FUTURE TALENT February / May 2020 | Page 77

LEARNING reluctant or ill-informed executives to better understand the power of agile and how it can transform business beyond the world of project management. They cite useful case examples for how agile can be embraced to best effect. But even these evangelists are clear that agile is not a panacea, and should only be deployed under the right conditions, when “the problem to be solved is complex; solutions are initially unknown, and product requirements will most likely c h a n g e ; t he wo r k c a n b e modularized; close collaboration with end users (and rapid feedback from them) is feasible; and creative teams will typically outperform command-and-control groups.” They suggest that fertile ground for agile approaches include product development, marketing projects, strategic-planning activities, supply- chain challenges and resource- allocation decisions. Less productive might be routine operations such as maintenance, purchasing, sales calls and accounting. Few, if any, companies are purely agile or waterfall L waterfall. These umbrella terms represent different mindsets that encompass a variety of practices and approaches to organisational development. While agile is often associated with large-scale software development, its roots lie in lean manu facturing and organisational learning. Agile techniques such as stand-up meetings, weekly iterations and visual management can apply to any industry. The trick is to balance these approaches, developing the judgement needed to know when to be more agile and when to focus on that more stable core. Simon Hayward’s work on agile leadership builds on his previous work on what he calls “connected leadership”; for Hayward, agile leaders are connected leaders. They need to balance the seemingly paradoxical roles of enablers and disruptors. And while leaders may be predisposed towards one or other behaviour, agile leaders need H ybrid approaches to project management, based on waterfall and agile techniques working alongside one another, are another way to extend the reach of agile. Management consultants, McKinsey, believe that truly agile organisations need to reconcile the seeming paradox of both “stability and speed”. Mastering this paradox means creating a stable core, while championing looser, more dynamic elements that can adapt more qu i c k l y to c h a l l e n g e s a nd opportunities. A 2018 report from the McKinsey Agile Tribe charts the move away from what it calls org anis ations as machi ne s (hierarchical and specialised) to organisations as organisms that combine “stable backbone elements that evolve slowly and support dynamic capabilities that can adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities”. What does all this mean for leaders? In essence, few, if any, companies are purely agile or February – May 2020 // 77