“Be the change you want to see” – Gandhi

Last week, I ran an agile workshop with a group of project managers and business leaders. We discussed the usual suspects: agile framework, practices, estimation, planning and monitoring, with a heavy emphasis placed on agile values and principles. Whilst the group easily understood the concepts, the overarching theme of discussion centred on how they could make their teams be more collaborative, open, self-organised and autonomous. Of course, that’s where good agile leadership is required.

Agile leadership is not just “good leadership” with the word “agile” tacked on. The agile leader must “walk the walk” not just “talk the talk”. They must embody the agile mindset to inspire teams to truly adopt the agile values and principles, and not just go through the motions. Transparent, flexible, adaptive and supportive, the agile leader encourages and empowers teams to become autonomous and high performing.

To be an effective agile leader, we must invest in our own personal development as well as the development of those around us. Core personal skills such as self-awareness, emotional self-management, and social awareness are the basis of emotional intelligence, which is a key indicator of leadership success. Mindfulness is the foundational skill that underpins emotional intelligence and authentic agile leadership.

New Mindful Agile Leadership workshops announced:

  • Sydney, Australia : May 3, 2018
  • Prague, Czech Republic : May 30, 2018
  • London, UK : September 30, 2018

Click here to read more and book

Mindfulness is an essential element for effective agile leadership. Beyond just simple awareness, this simple practice enables us to show up as the very best versions of ourselves. The benefits of mindfulness include greater focus, clearer thinking and better communication. Mindful agile leadership is the perfect combination of the agile mindset and good leadership with mindfulness that enables teams, and organisations, to build a truly agile culture and positive team environment. All three elements are required to be a successful agile leader.