Reprogramming Leadership for Agility

© 2005 - 2016 Trail Ridge Consulting, LLC
Reprogramming
#agileEE
@petebehrens
For
Agility
Leadership
© 2005 - 2016 Trail Ridge Consulting, LLC

© 2005-2016 Trail Ridge Consulting, LLC@petebehrens #agileEE
PETE

A recovering
Asshole
I am…

My first real management job
‣ The Expert
‣ Doing the work
‣ Kicking ass
‣ I solve problems
‣ Easier if I just did it
‣ Leave me alone
‣ Get out of my way
Development Mgr

An Expert
ASShole
I am…

My first real leadership job
‣ The Achiever
‣ Directing work
‣ Kicking ass
‣ Engineer solutions
‣ Just do it my way
‣ Manipulate people
‣ Get on the bus
VP of Engineering

An ACHIEVER
ASShole
I am…

My Agile Journey
1990 20152005 20101995 2000
WTF? RUPRAD! Scrum Organizational Agility
Pete
3.0
Catalyst
Pete
2.0
Achiever
Pete
1.0
Expert
Pete
Beta
Coder

My Talk Journey
Agile
Leadership
Leadership
Evolution
Leadership
Stories

How did Leadership Evolve?

Leaders provide a service to others.
Followers compensate them with status.

‣ Small & nomadic
‣ Informal leadership
‣ Leaders emerged
‣ Task-based leadership
‣ Low tolerance for dominance
‣ People were free to leave
2.5 Million Years

2.5 Million Years
“Self-organization is not a startling new feature of
the world. It is the way the world has created itself
for billions of years.
In all of human activity, self-organization is how we
begin. It is what we do until we interfere with
the process and try to control one another.”
- Margaret Wheatley

‣ Large sedentary city-states
‣ Formal hierarchical leadership
‣ Leaders imposed from above
‣ Singular leadership chain
‣ Dependent on city - not free to leave
‣ Power, wealth & dominance surge
2.5 Million Years
13,000 Years

2.5 Million Years
13,000 Years
“As leaders gain more relative power, 
relations are based more on leaders’ ability to
dominate and exploit rather than beneﬁt followers.”
- Price & Vugt 2014

‣ Large Organizations
‣ Hierarchical leadership chain
‣ Leaders imposed from above
‣ Dependence on organization
‣ Power, wealth & dominance
200 Years
2.5 Million Years
13,000 Years

200 Years
2.5 Million Years
13,000 Years
Choice in leader
Task leadership
Autonomy
Mobility
Brain Preference Leadership Reality
Leaders imposed
Hierarchical leadership
Lack of autonomy
Limited mobility

Corporate Management Results
R. Hogan & Kaiser, 2005 
What we know about leadership. 
Review of General Psychology
“Climate surveys routinely
show that 60–70% of
employees in work
organizations report that the
most stressful aspect of their
jobs is the interaction with
their immediate boss.”

Agile Adoption Challenges
Company culture
at odds with
agile values
46%
Management
concern about 
loss of control
38%
Organizational
resistance to
change
42%

Complexity & the pace of change
200
Years
13,000
Years

Leadership Context
Effective leadership 
amid complexity,
uncertainty, and
rapid change

the last 100 years
1900’s 
Simple Systems
Assembly 
Line
PaceofChange

the last 100 years
Assembly 
Line
1900’s 
Simple Systems
“Hardly a competent workman
can be found who does not
devote a considerable amount
of time to studying just how
slowly he can work and still
convince his employer that he
is going at a good pace.”
- Fredrick Taylor
PaceofChange

the last 100 years
Assembly
Line
1900’s 
Simple Systems
1950’s 
Complicated Systems
Lean
PaceofChange

the last 100 years
Assembly
Line
1900’s 
Simple Systems
1950’s 
Complicated Systems
Lean
“The greatest waste … is failure
to use the abilities of people…to
learn about their frustrations and
about the contributions that they
are eager to make.”
- Edward Deming
PaceofChange

the last 100 years
Assembly 
Line
1900’s 
Simple Systems
1950’s 
Complicated Systems
Lean
PaceofChange
Agile
2000’s 
Complex Systems

the last 100 years
Assembly
Line
1900’s 
Simple Systems
1950’s 
Complicated Systems
Lean
PaceofChange
Agile
2000’s 
Complex Systems
“When people have the decision-making
power and the resources to work toward
a meaningful purpose, they don’t need
pep talks or stretch targets.”
- Fredrick Laloux

My Agile Focus
20152005 2010
Certiﬁed Agile
Leadership Program
Healthcare Research
Oil & Gas
ClientFocusCommunityFocus
Created & Led 
CEC Program
Certiﬁed Leadership
Agility 360 Coach
SA Board 
of Directors

Agile Leadership Focus

Primary Focus = SELF
"Unless leaders do their own development work, 
they are not likely to create business transformation;
...businesses don't transform, people do.”
- Robert Anderson in Mastering Leadership

How Agile Leaders Think?
‣ Self-Aware
‣ Experiments on Self
‣ Seeks Feedback
‣ Role Models Values
‣ Open to inﬂuence
‣ Balanced

What Agile Leaders Do?
‣ Clear in Vision
‣ Agile in Execution
‣ Shares Goals
‣ Enables Others
‣ Empowers Teams
‣ Coaches for Growth
‣ Engages where value is created

Secondary Focus = Organization
“You can’t build an adaptable organization without
adaptable people - and individuals change only when
they have to, or when they want to.”
- Gary Hamel

How Agile leaders Guide Orgs?
‣ Principles > Practices
‣ BE Agile > DO Agile
‣ Safety to Fail & Learn
‣ Focus on Customers
‣ Learn by Doing
‣ Balance Plan & Do
‣ Enable Transparency

What AGILE LEADERs do @ OrgS?
‣ Align Teams to Value
‣ Align Teams Together
‣ Integrate roles/silos
‣ Catalyze change
‣ Iterate learning
‣ Unblock constraints
‣ Remove friction

Agile Leadership GROWTH

Reprogramming Leadership for Agility

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