Key Takeaways:
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Agile leadership is the modern kind of leadership that emphasizes working together, adapting to situations, and responding to rapid changes in the environment.
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Consequently, leading with flexibility means leadership agility, providing the power for innovation and adaptation to change within empowered teams.
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These are five levels of agile leadership: Expert, Achiever, Catalyst, Cocreator, and Synergist-in ascending order of evolutionary leadership style.
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The 3 C’s of Agile leadership are Collaboration, Coordination, and Communication, all of which are important aspects as far as success is concerned with regard to teams.
What is meant by agile leadership?
Agile leadership can be considered one of the modern approaches to affiliation, collaboration, and responsiveness with respect to change. This leadership style aligns closely with the principles of the Agile Software Movement, which emerged from the Agile Manifesto. Initially, this was developed to revolutionize the world of software development, but eventually, the agile mindset has grown to influence business agility in all types of industries.
Business agility, therefore, is the ability of an organization to respond promptly to changes within the marketplace and to deliver value continuously to customers. The leadership plays an important role to complement this by focusing on how leaders create an environment whereby within organizations, teams can innovate, collaborate, and rapidly alter strategies toward being competitive in today's increasingly fast-moving marketplace.
Featured resources:
Agile Software Development: Methods, Benefits, Implementation
As you look at your leadership, then ask yourself, 'How can you be more agile? What kinds of changes can I make today that will position me to confront the challenges of tomorrow?
To make it clearer, take the quiz below!
Is agile leadership a skill?
Of course, yes! Agile leadership is a mindset and a skill set. Much more than managing a team, it is about leading flexibly, empowering others, navigating through constant change. As an agile leader, you make others do better under such conditions—survive and even thrive in dynamic settings.
But you're a facilitator, not just a manager. You create an environment where the default settings are collaboration, innovation, and ongoing learning. This is the skill that allows you to bring value to your customers in real life, no matter how fast the constant change around you is.
What are the five levels of agile leadership?
Here are the five levels of Agile Leadership: Expert, Achiever, Catalyst, Co-creator, and Synergist.
Agile leadership is not one-size-fits-all. This is a journey, such as moving up in levels with the resulting development of understanding and influence. Along the way, your leadership evolves at each stage, leveraging myriad new ways to enable your team and effect real change.
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Expert: Here, leaders depend on their expertise. The focus is on problem solving, and one often finds oneself having a hands-on approach, often to the point of being a severe micromanager. But don't get stuck here; there's more to leadership than being the smartest person in the room.
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Achiever: By now, you are thinking big. You're strategic and results-oriented, with intent on taking others along with you. You inspire others and will ask for their feedback, but your main concern is still on the goals of the individual. It's time to expand your horizon.
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Catalyst: Now it starts to get exciting. You take on the role of vision leader. Your role shifts from that of a manager to facilitator. You motivate people to follow you, but more so, to cooperate with one another, and to get innovative. You begin to acknowledge the power of diversity of viewpoints. And you embrace them.
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Co-creator: This level of leadership is shared. You lead by example and join in the shared relationship. You co-create with your team - allowing the effective power of mutual influence. It is no longer what you get but what is good for all.
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Synergist: Well, this is where the magic takes place. That's in the role of a Synergist. You are empathetic and purposeful. Not that you resolve conflicts, but that you convert them into opportunities for growth. You craft deep connections of your team, which convert to growth not only of individuals but that of the organization too.
Each level builds on the one before, bringing you closer to the type of leader who can lead with inspiration, acumen, and a vision in today's increasingly complex and ever-changing worldwide environment. Where do you stand on this expedition? And what is the next stop?
What is the meaning of leadership agility?
You are running a project - and suddenly, the market shifts, or some great big obstacle shows up. You don't hang on to the original plan at all costs: you pivot and find new solutions and encourage your team to think creatively. Leadership agility isn't about having the right answers but keeping your team focused on delivery of value, whatever gets thrown at them.
What is agile through leadership?
Agile through leadership implies leading by example. All of a sudden, suppose you find your team under impossible pressures, with a deadline leaving no room for compromise; still, people are edgy. Well, instead of saying 'Come on, guys, work harder,' you intervene with a more flexible approach. You adjust priorities, propose breaking the tasks into smaller, more manageable problems, and foster open communication.
Through staying calm and agile in your own doings, you inspire the same from your team. They see that agility is not just a strategy but a mindset that can be applied in any situation.
What is the principle of leadership agility?
Flexibility is one of the prime tenets of leadership agility.
Think instead of the leader who embraces feedback from his team, even when that means shifting direction mid-project. To him, a shift in direction is not to be seen as a detour, but rather perceived as added value. Agile leaders create the conditions where everyone has freedom of expression and change in light of any new information is a sign of strength, not weakness.
As a flexible leader, you also propagate trustworthiness, which in turn will be good to cultivate innovation at the end of the subordinates.
How flexible and durable a leader you are only makes a team that much stronger.
What are the 3 C's of agile leadership?
The 3 C’s of agile leadership include:
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Collaboration
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Coordination
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Communication
These provide a foundation of the basic pillars that will guide agile leadership in the successful navigation of all kinds of complex challenges, so it can achieve full-team success. Let's break them down:
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Collaboration: Agile leadership flourishes always with teamwork. In this respect, you, as a leader, create room in which people share ideas, solve problems, and pull their weight, enabling them to accomplish the greater good. You know it fully well because with everyone working together, creativity springs and solutions flow faster than ever.
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Coordination: Coordination is key for an Agile leader to line up all the moving parts of a project. Such is to say it is best elucidated as ensuring that everybody is on the same page, and all shall know what their role in the team is and how their work contributes to the whole. Coordination will ensure continuation in maintaining momentum towards the realization of effectively set goals.
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Communication: Open and transparent communication lies at the heart of Agile leadership. It is not just about talking but listening and understanding, ensuring the information runs down easily. Whether it involves discussions on project updates or the giving of feedback, agile leaders ensure that clarity and continuity in communication are upheld for the sake of misunderstanding and so that the team keeps moving.
Focus on these 3 C's and you will allow your team to collaborate with each other effectively, maintain organization, and have strong open communication—all amounting to better outcomes from an agile way of working.
What are the three traits of an agile leader?
Agile leaders possess qualities that set them apart in today’s dynamic world.
The three traits of an agile leader are: out in front and confronting the challenges, courageous to drive innovation, and empathetic with an understanding and support of their team's needs.
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Proactive in the Face of Adversity: Agile leaders don't wait for the storm to pass; they adjust the sails. When global travel stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marriott International agilely shifted their focus onto local staycations. Such sudden adaptation no doubt helped the company navigate the once-in-a-lifetime downturn. Imagine yourself leading with such vision and agility-your being one step ahead will be the difference between survival and thriving.
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FEARLESS AND INNOVATIVE: Google allowed employees to use 20% of their work time for projects they wanted to work on. This bold move created products such as Gmail and AdSense. Agile leadership would understand that sometimes giving room to your team to build on new ideas-even the ones which are so far out-may bring phenomenally huge success. Are you empowering your team to create such magic?
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Curious and Empathetic: Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, has changed the company's culture by bringing in a severe drive for empathy and opened-up communications. It's brought up morale and spurred a wave of collaboration and innovation to restore the company to leadership in technology. Agile leaders realize that listening and learning from your teams hold the key to collaboration and innovation at work.
How do you demonstrate agile leadership?
Agile leadership is all about adaptability, collaboration, and continuous learning. It means enabling teams to be innovative, truly listening to feedback, and celebrating quick strategic changes that realign the group with a new challenge. Agile leaders refrain from trying to control everything and, instead, create an environment where team members can thrive and contribute effectively.
Agile leadership training, such as provided by the tecnovy Agile Leadership Journey™, will help you further develop these skills through 12 comprehensive modules on key behaviors and mindsets necessary to lead in today's environment.
