In this second of our three-part Agile Transformation series, we will explore the key traits of successful Agile leaders.

Agile leaders are the people who are involved in any form of Agility in their organization. Successful Agile leaders can be from the decision-makers leading the company to the people doing day-to-day work on one of the Agile teams. Agile leaders may or may not have a Leadership title, yet with the right approach, they can successfully influence and lead the changes their team or company is facing. Regardless of one’s formal role, the scale or maturity of one’s Agile adoption, successful Agile leaders share specific key traits: embody a growth mindset, pragmatic balance between people and process, and humility.

Agile is a set of values and principles based on the Agile Manifesto ( www.agilemanifesto.org ). Most companies do not naturally work in these ways, so making the shift to Agile requires change. This may take the form of change in processes, procedures, roles, how work is managed, team composition, to name just a few. For people who like the thrill of change, this is welcome news. For others, changes are uncomfortable and can result in fear or frustration. Although sometimes uncomfortable, change does not have to be bad. Change is needed for growth, whether that be physical growth, such as plants blooming in the Spring, or professional growth, such as start-up becoming a successful multi-million dollar company.

Successful Agile leaders embrace a growth mindset. The term “growth mindset” is more than being flexible to allow for changes and improvements. A growth mindset is about learning from successes and failures, taking risks, and trying new strategies. Leaders who embody a growth mindset create space for themselves and the people they lead to operate in these ways. As a result, people are willing to take calculated risks to try new ways of working, some of which will be successful and others won’t. In both situations, leaders with a growth mindset look for the lessons to be learned from the outcome. Some Agilists use the term “experiments” as they describe this growth mindset way of working. What experiments are you going to try to push yourself and/or your team toward growth in a particular area?

These experiments can be as simple as using one small project to pilot basic Scrum within your organization. Regardless of the outcome, there will be lessons in the process. From those lessons, there can be further “experiments”. This incremental, learn-as-you-go approach is one proven approach to leading an Agile transformation. Agile leaders who embody a growth mindset are a key element to creating an environment where people can embrace an Agile mindset, continually evolving toward better ways of working.

For more information on Carol Dweck’s definition of a growth mindset, see this article “What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means.”

When leading an Agile transformation, one of the first steps is hiring a consultant to guide the effort. Most often, consultants begin with a focus on process. This usually starts with a set of training, followed by working with a few teams to coach them specifically on how to implement a specific Agile-based framework, such as Scrum. This approach is useful to get people thinking in new ways. Implementing a specific Agile-based framework also equips people to approach their work from a new perspective focused on value delivery for the customer. All of these are critical foundational steps in a successful Agile transformation. The problem with this approach is when the process remains the primary focus, there is little to no effort put toward the people involved in the process change.

The first value in the Agile Manifesto states, “…we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools”. The manifesto sums up its four values reminding the reader, “…while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.”  (source: www.agilemanifesto.org ). Looking at the first value statement, this means that people are more valued than process. This may seem contradictory to the previous paragraph about the need to begin with process when leading an Agile transformation. The key is to find a pragmatic balance between people and process.

Successful Agile leaders recognize the need to include necessary change management efforts focused on guiding the people involved in the transformation through the changes they face. While leaders may embrace a growth mindset and embrace the discomfort of change, it’s unrealistic to think that everyone involved in the transformation will embrace change in this same way. There will be people strongly against the transformation, those who may try to highjack the success of the transformation efforts. Others may see the Agile transformation as a fad that will eventually pass and then go back to doing their work as they always have done so. Some may even tolerate the new processes introduced but still gravitate toward former ways of working when under stress to meet a tight deadline. In these situations, there must be intentional effort placed on guiding each of these types of people through the changes involved in the Agile transformation, for the transformation to be successful.

Thinking in terms of a math equation, People + Process = Transformation, most Agile Coaches miss the People aspect of this equation and focus on Process alone. Successful Agile leaders are intentional about balancing their time and energy on both parts of the transformation equation. Doing so may mean investing in an organizational change management expert or an Agile Coach specializing in this pragmatic balance between people and process.