Lean-Agile Leadership

Lean-Agile Leadership is a core competency for an Agile Coach, and represents a way of leading that integrates the principles of both Lean and Agile.

It is not a traditional command and control style, but a capacity to understand and actively apply agile and lean values and principles in order to generate valuable results.

This leadership seeks to maintain a balance between day-to-day operation and continuous transformation, always for the benefit of the people and the organization.

It involves being both a teacher and a constant learner, encouraging introspection, collaboration and continuous improvement.

It is a critical competency that any agile practitioner should develop.

Applying Lean and Agile Principles

The foundation of Lean-Agile Leadership is the deep understanding and practical application of the values and principles of both philosophies.

From Lean, the focus on eliminating waste, optimizing the value stream and striving for perfection is adopted.

From Agile, you incorporate the values of the Agile Manifesto and its principles, such as customer satisfaction, adapting to change, collaboration and frequent delivery of value.

A Lean-Agile leader not only knows these concepts, but lives them and actively uses them to guide decisions, structure work and foster a culture aligned with them.

This leadership requires being a continuous learner, always looking to improve and adapt.

Fostering Self-Organizing Teams

A central goal of Lean-Agile Leadership is to develop self-managing and empowered individuals and teams.

Rather than directing specific tasks, the agile leader creates an environment where teams can understand the purpose of their work and have the autonomy to decide how to achieve goals.

This is in contrast to traditional approaches where management dictates solutions.

Agile teams make their own decisions about work allocation and problem solving within their scope.

The leader trusts the team's ability, provides them with the necessary support and removes impediments, acting more like a coach or mentor than a boss.

Growth Mindset and Leading by Example

This leadership style requires a Growth Mindset as opposed to a Fixed Mindset.

A leader with a growth mindset believes that skills can be developed, sees challenges as learning opportunities, and values effort and feedback.

This mindset is contagious and critical to creating a learning culture. In addition, Lean-Agile Leadership is based on leading by example.

The leader demonstrates the desired behaviors: he or she is an insatiable learner, shows authenticity and emotional competence, has courage to make tough decisions and tackle problems, focuses on growing others, and promotes decentralized decision making. The leader's actions speak louder than his or her words.

Summary

Lean-Agile Leadership is a core competency for the Agile Coach. It involves actively applying agile and lean values and principles to generate results.

The foundation is the practical application of both philosophies. From Lean, waste elimination is adopted; from Agile, customer satisfaction and adaptation.

A central goal is to develop self-managed and empowered teams. It requires a growth mindset and, crucially, always leading by example.