Discovering new and improved methods for business leadership could be the difference between overtaking the competition and lagging behind. Traditional leadership methods have been proven to encourage disengagement and job dissatisfaction. So, what is agile leadership? What values and principles make a certified agile leader successful?
What are Agile Principles?
Agile leadership is a widely holistic approach to organizational guidance to achieve better teamwork, strategy, and process success. The concept explains ten basic principles that can be used to navigate the complexities of business environments with efficiency and effectiveness.
OODA in VUCA Environments
Agile strategies and principles are very similar to military-grade operations in terms of the decision-making cycle. The OODA loop was developed by a military strategist named John Boyd (1987). It covers a simplistic decision implementation framework to give you more precise results.
OODA covers;
O – Observe; Being Aware of One’s Surroundings
O – Orient; Aligning Yourself with Space
D – Decide; Decision on how to Act
A – Act; Execute the Decision Planned
The objective is to repeat this cycle as many times as needed until the desired outcome is achieved.
VUCA environments (characterized by Bennet and Lemoine) are Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, and Ambiguous organizational settings. The unpredictable nature of business activities allows for VUCA classification. Implementing OODA methodologies in VUCA settings allows for target-oriented solutions within a constantly changing environment. The OODA method also allows you to conduct in-depth assessments of environmental factors before making decisions. As you mentally run through every variation of prospective problems, making quality decisions, and implementing the right solution is simpler and walks hand in hand.
It is also important to note that organizations that are able to implement OODA loops are more competitive with faster decision-making processes.
Structural V/S Behavioral Levels
Agile leadership is a supplementary style to expand on existing organizational behavior. The intention is to strike success on both a structural and behavioral level.
Incorporating a strong sense of being adaptive on a structural level affects the way departments and employees are interacting with each other. Roles and responsibilities are reassessed, and key performance indicators are developed and adjusted but more importantly, realigning the movement of every cog within the organization allows for a smoother run of any activity within the organization.
On a behavioral level actions taken by leaders run downward within their chains of command. Incorporating better understandings and assessments at the higher tiers allows employees to reassess their approaches to situations in a similar manner to their higher-ups. This allows for more practical learning where employees are able to see results tangibly and understand the reason for moving towards different schools of thought and ideas within the company.
10 Principles of an Agile Leader
- Prioritize Strong Teams over Dominant Individuals
- Hosting Planning Sessions Regularly to Focus on different Scenarios
- Focus on facts and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) rather than Opinion and Intuition
- Empower and Inspire People to take decisions based on their own Knowledge
- Communicate in cycles aligned with the speed of your Industry and Business Model
- Provide and Seize opportunities for Networking and Information Sharing
- Step back and work on the System rather than in the System
- Develop an Organizational vision and relate to it on a Regular Basis
- Ensure the Organization has an Accurate Outside Image and Stays in touch with the environment
- Balance structure and chaos for effectiveness and efficiency
Understanding how to successfully convert these principles into successful business activities is the reason certification courses are undertaken. With the tried and tested guidance and guidelines, any aspirational leader is able to understand how to develop a stronger foundation and business practices to elevate their current organization.
On a basic level, the principles are structured to challenge conventional ideas and thoughts. Adjusting the system from within requires awareness of how the structure functions, what makes it run, and how to make it run better. The successful completion of this process will result in balancing efficiency and effectiveness.
On a larger scale, organizational visions and images can help understand and streamline the objectives being worked towards. Instituting an understanding of market positions and business models guides practical departments while missions and visions grant a larger framework to incorporate marketing and sales.
To move from a cut-and-dry understanding of how business activities work to a fluid process that adjusts and adapts is the purpose of Agile leaders. It works firmer on results than tradition. 46% of surveyed organizations prefer to use agile or hybrid methods of leadership over conventional ideas, the shift to agile and hybrid leadership styles is already happening.
How do you get Certified?
With a plethora of ready resources available on the internet, getting certified is now easier than ever. There are many widely-recognized governing bodies such as Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, Scaled Agile, and others offering Agile Leadership courses worldwide.
Through these Certified Agile Leadership courses, one gains an in-depth understanding of both theory and practice which offers a diverse range of perspectives in an enterprise set-up. With insights from industry experts and leaders that have seen success with the application of hybrid or Agile methodologies, the idea of successful implementation doesn’t seem improbable or far.
Picking your course wisely could be the difference between the right and wrong long-term investment.
Final Thoughts
Certified Agile Leaders have spent their time understanding the nuances of their organization and are able to understand what could be adjusted, adapted, and improved on. They spend their time understanding adaptability on a granular level and take this to leadership skills that are intended to create a ripple effect. Thereby improving all-around performance and encouraging business success. Leaders and the workforce getting trained in popular Agile certification courses will go a long way to achieve a complete Agile transformation of an organization.
Some of the popular Agile Certification Courses that individuals and enterprise teams can take up are:
