Pete Behrens, a leadership agility coach, discusses the need for leaders to evolve in response to rapid changes in organizational environments. He emphasizes that traditional management approaches are outdated and that effective leadership should focus on self-awareness, enabling creativity, and fostering a culture of agility. The document outlines how leaders can adapt by sharing responsibility, guiding change, and reflecting agile values to create adaptable organizations.

1. Reprogramming
Leadership for Agility
Pete Behrens
Leadership Agility Coach
@petebehrens
#ALD16

2. Pete Behrens, CEC, CST®
2
 Leadership Agility Coach with Trail Ridge
 Guide organizational agility…
 Certified Leadership Agility 360 Coach
 Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC)
 Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
 Created Scrum Alliance Programs:
Certified Enterprise Coaching (CEC)
Certified Agile Leadership (CAL)
 Scrum Alliance board member

3. © 2016
I haven’t always been cool…
“I have a
confession…”
I am A
Recovering
asshole

4. © 2016
Why I know this…

5. © 2005-2016 Trail Ridge Consulting, LLC
Pete the ”Expert” Leader…

6. © 2005-2016 Trail Ridge Consulting, LLC
Pete the ”Achiever” Leader…

7. © 2016
Heroic Leaders
Focus on Results
Direct Work
People = Pawns
Focus on Tasks
Do work
People = Problems
Experts Achievers
(a.k.a. “Assholes”)

8. © 2016
I’m not alone…
R. Hogan & Kaiser, 2005
What we know about leadership.
Review of General Psychology
“Climate surveys routinely
show that about 70% of
employees report the most
stressful aspect of their
jobs is the interaction with
their immediate boss.”
70%
Leadership
Failure

9. © 2016
My AHA! Catalyst
We all need a
Jana in our
lives…

10. © 2016
1890’s (some perspective)
90% of people were in agriculture
Manufacturing Companies < 4 employees

11. © 2016
1920’s (one generation later)
500,000 cars per year from Ford
US Steel was a $1B Company

12. © 2016
1920’s (Leadership)
Management was invented
to turn human beings into
semi-programmable robots

13. © 2016
A Few Things have Changed
Predictable > Volatile
Dependable > Complex
Barriers to
Competition
Steady > Intense
Independent > Interconnected

14. © 2016
Change has Changed
“We have come to an
Inflection Point
of change.”
- Gary Hamel

15. © 2016
But Leadership Hasn’t Changed
Management approaches
are vastly based on what was
invented prior to 1920.
38%

16. © 2016
Why aren’t we changing?
38%
38%
Management
concern about
loss of control

17. © 2016
Why aren’t we changing?
42%
Organizational
resistance to
change

18. © 2016
Why aren’t we changing?
Organization
Agility
Leadership
Agility
46%
Culture
at odds with
agile values

19. © 2016
Agile Leadership
"Unless leaders do
their own development,
they are unlikely to create
business transformation.”
- Robert Anderson
in Mastering Leadership

20. © 2016
Agile Leadership
Focus on Growth
Foster Creativity
Guide Change
Share Leadership
Catalyst

21. © 2016
Agile Leadership Compass
This
compass
guides
leaders in
navigating
the fog of
complexity,
uncertainty,
and rapid
change.

22. © 2016
Over-Focus on Organization
Over-focus on
Organizationa
l Agility
Leaders
tend to over-
focus on the
organization
when driving
agility.

23. © 2016
Over-focus on
Organizationa
l Agility
Focus on Agile Leaders!
Organizations
reflect
Leadership
By first
focusing on
their own
thinking and
behaviors,
leaders will
role model
the agility
they are
seeking in
their
organizations
.

24. © 2016
An Agile Leader’s Story
The focus and tools of
research have changed
much in the past 100 years
How research is performed
has changed very little
Lars Bruns
Global
Research

25. © 2016
Researching Himself
Global
Research
Paired Leadership
Lars leads by modeling a paired-
leadership approach – sharing
responsibility & developing others.

26. © 2016
Researching People
Global
Research
M(e) Staffing
Researchers now self-organize
on research projects –
increasing energy & learning

27. © 2016
Researching Research
Global
Research
Flash Works
Researchers flash swarm selected
projects across disciplines –
creativity and progress soar.

28. © 2016
Agile Leadership
✴Awareness of self
✴Reflects cognitively
✴Open to perspectives
ADAPTIVE MIND ADAPTIVE ACTION
✴Experiments on self
✴Coaches for growth
✴Shares ownership

29. © 2016
Agile Leadership Journey
Task-focused
Do work
Results-focused
Direct work
Drive & measure
Growth-focused
Guide change
Foster Creativity
Share Leadership
Experts
Achievers
Catalysts
Based on Leadership Agility by Bill Joiner & Stephen Josephs

30. © 2016
Expanding Leadership AHA!
Based on Leadership Agility by Bill Joiner & Stephen Josephs
Less about skill acquisition, more about self-awareness and maturity

31. © 2016
Over-Focus on Actions
Over-focus on
Productivity and
other outputs
Leaders tend
to over-focus
on delivery
and outputs
of their teams
and orgs
when driving
agility.

32. © 2016
Need Focus on Enablement
Results are
enabled thru
culture
“You can’t build an
adaptable organization
without adaptable
people”
- Gary Hamel
Over-focus on
Productivity and
other outputs
By focusing
on what
enables
outputs to be
delivered,
leaders
enable future
growth and
delivery.

33. © 2016
Agile Isn’t Sticking or Scaling…
Today’s Leadership
i CULTURE
STRUCTURE
PROCESS
Doing Scrum or other agile approaches
Runs into organizational and cultural issues
And ultimately is stifled to adopt and grow.

34. © 2016
Agile Leadership is the key
CULTURE
STRUCTURE
PROCESS
Organizations that start with culture/values
And build agile structures to support them
Ultimately grow and sustain agility
And their organizational effectiveness

35. © 2016
Focus on Enablement
✴Imagines creatively
✴Connects emotionally
✴Seeks & uses feedback
GROWTH MINDSET
AGILE VALUES
✴Creates a safe workplace
✴Guides organization change
✴Builds organization culture

36. © 2016
An Agile Leader’s Story
Guiding Agile Culture
With a pending integration,
Philipp sought to know and
save his company’s culture.
He ended up influencing the
acquiring company’s culture
Philipp Engstler

37. © 2016
Certified Agile Leadership (CAL) Program
AHA! Journey!

38. Thank you!
Pete Behrens
Leadership Agility Coach
@petebehrens
#ALD16