With the fast-paced evolution of technology and changing trends in the world of work, companies have found it difficult to stay on top of their industries. The constant transformation of businesses is causing many organizational leaders to lag behind, stunting their company’s success. 

With an overwhelming number of tips and tricks offered online, what exactly should you focus on to accelerate your business? Consider boosting your leadership agility. 

The Key to Business Acceleration 

You need to have an agile leader to boost your company, ensure its growth, and push it toward innovation. You need to have someone who can quickly think on their feet and implement any strategies needed for your business. 

Although leadership can be demonstrated by everyone, agile leadership is something brought about by the desire to improve. It is a practice where leaders are forced to continuously think of innovative ideas that can help them adapt and succeed in a changing environment. 

For both employees and employers, having people with leadership agility can lead to the further development of skills and quality of work. 

Read More: Topgrading Your Staff 

Benefits of Leadership Agility 

When leaders are confident but not agile, they have the tendency to rely too much on habits that succeeded in the past. This may work in some circumstances but not all the time. 

Actions that were successful before may not work anymore in newer situations. This can be due to many factors – economy, demand, supply, development of technology, or even just a simple change in the current working environment. 

Having agility in the leadership role can help companies develop unique solutions and innovate on how to remain relevant in their respective field. It can also build the resilience of the company against sudden waves of change and enhance overall performance within the organization. 

Agile Leadership Journey 

Developing agility skills doesn’t happen with just one seminar or an online course. Instead, it is gained through consistent leadership development throughout one’s career. 

A leader with agility can be described using three specific categories.¹ Note that all three types can be seen in one person based on the situation at hand. They are also developed separately through learning and experience. 

Expert Leader 

An expert leader is someone who has a good mindset regarding problem-solving. They are able to create tactics and solutions for any situation they face. 

They are focused on proper task delegation to finish work and improve productivity. Expert leaders also thrive in single-function environments where they focus on one task at a time. 

Achiever Leader 

This type of leader is strategic and tactical with regard to finishing the tasks needed to be done. They are quite outcome-oriented and care the most about the product and not the process. 

Achiever leaders are focused on company goals and milestones. So, having short-term and long-term plans are important for them to strive for. They are usually effective in interdependent environments since they are capable of strategizing how to get big tasks done. 

Catalyst Leader 

A catalyst leader is a visionary who focuses on innovation and different possible orientations of thought. They try to view situations using different perspectives and lenses to ensure success. 

They are effective in a rapidly changing environment since they do well in predicting future issues. Their focus is ensuring the company’s resiliency against the shifts within their field or industry. 

How to Develop Leadership Agility: 5 Actions to Learn the Skill 

Since having leadership skills is important to keep up with the growing and shifting world of work, the following are five basic steps to developing it. 

1. Innovate 

To become a leader with agility, you need to learn to embrace innovation and change based on working conditions. Don’t be afraid to experiment as long as it is based on your knowledge and expertise. 

Strive for success through new strategies and approaches catered to your company’s current situation. Always solve problems with an eye open for contemporary solutions. 

For example, your company has an issue with keeping all teams updated on the information of your most complex project. Instead of creating a complicated system, you can choose to implement new technology like cloud computing. 

2. Perform 

Having agility as a manager or a leader requires you to focus on delivering results in a collected manner. People in positions who cannot remain calm during unexpected situations won’t be able to perform their duties properly. 

Clearly set your goals and make sure they are doable within your chosen time frame. Prioritize tasks that need to be done and delegate responsibilities properly to your team. Encourage an environment of productivity by empowering your people through a well-thought-out plan. 

Take a scenario in engineering as an example. As a leader, you don’t need to do everything to finish a construction project. What you do need is the ability to delegate tasks from design to planning the construction. This way, you can save your energy for technical complexities that need your expertise. 

3. Reflect 

Since learning agility requires innovation and experimentation, it’s even more important for you as a leader to reflect on the decision you’ve made. Further development of your agility leadership skills will come from how you evaluate yourself and your previous choices. 

Was your decision the right one after seeing the results? Did your choices create any consequences that were too difficult to deal with? You need to be able to see the entirety of your innovation – from its successes to its failures. 

Think of a modernized building design. You and your team made innovative changes in the structure to make it look more contemporary. You need to reflect on the decisions made to ensure safety. Is the structural integrity compromised? Will the building follow safety regulations with such unique designs? What materials would be best in the building’s construction? 

4. Risk 

The industry is ever-changing, there is always a call for you to switch things up. Leaders with agility are those willing to take calculated risks to do their responsibilities of keeping the company on top. 

Take note of the keyword – calculated. Before taking any risks, you need to fully weigh potential rewards and detriments. Ensure that all decisions are based on facts, data, and knowledge so you can lessen the risks or consequences. 

For example, you learned new technology that would make the completion of tasks in your company much more efficient. Before purchasing, you need to first consider the possible risks it may bring. Is it financially viable? Will there be any issues with the implementation of the new tech? 

Read More: The Future of IT Operations 

5. Accept 

Understand that the world is changing and that you need to create adaptability for your company. Instead of seeing more workload you need to adjust to see it as an opportunity for growth and development for everyone. 

Another responsibility of an agile leader is to embrace feedback and criticism with the intention of improving. You need to listen to opinions from different perspectives so you can find new ways to innovate with higher chances of success. 

Related Reading: Unlock Hidden Potential: A Manager’s Guide to Increasing Workplace Efficiency 

DEVELOP AGILITY FOR YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS  

Are you an employee looking to apply your leadership agility? Or are you a business owner searching for ways to improve your company? Whoever you may be, Raso360 is sure to have the services and solutions you need.  

Using our wide resources, we can help you build strong relationships through staff leasing, augmentation, and direct hire. With Raso360, success starts here. Contact us now to learn more! 

Reference 

1 Agile Leadership Journey. “What is Leadership Agility?” June 2023, https://www.agileleadershipjourney.com/leadership-journey/leadership-agility