Presentation given by Simon Paynter and Helen Angharad from AdRoc Consulting

1. ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
Simon Paynter & Helen Angharad

2. SIMON PAYNTER
AGILE TRANSFORMATIONS 4
YEARS IN IT 16
AGILE CERTIFICATIONS 6
YEARS IN AGILE 9
KIDS 4
HELEN ANGHARAD
AGILE TRANSFORMATIONS 11
YEARS IN IT 15
AGILE CERTIFICATIONS 0
YEARS IN AGILE 7
PETS 2

3. ‘Management is about creating order
and consistency in an organisation,
whilst leadership is about creating
change and movement’
Kotter, J.P. (2008) Force for change: How leadership
differs from management. NYC: Simon and Schuster.

4. What role do traditional managers play?
Peter Drucker’s 1954 The Practice of Management
1. Set objectives The manager sets goals for the group, and decides what work needs to be
done to meet those goals.
2. Organize The manager divides the work into manageable activities, and selects people to
accomplish the tasks that need to be done.
3. Motivate and communicate The manager creates a team out of their people,
through decisions on pay, placement, promotion, and through their communication with the team.
4. Measure The manager establishes appropriate targets and yardsticks, and analyses, appraises
and interprets performance.
5. Develop people Through finding, training and nurturing employees.
http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/what-do-managers-do/

5. What role do leaders play?
1. Create inspiring visions of the future The leader sets a realistic, convincing
and attractive depiction of where you want to be in the future.
2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision The
leader works hard throughout to connect their vision with people's individual needs, goals and
aspirations.
3. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at
achieving the vision Motivating employees to reach the height of their potential is every
leader's job.
4. Cultivate a positive workplace culture Granting permission to succeed,
providing incentives to succeed & creating opportunities to succeed.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_41.htm

6. ‘…leadership is about creating change
and movement’
Kotter, J.P. (2008) Force for change: How leadership
differs from management. NYC: Simon and Schuster.

8. Why do agile teams need leaders, not managers?
Team empowerment incorporates four elements: potency,
meaningfulness, autonomy and impact.
The team self-organizes around a leader instead of
reporting to a manager, and may make changes to their
project or product at will.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/team-empowerment-12716.html

9. Adaptability: embrace ambiguity over ‘perceived’ certainty
Exploration: Envisions and evolves rather than ‘Plan and Do’
4 CORE MINDSETS OF ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
Facilitation: Enables and collaborates over dictating and driving
Riding paradox: ‘And’ rather than ‘Or’ leadership
Jim Highsmith – Adaptive Leadership : Accelerating
enterprise agility

10. So, how do you transition from manager to leader?

11. ‘You have to be comfortable with
being uncomfortable’ Jim Highsmith

12. Make sense of your domain

13. SETYOUR VISION

14. LEAD
Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-
trust companies report:
74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher
productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29%
more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout.
The team also found that those working in high-trust companies
enjoyed their jobs 60% more, were 70% more aligned with their
companies’ purpose, and felt 66% closer to their colleagues.
Trust and Serve
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

15. https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust
1. Recognise excellence
2. Induce “challenge stress.”
3. Give people discretion in how they do their
work
4. Enable job crafting
5. Share information widely
6. Intentionally build relationships
7. Facilitate whole-person growth
8. Show vulnerability
8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST

16. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Recognise excellence:
The science shows that recognition has the largest effect
on trust when it occurs immediately after a goal has been
met, when it comes from peers, and when it’s tangible,
unexpected, personal, and public.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

17. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Induce “challenge stress.”:
When a manager assigns a team a difficult but achievable
job, the moderate stress of the task releases
neurochemicals, that intensify people’s focus.
But this works only if challenges are attainable and have a
concrete end point; vague or impossible goals cause
people to give up before they even start. Leaders should
check in frequently to assess progress and adjust goals
that are too easy or out of reach.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

18. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Give people discretion in how they do their work:
Once employees have been trained, allow them, whenever
possible, to execute tasks in their own way.
Autonomy also promotes innovation, because different
people try different approaches. Oversight and risk
management procedures can help minimize negative
deviations while people experiment.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

19. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Enable job crafting:
When companies trust employees to choose which tasks
they’ll work on, people focus their energies on what they
care about most.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

20. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Share information widely:
Only 40% of employees report that they are well informed
about their company’s goals, strategies, and tactics.This
uncertainty about the company’s direction leads to chronic
stress, which inhibits the release of oxytocin and
undermines teamwork.
Openness is the antidote.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

21. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Intentionally build relationships:
Neuroscience experiments show that when people
intentionally build social ties at work, their performance
improves.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

22. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Facilitate whole-person growth:
High-trust workplaces help people develop personally as
well as professionally.
Numerous studies show that acquiring new work skills
isn’t enough; if you’re not growing as a human being, your
performance will suffer. High-trust companies adopt a
growth mindset when developing talent.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

23. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Show vulnerability:
Leaders in high-trust workplaces ask for help from
colleagues instead of just telling them to do things.
The research team has found that this stimulates oxytocin
production in others, increasing their trust and
cooperation. Asking for help is a sign of a secure leader -
one who engages everyone to reach goals.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

24. 8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST
Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-
trust companies report:
74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher
productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29%
more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout.
The team also found that those working in high-trust companies
enjoyed their jobs 60% more, were 70% more aligned with their
companies’ purpose, and felt 66% closer to their colleagues.
https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

25. EXERCISE – The importance of trust
In pairs
On post-it notes
Based on the list of 8 behaviours, write down as many
practical things that you can start doing

26. https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust
1. Recognise excellence
2. Induce “challenge stress.”
3. Give people discretion in how they do their
work
4. Enable job crafting
5. Share information widely
6. Intentionally build relationships
7. Facilitate whole-person growth
8. Show vulnerability
8 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS THAT FOSTER TRUST

27. LEAD

28. SERVE
The 11 themes of
servant leadership
CALLING: Are you willing to sacrifice self interest for the good of the team?
LISTENING: Do people believe that you want to hear their ideas?
EMPATHY: Do people believe you understand what’s happening to them?
HEALING: Do people turn to you in times of need?
AWARENESS: Do people believe you know what’s going on?
FORESIGHT: Do people have confidence in your ability to anticipate things?
PERSUASION: Are people willing to follow your advice?
STEWARDSHIP: Do others believe that you’re acting with the correct intentions?
GROWTH: Do people believe that you’re helping them grow and develop?
CONCEPTUALISATION: Are others able to communicate ideas when you are around?
COMMUNITY BUILDING: Do people share a sense of community that you help with?

29. DIRECTORS
CEO
MIDDLE MANAGERS
FRONT LINE STAFF
CUSTOMERS
How traditional
organisations are
set up
SERVE

30. DIRECTORS
CEO
MIDDLE MANAGERS
FRONT LINE STAFF
CUSTOMERS
How servant
leadership views
things
SERVE

31. SERVE & LEAD
Do they see you more as an agent of empowerment or an agent of control?
Do they see you more as a champion for their ideas or a killer of their dreams?
Do they see you more as a proponent of change or a protector of tradition?
Do they see you as a friend of progress or the enemy of success?
Do they believe you will protect them when their back is turned?
Do they think you have their best interest ahead of your own?
Do they genuinely believe your heart is fully committed to the team?
How do you know if you’ve nailed it?
http://www.leadershipdigital.com/edition/daily-operations-leadership-2017-06-14?open-article-id=6718852&article-title=how-you-re-perceived-as-a-leader-may-be-
more-important&blog-domain=ronedmondson.com&blog-title=ron-edmondson

32. ‘Achieving enterprise agility requires
a different style of management – an
adaptive leadership style’
Jim Highsmith – Adaptive Leadership : Accelerating
enterprise agility