Leading
“Agile leaders need to move from authority to partnership”
The big question for leaders is: ‘how do you lead people to maximise their performance?’ The good news is that a lot of data is now available on how to do that. We can now go beyond theory to an evidence-based approach to leading organisations and teams. Some of the new evidence challenges existing leadership models.
Legacy leadership style can be a real obstacle for companies wanting to develop resilience.
Three key practices can help:
1 context
‘Context’ is the identity and purpose of the organisation and the team: the big ‘why’ of the organisation. Good leaders get people to look beyond the what and how of the stuff they do to focus on the why:
Context leaders:
- emphasise the ‘why’ of work and not just the ‘how’
- engage in conversations about the future of the business
- promote collective intelligence by asking for input and ideas
- look at the bigger picture and invites others to do the same
- work to build a strong sense of shared ambition in the team
From a command-and-control standpoint, it feels like leaders need to get procedures as tight as possible. From an agile standpoint, their priority is to simplify the procedures and remove anything that stands between people and getting the job done. Context is key.
2 connection
Structures of networked teams are more resilient than rigid hierarchies. To make this happen, you need to build for leaders at all levels who:
- encourage connections between teams
- give others support and encouragement in making their own decisions
- delegate openly and fully
- link individual and team targets to the bigger picture
- get input and ideas from others on how to achieve strategic objectives
Covid has helped many teams discover that you can put people together from different areas and make things happen very quickly when you need to. Leaders need to facilitate this acceleration.
3 challenge
Leaders need to push their teams outside of their comfort zones. But clear expectations and hard feedback only work if they are balanced by caring.
When care and challenge are working, leaders will:
- confront team members directly about problems in their areas of responsibility and
- expect peers to do the same
- are not afraid to say what they think, even when it is unpopular
- show that they care about their team members’ well-being
- hold each other to high standards and challenge themselves and others to maintain them
- invite and welcome feedback
Care and challenge are key ingredients in building a leadership approach that is resilient enough to deal with a post-Covid world.
