Business agility is no longer a choice but a necessity for many organisations. The business should adapt to the change quickly in response to the changing demands of the customer. It should embrace innovation and deliver value fast. Agility is essential for the survival of the business in today’s competitive market, as it helps the business stay adaptive and tackle uncertainty. A leader plays a key role in driving an agile organisation successfully. One should have great leadership skills, and here is a list of a few leadership skills needed in the agile world.
Vision and Strategy
Agile leaders should be able to define a clear vision and strategy to communicate a compelling purpose to the team. A clear vision not only gives the team clarity about future organisational goals but also offers them direction to achieve them. A clear strategy helps the team stay aligned and motivated in achieving shared purpose even during times of uncertainty.
Enforce Adaptability
Agile leaders should facilitate change in the organisation. They should adopt the change before they drive it into the organisation. The leader should adapt to the changing priorities, client requirements, and technology advancements without resistance. They should be able to learn new skills and find ways to work on the project as per the changing requirements. They should embrace change and show their willingness to experiment with new things.
Flexibility
Flexibility is one of the core traits of the agile leader. The leader should be able to respond to changing priorities of the client through an iterative approach in a proactive manner. Being flexible makes the agile leader adapt to change quickly and learn new skills to work in changing circumstances and uncertainties without resistance. Agile leaders work in contrast to traditional leaders; they are adaptive to change and lead by example by showing their willingness to experiment.
Foster Collaboration
Agile leaders should have outstanding collaboration skills to build trust among the team. They should share information and resources and work with the team around them to make informed decisions. Collaboration with the team in decision-making provides them a sense of autonomy and makes them feel trusted. Collaborative teamwork under agile leadership works towards common goals while valuing diverse ideas and perspectives. The collaboration efforts of the agile leader build connections between the team and benefit the entire organisation. Few leaders fall back on effective collaboration skills while building business agility. Are you one of them? Then why not choose SAFe Agilist Certification training and enhance your collaboration skills in team building
Communication
The agile leader should be an effective communicator, as they need to work with different types of audiences, like development teams and stakeholders, in the process of project development. They need to interact with both external and internal stakeholders and show a strong interest in emerging trends. They should always stay ahead of the team in managing impediments in the project progress, so they should be active listeners to address the concerns of the team before the problem turns into an issue.
Advocate Skill Development for the Team
Agile leaders should work on building team skills by fostering a culture of professional development. They should encourage the team to perform their best at their job, leaving room for experimentation and learning. The leader should help the team improve their skills to adapt to the new work culture by encouraging them to enroll in the training sessions or conduct one if you are an expert.
Continuous Learning
Agile leaders should promote a culture of continuous improvement by emphasising learning new things. They encourage the team to experiment and take calculated risks, and to embrace failure. They encourage the team to look at it as an opportunity for growth. The leader fosters a culture of open communication and feedback in the team to seek innovative solutions and adapt to change as needed, striving towards organisational excellence.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is another essential skill of an agile leader, where an agile leader controls emotions and builds strong relations in the workplace. The agile leaders with good empathy and emotional intelligence can create trust and make the team members feel valued in the work environment. They can stay calm during times of uncertainty and encourage the team to work by understanding their concerns. Leaders with EI can motivate the team and help them connect professional goals with organisational vision.
Informed Decision-making
Informed decision-making is a key skill for agile leaders that enables them to take evidence-based decisions based on the information available. The leaders should engage with the teams, collect the data from authentic sources, and analyse it to make decisions. In case of insufficient or contradictory data, they should make decisions based on their experience and intuition. Informed decision-making showcases an agile leader’s ability to support long-term business objectives.
Servant Leadership
Servant leadership is an essential skill of the agile leader, allowing the teams to grow. Servant leadership is all about addressing the needs of others before their own. The agile leaders who have a skill of servant leadership should use their authority to serve the team, customer, and stakeholders rather than controlling them. Agile leaders need to practise servant leadership by listening to their concerns and coaching them to gain skills to work in the new environment. These leaders remove obstacles in the project’s progress and offer the needed support to succeed.
Conclusion
Business agility is no longer a competitive advantage for organisations but a necessity for their survival. The core of business agility is leadership. The leader looks forward to embracing change and converting it into an opportunity for growth rather than being resistant to the change. The agile leadership in the business is about completing the project quickly, but getting along with the team, stakeholders, and customers, and helping them work towards the common goal with great confidence and clarity.
