Unprecedented times require Agile Leadership
It goes beyond saying that 2020 was the year of unprecedented events.
It threw a wrench in all our plans. So we promptly made new plans, only to see them decimated by the wrath of the pandemic. It seems never ending. The only thing we can reasonably plan for anymore is the unexpected.
Over the years, despite the outcry to transform, the vast majority of businesses have been too excruciatingly slow to adopt digital. Now all are thrust into the middle of it. Changes have to be made quick and fast. With the gun to our head we now know what to do.
Some were fortuitous as they were just making progress on their digital ambitions right before the pandemic: companies like Disney, who today are losing revenue across the board except for their digital business.
Yet there were some businesses that were well positioned for the current scenario, these were businesses that had resilience built into their DNA. They had not planned for a pandemic, but had planned for a future that was more online, more digital, more automated. The digital natives like the Big Tech not only had the technology on their side but also the agile culture that allowed them to not only persevere but prosper in this new reality.
These are businesses that realize change can come abruptly again, come 2021, perhaps we go back to life as it was. Or our behaviors change but not in the way anticipated. What then? They soldier on, aware that they may have to change direction as circumstances around them change. They reflect on the mistakes made, make note of the lessons learned, change their behavior based on that learning, consistently refining the way they work and what they deliver to customers. Most of these companies practice Agile Leadership.
I have spent a lot of time in the past few years reflecting on what it means to be agile, as a business and as a leader. Now is the moment when we go deeper. In partnership with Fredrik Lied Larsen, Co-founder of SolidSquare and a well renowned IT consultant and agile coach, we have decided to write our thoughts down in the form of a blog on Agile Leadership, get your thoughts and feedback, and culminate our learnings in a form of a book (Yes, a book. Like I said, the year of the unprecedented!)
We will be doing this in a slightly unorthodox and agile manner. Stay tuned to learn more!!