What is Agile Leadership?

A term often used in Agile transformations but what does it really mean and what is considered good Agile Leadership and what are anti-patterns.

A quote often used for Agile leadership is:

Agile leaders understand that their role is to create the right environment for their teams to thrive. They inspire and empower, rather than command and control.

Anti-patterns for Agile Leadership

Sometimes it is easier to grasp a new concept by explaining what not to do instead of saying what to do. Also for Agile Leadership I think it will help to first look at some common anti-patterns:

1. Command and Control Mentality: When leaders attempt to micromanage every aspect of the team's work, it stifles creativity and hinders the self-organisation that is essential for agile teams. Agile leadership should focus on collaboration and empowerment rather than a top-down, command-and-control approach.

2. Ignoring Feedback and Continuous Improvement: A failure to value and act on feedback from team members and stakeholders can impede the agile principle of continuous improvement. Agile leaders should encourage a culture of learning from both successes and failures, fostering an environment where feedback is sought and embraced.

3. Lack of Transparency: Agile emphasizes transparency as a key principle. Leaders who withhold information or don't promote open communication can create an environment of mistrust. Agile leaders should prioritize transparent communication to build trust and alignment within the team.

4. Overemphasis on Processes over People: Focusing excessively on rigid processes and tools, rather than individuals and interactions, goes against the agile manifesto. Agile leadership should recognise that people are at the heart of successful value creation and should prioritise the needs and collaboration of team members.

5. Setting Unrealistic Expectations: Placing unrealistic demands on teams, such as expecting them to consistently deliver at an unsustainable pace, can lead to burnout and reduced morale. Agile leaders should work collaboratively with teams to set achievable goals and foster a sustainable pace of work which is also an agile manifesto principle.

Good Agile Leadership

By recognising and being mindful of not using any of these anti-patterns, you already make a big step towards a good Agile Leader. However, there are a couple of more things you can do.

We are talking about Agile Leadership, so you should lead. This means when a team needs direction or a tough decision is to be taken a leader leads and should communicate clearly about this.

To avoid stepping in the trap of the first anti-pattern and start micro managing it is recommended to create a decision making framework. It should be clear who is making which decisions.

A famous example of a clear decision framework is David Marquet's decision as sub-marine captain to leave almost all decisions to his crew, except for the decision to launch a weapon.

Another aspect that differentiates an Agile Leader from a good Agile Leader is that good Agile Leaders build a strong team. This is an aspect of creating the right environment. Especially in knowledge intensive environments, teams of people make the difference. I say on purpose teams of people since work has become so complex that it is hard to create value as an individual and for most work a team is needed.

One way to create a strong team is to encourage a feedback culture. Good Agile Leaders give radical candor to the people they lead. Radical Candor, as defined by Kim Scott, is a philosophy that encourages leaders to provide direct, honest feedback while also demonstrating genuine care for the personal and professional development of their team members. It involves a balance between being both personally challenging and deeply empathetic in order to foster a culture of open communication and continuous improvement.

Finally

There are many more good references to books and videos about good Agile Leadership than the ones I gave above. But I think this is a good start and based on your feedback I will continue to blog on Agile Leadership since this is an important topic and there is lots to say and discuss about.

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