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.