I’ve been thinking a lot lately about critical aspects of folks going down an agile transformation. For example, I recently delivered a lightning talk at a local group focused on well-being indicators in agile organizations. I was intentional in not saying the word “metrics” or “maturity” in the talk, as they imply some sort of range or specificity that I didn’t want to imply. 

Related to that talk is this post. I wanted to think hard about the most critical leadership patterns (habits, tendencies, attributes) that stand between leaders effectively and personally adopting and supporting an agile mindset. And four critical areas came to mind as anti-patterns, horsemen if you will, that need to be avoided…

Ego/Me/Self-centered

  • Always using I/Me language

  • Not open to conversations

  • Low Curiosity

  • Maintains a distance from others

  • What’s in it for you

  • Selfish

The antidote is - a focus on your teams, on serving others, ongrowing others, and focusing on We/Us.

Close Minded/Not Self-aware

  • Not really open to new ideas (but say they are)

  • That doesn’t work here

  • To feedback at all levels (including personal feedback)

  • Low Emotional Intelligence

  • Low self-awareness

The antidote is - curiosity, openness, having the mind of a child, a willingness to experiment, and forever learning.

Fearful

  • Fear of saying no (mostly upward)

  • Avoiding crucial conversations / radical candor in all directions (particularly lateral and upward)

  • Fear of losing their job

  • Fear of taking a risk

  • Sharing their fears as a motivation or rationale

  • Fear of change

The antidote is - courage, trusting yourself, not going it alone, partnering with others, and understanding that leaders go first.

Hubris/Arrogance

  • Asshole

  • Rude

  • Impatient

  • My way, or…

  • I know and…you don’t

  • Never admit you don’t know or ask for help

The antidote is - staying humble, staying patient, reflecting in the moment, loving your team, and loving yourself.

Wrapping Up

If you’re a leader in an agile organization, you should self-assess whether you’ve succumbed to any of these horsemen attributes.

I think all of them are actively present in many of today’s organizations and within a significant percentage of today’s leaders.

Sure, they may not be in “full display”, but often they are there and they continuously impact the culture. Consider them culture-killers if you’re aim is to create an agile-centric culture.

Why talk about them? So that they become more transparent and so that leaders can self-reflect and self-correct away from them. Now get off those horses…

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

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