The benefits of leading with agility
In this age of acceleration, leaders need to constantly adapt to the demands of modern business. But what makes the agile methodology stand out? We take a Deep Dive into leadership today in this two-part series.
🐒 Agile leadership is a flexible approach that empowers teams to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
🔑 Having an agile leader helps the business stay relevant and competitive in a fast-paced business environment.
💡 An agile leader navigates uncertainty while fostering a culture of innovation.
♻️ This leadership style plays a significant role in developing business sustainability.
QUOTABLE
“In agile organisations, everyone has a clear line of sight to the ultimate customer or user and can see how work is adding value to that customer—or not.”
— Stephen Denning, author, management innovator and former World Bank executive
BY THE NUMBERS
3 The three Cs of agile leadership are collaboration, coordination and communication.
70% Organisations led by strong agile leaders demonstrate 70 percent higher organisational health—a company’s ability to align, execute and renew itself faster than its competition.
60% On average, companies who adopt agile methodology see a 60 percent increase in revenue.
63% Sixty-three percent of human resources professionals are actively implementing agile leadership strategies.
QUIZ
Within organisations that have adopted agile models, what percentage of workers report feeling empowered by their leaders?
A. 23%
B. 68%
C. 72%
Scroll to the bottom for the answer.
GEN.T LEADERS OF TOMORROW
The Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow 2024 has been unveiled. See the full list here.
DID YOU KNOW?
The drama television series Billions features several lessons on agile leadership such as encouraging emotional regulation, advocating mindset reframing, teaching stress management and conflict mediation. The lessons are exemplified by the organisation’s corporate psychiatrist, Wendy Rhodes—played by Maggie Siff—instead of the leader himself.
THE EDIT
👨💻 Scrum-ble beginnings. Beginning as a software development framework, the agile movement has evolved to encompass leadership strategies.
📊 Dominating the data. Rather than trying to predict the future, agile leaders prioritise building rapid feedback loops to collect data for decision-making.
🤝🏻 You got served. This style of leadership involves abolishing rigid hierarchy and embracing servant leadership.
💪 Better together. Agile leaders typically include employees in decision-making processes.
WATCH
In the 2023 TEDx Talk by Shalini Thirunilathil, the award-winning tech leader unveils the key to achieving success through mastering agile leadership.
THE FULL PICTURE
This infographic by Deloitte illustrates how a closed feedback loop and servant leadership enable a culture of learning and innovation.
KEY PLAYER
Yeo Chuen Chuen
Author and award-winning executive coach, Yeo Chuen Chuen, who was named Most Outstanding Agile Leadership Development Coach in Singapore, is raising the quality of leadership in organisations by developing agility within the organisation and its C-suite.
HONOUREE TO KNOW
Lim Wei Jie
Lim Wei Jie’s Foreword Coffee Roasters operates its own coffee shops and offers companies a “barista-as-a-service” programme for their in-house cafes, using this as an opportunity to provide employment to people with autism, cerebral palsy, deafness and mental health needs. As a leader, he believes in empowering middle management to make decisions.
ONE FINAL THING
Transactional leadership, exemplified by Bob Kelso from the TV drama Scrubs, contrasts sharply with agile leadership. The former style utilises rewards and punishments to motivate and direct followers towards a specific goal.
