Audience, Pre-requisites, and Assumed Knowledge
The agile leadership development program is intended for senior leaders, department heads, senior managers, and anyone in a leadership role supporting agile teams. It is typically run for whole leadership teams in a department or organization. The program need not be limited to IT or software leaders, and it is beneficial to include people / HR; legal / compliance; finance; marketing; sales; or any other relevant functions.
Approach
In preparation for your series of workshops, we will listen to the challenges you are currently facing and the values your organization identifies with. From this, we will draw from a wide set of our own industry experience alongside published reference material to bring the most relevant and aligned set of topics for your people. The structure of the workshops then runs as follows
- A kick-off session is held to introduce the series and how leaders can maximize the benefit of the experience.
- Pre-course reading is distributed the week before each session.
- A live training session is held with additional learning points, plus facilitated discussion on how to apply the ideas in context.
- Leaders then pair up mid-week to put these new practices into action
Learning modules
The following workshops are available to build up a program. Additional modules or learning outcomes can be added on request.
Agile mindset
The decision to pursue agile ways of working as an alternative to more traditional approaches can potentially create a competitive advantage if implemented well. An agile mindset is necessary for the mechanics of agile delivery frameworks to translate into motivated people delivering valuable products. This module explores the themes of flexibility and adaptability through recent case study examples, and challenges leaders to apply this mindset to their own teams.
Culture
The “way we do things here” begins to evolve as soon people are together for any length of time. Leadership teams in organizations will have an impact on how this culture evolves through their actions and interactions. This module will allow leaders to identify the desirable characteristics of organizational culture and learn what effect they can have in shaping it for the future.
Purpose
Knowing what you want is an important first step in getting what you want. This module looks at goals, visions, missions, and purpose on timescales from a single day to enduring organizational values. We’ll see how purpose can have a positive impact on alignment and motivation. Leaders will explore how to avoid unintended behaviors and create a sense of purpose that acts as a catalyst for change.
Enablement
Enabling innovation takes courage, so what stops good work from happening? There are several things that might be missing that prevent opportunities from being realized. It could be skills; tools; permission; confidence; knowledge; time; or something else. This module helps leaders connect with the role they play in overcoming these hurdles, and how to effectively move decision-making closer to where the work is happening.
Self-management
Outcomes tend to be better when people take initiative, rather than being told what to do. The trouble is, if you simply stop giving orders in the hope that self-management will begin, you are likely to be disappointed. This module looks at self-management from a leader’s point of view with case study examples and structures that can support it. It will help leaders understand the seemingly paradoxical question of how to lead a self-managing team.
Collaboration
The best things happen when people work together: within teams, across teams, and up and down the hierarchy. This module arms leaders with knowledge of the kinds of rules and structures that can prevent collaboration and create silos. We will then examine frameworks and structures that promote collaboration while still managing risks.
Technology Leadership
Technical strategy plays a significant part in your ability to get things done. Whether you have a technical background or not, it’s important to be part of the conversation and to be satisfied that senior engineers are supported in leading their people. This module helps technically oriented leaders collaborate with their peers on the leadership team, and non-technical leaders learn how to link technical strategy with their own agenda.
Leading Change
Whether you are planning to change culture, delivery practices, business strategy, or anything else substantial, the way you plan and execute the change will have an impact on its success. We’ll share our experience in transformation with reference to some useful frameworks and approaches. Leaders will develop an approach that will maximize the outcomes for the change they want to implement.
