean to succeed in unstable times.

Show Objectives
Agile Leadership is essential if an organization is to become a true Agile business.  Creating an agile business  happens when the coach or consultant helps the business leadership encourage and reward an environment where teams collaborate, learn from each other, get quick feedback from users and are focused on quality and focus on continuous learning.

In the Agile Business, the leader is careful not to micromanage their people. Developing and maintaining this environment is often hard work. The way to do that is by focusing on culture, ownership, mindset, feedback and long term goals.

What You Need to Know
Agility has become a buzzword in the past few years. The concept has been used for decades in various contexts. A great example is the OODA-loop, developed by military strategist John Boyd in 1987.
 
​OODA stands for

• Observe
• Orient
• Decide
• Act

Agile leadership is about building high-performance teams or organizations that apply agile principles in its processes, structures and people development activities to increase competitiveness. 

Agile Leadership is something that varies and improves over time.
Help your client build an agile mindset so they can become an agile leader:

1. Agile Leadership is about being the change. 
2. Agile Leaders value high quality thinking which will result in meaningful action. 
3. Agile Leaders solicit meaningful, useful and timely feedback from peers and other colleagues. 
4. Agile Leaders focus on building and sharing a common understanding and purpose. 
5. Agile Leaders inspire others to bring their best selves to their work.  
6. Agile Leadership provides opportunities for their people to lead. 
7. Agile Leaders recognize that people work best when they are enabled, engaged and energized. 
8. Agile Leaders build communities based on high trust, respect and meaningful working relationships. 
9. Agile Leaders allow themselves to be open to the influence and ideas of others, regardless of their status or position. 

What You Need to Do
Many business owners fail to make the transition because they are very focused on how to do things, but not necessarily thinking about the what. Your client needs to spend time focusing on the business’ vision/mission, feedback, obstacle removal, progress and future thinking.

Business Owners need to incorporate these ten principles into their business culture daily to help them achieve organizational goals 

1. Prioritize strong teams over dominant individuals
2. Conduct regular planning sessions and give focus to alternative scenarios 
3. Focus on facts and KPIs (key performance indicators) rather than opinion and intuition
4. Empower and inspire people to take decisions based on their own knowledge
5. Communicate in cycles aligned with the speed of your industry and business model
6. Provide and seize opportunities for networking and information sharing
7. Step back and work on the system rather than in the system
8. Develop an organizational vision and relate to it on a regular basis
9. Ensure the organization has an accurate outside image and stays in touch with the environment
10. Balance structure and chaos for effectivity and efficiency

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