There is no doubt the rapid technological and social change we live with no means organisations must become agile to survive, let alone thrive. Unfortunately our organisational systems have not kept pace with this change, ad unless they are able to become agile and that can evolve to the changing environment, they will fail. A recently publish paper by McKinsey&Company (link here) address what is meant by an agile company, and what is needed to be a leader of one. The characteristics of an agile organisation are:
- Have a ‘north star’ embodied across the organisation
- Work through a network of small, empowered teams
- Use rapid decision and learning cycles
- Have a dynamic people model that ignites passion
- Use next-generation-enabling technology
The paper provides some guidance as to what is needed from leaders t lead an agile organisation. It’s important to note that to do so means changing self before trying to change the organisation. The 5 practices required of an agile leader are:
- Pause to move faster – create space for clear judgment and original thinking.
- Embrace your ignorance – listen – and think – from a place of not knowing
- Radically re-frame the questions – unblock your existing mental model
- Set direction, not destination – rather than a fixed goal journey with clear direction
- Test your solutions – and yourself
I will leave it with you to read the article in its entirety to get the full meaning of these tips, and it is well worth the time to do so, as the article also deals with changing teams and organisations. But don’t forget, it all starts with changing self. And if the Avondale Business School (ABS) can do anything to help you with your change process, just contact Warrick Long at [email protected] or 02 49802168.