What is Agile Leadership: Insights From an Executive Coach

Leadership is the backbone of an organisation, guiding its vision, shaping culture, and driving business growth. It is the instrumental element within human capital management that can make or break employee engagement and overall productivity. As best said " "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell.

Today, in the fast-paced business world, many leadership styles have come into the limelight, changing perspectives on how an organisation and its workforce should be managed for success. Agile leadership is one such style that is integrated into many organisations today. It began to emerge in the early 2000s as a formal concept, paralleling the rise of agile methodologies in software development.

This article will give an introductory guide covering the topic what is agile leadership, its framework, benefits, and impact on organisations by gathering insights from an executive coach.

Breaking Down "Agile" and "Leadership"

Understanding what agile leadership has to do starts with breaking down the words and what they mean in general. Here is what each word exactly means and how they combine to deliver a style of leadership which is perceived to be highly effective in today's fast-paced business world.

Agile

The word "Agile or Agility" is about sensing and responding. Most refer to the word agility as movement, but it has two core definitions:

1. The ability to move quickly and easily - This refers to agility in the form of action, which involves the need to be adaptive, responsive, nimble, light on one's feet, and graceful.

2. The ability to think and understand quickly - This meaning refers to agility or movement in the thoughts. It requires the need to be sharp, aware, focused, alert, and perceptive.

It is by combining these two contexts that the true form of agility in a leadership or human capital management scenario takes flight, i.e., having a super capacity to sense and respond at a moment's notice.

Leadership

The truth is that the study of leadership, especially in an organisational context, is a deep area of study that is a combination of style, personality, character, and skills. This also closely aligns with the most debatable quote: "Leaders are not made, they are born".

However, in simple terms, leadership is the ability to influence others toward achieving common goals. Unlike many who believe it is not confined to a title or position, in its originality, leadership is about the impact someone has on their environment and others within it.

The challenge is ensuring successful leadership, especially in an organisation, and human capital management comes in the many ways people choose to influence their subordinates.

What is Agile Leadership?

Now that a breakdown of the two words is given, it is quite simple to understand what agile leadership is. Combining the characteristics of agility leadership introduces "Agile leadership". It represents a leadership style that values adaptability and flexibility. It mainly empowers the organisation and its employees to adjust to unexpected changes that have a potential impact on business growth, like market conditions, emerging technologies, and more.

The concept of agile leadership style is a result of agile product management, which is a process many software developers execute to build products in uncertain and dynamic environments. Since then, they have been applied across various industries and organizational functions.

In other words, agile leadership is a style that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and a focus on delivering value quickly and efficiently. The end goal of this leadership style is to create adaptive, responsive, and dynamic environments where teams can thrive and innovate, promoting productivity and overall business growth.

Why Is It Important?

The saying "Change is the only thing that doesn't change" seems to be more applicable now in today's business dynamics. It is quite evident that in business, what trends or is in high demand can experience a sharp decline tomorrow or even the next minute, due to many external factors. This also has a high influence from the increased use of social media and easy access to information within a few clicks.

This has significantly challenged and redefined the traditional paradigms of leading and are being challenged and redefined. It would not be wrong to say that technological advancements are not only distracting the tech space, but also the entire business markets and economies. These changes force businesses to change at a quickening pace. There are very few unchanging markets where companies can maintain the status quo.

Embracing this new market dynamics requires leaders who can navigate uncertainty, complexity, and rapid unforeseen changes. It needs leaders who don't resist change or are lost at the thought of making changes possible for business growth. This also calls for the ability to see, sense, and respond to changes to stay ahead of competitors and sustain in the market.

This is where the need for agile leadership comes in. Agile leaders are those who can carefully assess and navigate the complexities and uncertainties (or fog) in their organisations and market conditions and have the clarity to understand where they should be heading. They have the know-how and courage to step into the void of uncertainty and the changes it requires and, at the same time, inspire others in the organisation to move in the right direction with a high level of adaptiveness.

Anyone trying to understand what is agile leadership should also keep in mind that some employees prefer a workplace that is more flexible to changes and consider it more important than an attractive salary.

On the other hand, working under agile leadership promotes ongoing learning, as the culture strives to figure out innovative ways to respond and embrace change in a way that benefits business growth. Also, because agile leadership focuses on short-term goals that respond to sudden changes or challenges, it allows a greater sense of transparency and communication in the organisation alongside optimised workflows.

The 3 C's of Agile Leadership

There are 3Cs that are fundamental to carrying out a successful agile leadership, they are:

1. Clarity: This represents the ability to provide clear direction and purpose, ensuring everyone understands the organization's vision and goals.

2. Communication: This covers the need to foster open, transparent, and frequent communication to facilitate feedback and informed decision-making.

3. Collaboration: This element focuses on teamwork and cross-functional cooperation, removing barriers to enhance creativity and problem-solving.

Following these three C's is essential in repeating the full potential of agile leadership towards business growth and overall successful human capital management.

Nine Principles of Agile Leadership

Principle 1 - Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Agile leadership is not just about accepting change, it is also about being the change, i.e. Showing through actions and leading by example on how to embrace change the right way. It is about inspiring subordinates in the organisation. It is about working on yourself as a leader first and letting your actions provide a source of guide for the subordinates and juniors to follow.

Principle 2 - Improved Quality of Thinking Leads to Improved Outcomes

A successful agile leader will always base their thoughts and decisions towards those that result in meaningful action. Agile leadership is about thinking outside the box to a specific problem and ensuring it is in touch with reality and on par with SMART goals. This also means allowing thinking time and focusing on the highest priorities at any given time.

Principle 3 - Organisations Improve Through Effective Feedback

Agile leaders know how to take constructive feedback and act on it. They have the capacity to courageously solicit meaningful, useful and timely feedback from peers and other colleagues. Responding to these suggestions timely is also necessary to close the feedback loop.

Principle 4 - People Require Meaning And Purpose To Make Work Fulfilling

A good adaptation towards the agile leadership style should focus on building and sharing a common understanding and purpose. It reflects a meaningful vision of change that brings some positive impact to the organisation and business growth in general.

Principle 5 - Emotion Is A Foundation To Enhanced Creativity And Innovation

A good agile leader will always bring their best selves to work in a way that inspires the rest. Agile leadership is about understanding the importance of acknowledging emotions, which are part of the human experience itself. It is about making subordinates believe that working with emotions can help them achieve more with their potential, giving them more freedom for creativity and innovation.

Principle 6 - Leadership Lives Everywhere In The Organisation

To successfully execute agile leadership, it is important to permeate all aspects of an organisation or change initiative. Most importantly, this applies to human capital management. Take employees out of their comfort zone and be open to accepting change. Mentoring tomorrow's leaders in the principles and practices of servant leadership sows the seeds for the agile culture to thrive.

Principle 7 - Leaders Devolve Appropriate Power And Authority

Agile leaders should know how to assess people who give their best when they are enabled, engaged and energised. Empowering individuals and delegating responsibilities towards navigating change is a necessary skill for following effective agile leadership. It is a key characteristic agile leaders should have to balance the merging needs and tensions of the organisation.

Principle 8 - Collaborative Communities Achieve More Than Individuals

Building strong communities based on trust, respect, and meaningful working relationships is a meaningful outcome of agile leadership. One of the primary roles of an agile leader is to provide everything that is needed for their subordinates and immediate community to operate at their potential and let them function autonomously within their boundaries. Principles like forgiveness, positivity, generosity, and gratitude are important for a healthy working culture. This also includes the preservation of psychological safety and encourages continuous learning and development.

Principle 9 - Great Ideas Can Come From Anywhere In The Organisation

As a good agile leader, it is important to know and embrace the fact that people who are close to a problem usually have the best ideas about how to solve it. This means democracy is key to this leadership style. Eleven, if not all, inputs will be used in the face of accepting change, agile leaders encourage a continuous flow of creativity by helping people to understand which ideas were useful and which were not.

Make The Change The Right Way

While the debate over whether "leaders are born or made" continues, it's clear that effective leadership requires both inherent qualities and developed skills. The first step to great leadership starts by understanding the context of an organisation, its culture, and its employees. An executive coach can provide personalized guidance, help leaders navigate challenges, and foster the development of essential skills, ensuring they are well-equipped to lead their teams effectively.