Agile Leadership

In Agile Organization I talked about the transition of being an agile organization, in this post I will focus more on Agile Leadership and what does it take to be one.

In the modern business world, many leaders emphasize the importance of being “agile.” Borrowed from the software world’s concept of agile development, this management style requires a leader to be flexible, adaptable and fast in their decision-making.

Agile — the management approach that relies on small, entrepreneurial, close-to-the-customer teams — has a reputation that reflects its rapid adoption in software development. Agile innovation methods have revolutionized information technology. Over the past 25 to 30 years they have greatly increased success rates in software development, improved quality and speed to market, and boosted the motivation and productivity of engineering teams.

Now agile methodologies — which involve new values, principles, practices, and benefits and are a radical alternative to command-and-control-style management — are spreading across a broad range of industries and functions and even into the C-suite.

1. National Public Radio employs agile methods to create new programming.
2. John Deere uses them to develop new machines, and
3. Saab to produce new fighter jets.
4. Intronis, a leader in cloud backup services, uses them in marketing.
5. C.H. Robinson, a global third-party logistics provider, applies them in human resources.
6. Mission Bell Winery uses them for everything from wine production to warehousing to running its senior leadership group.
7. And GE relies on them to speed a much-publicized transition from 20th-century conglomerate to 21st-century “digital industrial company.”
8. Even HR Goes Agile. HR has not had to change in recent decades nearly as much as have the line operations it supports. But now the pressure is on, and it’s coming from the operating level, which makes it much harder to cling to old talent practices.

By taking people out of their functional silos and putting them in self-managed and customer-focused multidisciplinary teams, the agile approach is not only accelerating profitable growth but also helping to create a new generation of skilled general managers.

The spread of agile raises intriguing possibilities.

• What if a company could achieve positive returns with 50% more of its new-product introductions?
• What if marketing programs could generate 40% more customer inquiries?
• What if human resources could recruit 60% more of its highest-priority targets?
• What if twice as many workers were emotionally engaged in their jobs?

Agile has brought these levels of improvement to Engineering & Technology. The opportunity in other parts of the company is substantial.

Agile Values and Principles

In 2001, 17 rebellious software developers (including Jeff Sutherland) met in Snowbird, Utah, to share ideas for improving traditional “waterfall” development, in which detailed requirements and execution plans are created up front and then passed sequentially from function to function. This approach worked fine in stable environments, but not when software markets began to change rapidly and unpredictably. In that scenario, product specifications were outdated by the time the software was delivered to customers, and developers felt oppressed by bureaucratic procedures. The rebels proposed four new values for developing software, described principles to guide adherence to those values, and dubbed their call to arms “The Agile Manifesto.” To this day, development frameworks that follow these values and principles are known as agile techniques. Here is an adapted version of the manifesto:

PEOPLE OVER PROCESSES AND TOOLS

Projects should be built around motivated individuals who are given the support they need and trusted to get the job done. Teams should abandon the assembly-line mentality in favor of a fun, creative environment for problem solving, and should maintain a sustainable pace. Employees should talk face-to-face and suggest ways to improve their work environment. Management should remove impediments to easier, more fruitful collaboration.

WORKING PROTOTYPES OVER EXCESSIVE DOCUMENTATION

Innovators who can see their results in real market conditions will learn faster, be happier, stay longer, and do more-valuable work. Teams should experiment on small parts of the product with a few customers for short periods, and if customers like them, keep them. If customers don’t like them, teams should figure out fixes or move on to the next thing. Team members should resolve arguments with experiments rather than endless debates or appeals to authority.

RESPOND TO CHANGE RATHER THAN FOLLOW A PLAN

Most detailed predictions and plans of conventional project management are a waste of time and money. Although teams should create a vision and plan, they should plan only those tasks that won’t have changed by the time they get to them. And people should be happy to learn things that alter their direction, even late in the development process. That will put them closer to the customer and make for better results.

CUSTOMER COLLABORATION OVER RIGID CONTRACTS

Time to market and cost are paramount, and specifications should evolve throughout the project, because customers can seldom predict what they will actually want. Rapid prototyping, frequent market tests, and constant collaboration keep work focused on what they will ultimately value.

(See “Embracing Agile,” HBR, May 2016, and “HR Goes Agile,” HBR, March–April 2018.)

Scrum “takes the mystery out of what executives do every day.”

Scrum vs Kanban vs Lean Development

The Nine Principles of Agile Leadership

Agile Business, shows in this table how the nine principles align with those key concepts of Communication, Commitment and Collaboration:

Shifting Your Management Style To Match Your Employees

There are many ways in business to be agile, but one of the most powerful ways is demonstrating agility with your employees. People like to be communicated with and recognized differently. It is never one-size-fits-all. Show how much you value your team’s contribution by understanding and being what they need. Productivity and engagement will benefit tremendously.