When teams, product development and entire organizations move from traditional processes to Agile, we as Managers, have to be prepared for it. It’s a new world where teams are self-organizing, the project has no deadlines, and we as managers are no longer Kings on the Mountaintop. Leadership and autonomous teams are the buzz-words of today so we as managers have to go through our own agile transformation in order to survive. Blogpost: https://agileindubai.com/servant-leadership-for-traditional-managers/

1. WELCOME TO AGILEWHERE THE STORIES ARE MADE UP
AND THE POINTS DON’T MATTER
SERVANT
LEADERSHIP
FOR
TRADITIONAL
MANAGERS

2. YOUR HOSTS TODAY
WAJIH ASLAM
RASMUS RUNBERG
IT Manager
Founder of AgileInDubai.com
linkedin.com/in/runberg/
Agile Leader
Member of AGILE ME team
linkedin.com/in/wajihaslam/
SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS

3. www.meetup.com/AgileME-Dubai/
“AgileME-Dubai”
https://AgileInDubai.com
5. AGILE LEADERSHIP

4. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
SUPPORTERS
PLATINUM PARTNERS
GOLD PARTNER BRONZE PARTNERS

5. WHAT IS
LEADERSHIP?

6. MAGIC TRICK

7. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
• Everyone can be a leader
• Setting expectations
• Visionary
• Inspiring
WHAT IS A LEADER?

8. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS

9. MANAGEMENT
CHESS

10. MANAGEMENT CHESS
• 4 Managers - 4 Team Members
• You can move back and forwards and to
each side, but not diagonal
• You cannot move to an already occupied
or blocked square
• You can only move according to
instruction from your manager
• Each move is a point - the manager will
keep score
• You have 30 seconds
NOT VALID

11. MANAGEMENT CHESS
WHY DID YOU GET A BETTER
SCORE THE SECOND TIME?

12. MANAGEMENT
VS
SERVANT
LEADERSHIP

13. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
• Serving the team
• Managing products - not people
• Remove impediments
• Trust people to do what they do best
SERVANT LEADERSHIP

14. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
THE PILLARS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
CALLING
You are compelled to lead others
due to a believe in something
greater than yourself
1
LISTENING
You believe the best way to
understand and help others is to
listen to them
2
EMPATHY
You understand that everyone has
their own perspective and you try to
see the world through their eyes
3

15. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
THE PILLARS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
HEALING
You recognize that as a leader of
others you have the ability to change
the narrative of their story
4
AWARENESS
You recognize the need to be aware
of yourself and your surroundings,
and challenge what doesn’t feel right
5
PERSUASION
Your role is not to direct others, but
to encourage them to move in a
direction that is best for them
6

16. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
THE PILLARS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
FORESIGHT
You have the ability to predict and
understand the impact of the actions
and, help navigate a better course
7
CONCEPTUALIZATION
As a leader you are able to share the
vision and articulate the outcome so that
your team can determine how to get there
8
STEWARDSHIP
Your accountability and commitment
extends far beyond your people and
your company to community and planet
9

17. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
THE PILLARS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
GROWTH
Your single greatest success and
accomplishment as a servant leader
is to grow and develop your people
10
COMMUNITY
Your workplace culture is a place where all
are welcome and all matter11

18. BALL GAME

19. BALL GAME
• Only carry 1 ball at the time
• 1 point for each ball in bucket
• - 10 point for each ball that miss
• 30 seconds to score as many points as possible
NOT VALID

20. BALL GAME
WHY DID YOU GET A BETTER
SCORE THE SECOND TIME?

21. PSYCHOLOGICAL
SAFETY

22. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
• 180 teams interviewed over a period of 2 years
(starting 2012)
• No patterns to be found !? - No correlation between
successful and non-successful teams !?
• No clear insights from looking into personal
friendships, strong management, team structure,
personal interests, gender etc. ??!!??
• Group norms were found to be key to success in a team
GOOGLE’S PROJECT ARISTOTLE

23. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS

24. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IS BEING ABLE TO
SHOW AND EMPLOY ONE'S SELF WITHOUT
FEAR OF NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF
SELF-IMAGE, STATUS OR CAREER
Kahn 1990, p. 708

25. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
MODERN AGILE

26. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
BUILDING A PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFE ENVIRONMENT

27. CHANGE

28. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
TWO IMPORTANT RULES
• It’s not about you - It’s all about the team
• It’s all about you - You need be the change

29. CHANGE

30. CHANGE1. Pair up with another attendee - ideally
one you haven’t spoken with already
2. Face to face quickly introduce yourself
(10 seconds)
3. Turn around so you stand back to back
4. Change 5 things about your appearance
(30 seconds)
5. Turn around so you are face to face again.
See if you can identify the things that
were changed

31. CHANGE
REPEAT

32. CHANGE
WHY WOULD IT BE
DIFFICULT TO
CONTINUE?

33. SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR TRADITIONAL MANAGERS
• Change isn’t something being
taken away from you
• Servant leadership is an added
skillset for you
CHANGE IS DIFFICULT

34. SO WHAT DID
WE LEARN?

35. EVERYONE WITH A
VISION AND ABILITY TO
INSPIRE CAN BE A
LEADER

36. SERVANT LEADERSHIP IS
ABOUT SUPPORTING THE TEAM
SO THEY CAN FOCUS ON WHAT
THEY DO BEST
MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT
NOT THE PEOPLE

37. TEAMS THAT FEEL
SAFE WILL PERFORM
BETTER AND BE
MORE INNOVATIVE

38. BY NATURE WE ARE
RESISTANT TO CHANGE
BE AWARE, SET THE
GOOD EXAMPLE AND
SUPPORT THE JOURNEY

39. THANK YOU