You've probably heard of agility. Especially in project management, there has long been a focus on agility and the benefits of using agile methods. But what about agile leadership - what does it mean? And why is it relevant to you? The short answer is that agile management is about adapting your management and organization to the task at hand. A crucial skill to succeed in your role as a leader today - and in the future. "The agile leader is fast, light and agile in their approach to management and organization." Agile leadership is therefore about the ability and courage to read and respond to changing circumstances with a broad repertoire of actions; to be able to freely use opposing management approaches and organizational forms regardless of personal preferences.
It's all about agile adaptation
In this broad sense, agile leadership is not a replacement for previous management and organizational forms, but it is the ability to flexibly adapt your management and organization to the task at hand. For example, there is still a need for management and classic delegation of tasks, but the agile leader is able to use the management approach or organizational form that best helps employees and the organization succeed at a given time.
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In this e-book, you will learn what characterizes agile leadership, not as a one-sided and simplistic leadership skill, but as the ability to balance your leadership in the context in which you lead, and that this form of leadership is not only relevant in pure agile organizations, but for any leader who must navigate in a world of increasing complexity and uncertainty.
Drop the "command and control" style
The manager must be able to alternate between determining 'what' and 'how' the work should be done and defining the path to reach the goal, while supporting collaboration in self-organizing teams through communication and feedback loops that create meaning and make the consequences of actions visible.
It takes courage to let go of the classic "command and control" leadership style and instead take a more "servant leader" approach to leadership where power is seen as the ability to influence individual and collective efforts to achieve common goals rather than as something you have by virtue of your leadership position.
In a narrower sense, agile project management is about the ability to apply a range of specific agile methods and approaches such as 'sprints' and 'scrum' and 'iterations'. Agile management draws on the methods of agile project management when they are appropriate for the task at hand, but also transcends this narrow meaning of the term.
The agile leader is in high demand
We live in a time where agility and quick adaptation to changing challenges is increasingly a competitive parameter. The former ideal of the clear hierarchical line organization with defined management spaces, cascades of KPIs and compliance requirements and a clear placement of responsibility, decision-making power and control in a hierarchically structured management chain is under pressure and is increasingly being replaced by an ideal of agile organization and management that follows the task. This means, among other things, that decision-making power and competence are increasingly being pushed downwards and outwards in the organization, which implies that top management must dare to let go of some of the control, and middle management must be able to lead across organizational forms such as hierarchy, matrix and project organization, and create a team and learning culture with collaboration spaces (instead of interfaces) across organizational boundaries.
To succeed as a leader today, managers need to train their ability to use contradictory leadership approaches and organizational forms and get the tools to support the development of a we-culture, where 'collaboration spaces' across the organization are the norm - and not the exception.
Sign up for our agile management course
2-DAY COURSE IN AGILE LEADERSHIP
Agile leadership is about adapting your leadership and organization to the task at hand. A crucial skill to succeed in your role as a leader today - and in the future.
The agile leader, who is quick and agile in their approach and can lead in constant change, is therefore in high demand.
Leading agile means, among other things, that decision-making power and competence are pushed downwards and outwards in the organization to a much greater extent. Therefore, as a manager, you must be able to lead across organizational forms, and it is important that you can create a team and learning culture with collaboration spaces across organizational boundaries.
This intensive course will equip you to lead in an agile way. We work on how you can use agility in your management, based on your specific management task. You will be trained in a number of essential management tools to strengthen your daily management and learn how to create an agile and learning culture.
