In order to succeed in today’s fast-moving business environment, we need to "build our organisations into engines of possibility". This relies on attaining high levels of alignment AND autonomy so that everybody in the organisation knows what they need to achieve and why, is free to decide how best to do it, and genuinely cares that it gets done. I call this "the agility challenge". Rising to this challenge requires a new type of leadership characterised by 4 Cs: Curiosity, Clarity, Courage and Care. In this talk, I explore leadership values and practices essential for the agile enterprise.

1. Rising to the Agility Challenge:
Values & Practices of Agile Leadership
KCE - 6th October 2016
Dragan Jojic
part of the BeLiminal network
Dragan@Capagility.com
Dragan@BeLiminal.com
@DrJojic

2. 2
Reflection and adaptation
“Hansei is really much deeper than reflection.
It is really being honest about your own weaknesses.”
Jeffery Liker

3. 3
Where does this talk come from?
• My article published in InfoQ in February 2016
• That often referenced Swedish streaming service
• Following a link from a tweet to a blog to a book
• A chance meeting with a popular public speaker
at an event many years ago
• Feedback from my Agile on the Beach 2016 talk

4. 4
Let’s start with a story…
“Any obstacles arise due to the low
professionalism of people…
Account Managers and Project
Managers are often the weakest
link in the chain […] rather than a
driving force of the project”
“…several planning techniques can
minimize the obstacles /
challenges”
The assumption: We can plan for what we don’t know
“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”
Neils Bohr
"The afternoon knows what
the morning never
suspected“
Robert Frost

5. 5
“Build your organization into an engine of possibility“
Dave Gray

6. 6
Balancing alignment with autonomy
“Loosely coupled,
tightly aligned”
Spotify
Autonomy
(what to do & how)
Alignment
(what to achieve & why)

7. 7
Aligned Autonomy

8. 8
The Agility Challenge
Everybody in the ‘agile enterprise’:
• Knows what they need to achieve and why
• Can decide by themselves how best to do it
• Genuinely cares that it gets done

9. 9
In the meantime on Planet Earth…
“…getting simple things to happen is
very difficult and getting difficult
things to happen is impossible”
Carl von Clausewitz

10. 10
Three gaps that cause ‘friction’
Knowledge gapEffects gap
Alignment gap
Actions
Outcome
s
Plans

11. 11
Actions
The usual approach: more detail/control
Outcome
s
Knowledge gap
more detailed info
Effects gap
more detailed
controls
Alignment gap
more detailed instructions
Plans

12. 12
Actions
The alternative: ‘directed opportunism’
Outcome
s
Knowledge gap
limit direction to
defining intent
Effects gap
give freedom to
adjust actions in
line with intent
Alignment gap
communicate intent & allow ‘each level’
to define how they will achieve it
Plans

13. 13
Segue to leadership
“Agile makes organisations work;
Leadership makes Agile work”
Michael Short & Guy McDonnell

14. 14
But what kind of leadership?
Leadership at all levels in the organisation
“Leadership is about taking initiative
and influencing those around you”
John Kotter
“…being a leader from the position you are in”
David Marquet
“We can’t just have one leader, we need a team of leaders”
Gareth Southgate

15. 15
Three Cs of success
• Commitment
• Confidence
• Communication
Tony Ball MBE

16. 16
Three gaps & three Cs – spooky!!!
Commitment
Confidence
Communication
?

17. 17
Actions
Three gaps & 4 Cs
Outcome
s CuriosityConfidence
Commitment
Communication
Plans
Clarity
Courage
Care

18. 18
Four Cs of Agile Leadership
CuriosityCourage
Care
Clarity
Actions
Outcome
s
Plans

19. 19
1. Curiosity
Actions
Outcome
s CuriosityCourage
Care
Clarity
Plans
How do we identify what we need to know
and speed up learning?
Practices
• Look out for signals, patterns and opportunities
What should we do?
• Recognise existing delivery capability
What can we do?
• Explore options (value & ‘last responsible moment’)
What options do we have?
• Assess achievements against desired outcomes
Have we achieved what we set out to achieve?

20. 20
Actions
Outcome
s Curiosity
Care
Clarity
Plans
Courage
2. Clarity
Practices
• “Do less” – convert ‘push’ to ‘pull’: what is possible
with the means we have at our disposal?
• Clarify desired outcomes (‘what’ and ‘why’)
• Set constraints: e.g. articulate norms / delineate authority
• Identify useful metrics that show we are/aren’t successful
• Keep it all visible (work, process, progress, outcomes)
How do we build ‘shared understanding’?

21. 22
Actions
Outcome
s Curiosity
Care
Clarity
Plans
Courage
3. Courage
Practices
• Take responsibility (or step back and let go)
• Seek advice: Is it good enough for now?
Is it safe enough to try?
• Run experiments, learn from failure, pivot
“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson”
• Speak your mind, challenge from the heart
How do we amplify reflection and adaptation?

22. 23
Actions
Outcome
s Curiosity
Care
Clarity
Plans
Courage
4. Care
Practices
• Try to be useful, not to be right
• Contribute
– Seek help: show you’re not perfect
– Offer help: teach, mentor & coach
• Recognise contributions
• Show respect for differences
How do we best help one another?

23. 24
Actions
Outcome
s Curiosity
Care
Clarity
Plans
Courage
Four Cs of Agile Leadership
What am I missing?

24. 25
Where next?
• Keep using, reflecting and adapting
• Are these leadership values or my personal ones?
• ‘Leadership’ or ‘Citizenship’?

25. 26
References
• Jeffery Liker, “The Toyota Way” (McGraw-Hill, 2004)
• Ralph Topping (LinkedIn, 2 October 2016)
https://www.linkedin.com/nhome/updates?activity=6188324931734900736
• Dave Gray, “Experimentation Is The New Planning” (FastCompany.com, 2012)
• Henrik Kniberg, “Spotify – the unproject culture”, Crisp blog at http://blog.crisp.se/
• Stephen Bungay, “The Art of Action” (Nicholas Brealey, 2011)
• John Kotter, “Leadership Tip: It's How You Act, Not Your Position” (Forbes, 6 June 2012)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2012/06/06/leadership-tip-its-about-how-you-act-not-your-
position/?feed=rss_home#3829a1293e8c
• David Marquet, “Turn the Ship Around!” (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2012)
• Olav Maassen, Chris Matts & Chris Geary, “Commitment” (Hathaway te Brake Publications, 2013)
• Jim Highsmith, “Do Less” (http://jimhighsmith.com/, 22 November 2010)
• Dalai Lama, “Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living” (http://highexistence.com/rules-for-living/)
• Chris Collison & Geoff Parcell, “Learning to Fly” (Capstone Publishing, 2001)
• Dragan Jojic, “The Agility Challenge” (InfoQ, February 2016)
htpps://www.infoq.com/articles/agility-challenge

26. 27
Think big, start small, move fast
Thank you!

27. Rising to the Agility Challenge:
Values & Practices of Agile Leadership
Questions / Comments?
Dragan@Capagility.com
Dragan@BeLiminal.com
@DrJojic