top of page
Search
Sarah Verity
Aug 264 min read

Embracing Business Agility: A Guide for Hesitant Leaders



In the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) landscape of business, adaptability is no longer a luxury – it's a necessity. Yep, you've heard me say it again - if this is your 2nd or 3rd time that you're reading one of my articles here.... and it's your 1st, welcome! You'll quickly become used to my saying - 'agile' is not a buzzword, it's a mindset and an excellent 'way of getting valuable stuff done' that is both good enough and just in time!


But... oh the almighty 'but', business agility and agile in business, will only occur IF you have supportive leadership. Leaders who have agility ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement), been educated and trained in business agility and who have adopted the mindset that goes with... Why? Let's find out more.

With industries, segments and various markets shifting, new tools and technologies advancing, and customer expectations evolving - they 'customers' (and just as you and I) will compare their last (best or worst) experience regardless of industry, product or service to their next experience and at lightning speed. So, the ability to respond swiftly and effectively to change, your business and change for your customers (within your customer chain) has become a truly critical determinant of success. 


From my first-hand experience I'll elaborate on why it's essential for business leaders to understand and adopt business agility and offer some practical guidance for hesitant companies and their leaders on how to embrace this transformative approach.


Why Business Agility Matters: Business agility is the capacity of an organisation to anticipate, respond to, and capitalise on change in a rapidly evolving environment. In today's dynamic marketplace, characterised by disruption and uncertainty, business agility offers numerous benefits:


1. Faster Adaptation: Agile organisations can pivot quickly in response to changing market conditions, customer preferences, and emerging opportunities, gaining a competitive edge in the process. Rather than wait for something to happen, a risk to unfold, complaints to increase or customers to move on - being adaptable allows you to be the 1st responder. 


2. Enhanced Innovation: Business agility fosters a culture of experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement, empowering teams to innovate and iterate rapidly to meet evolving customer needs. Here you can test and learn - whilst looking to be a 1st responder utilising innovation. 


3. Improved Resilience: By embracing change as a constant and building adaptive capabilities, agile organisations are better equipped to navigate unexpected challenges and disruptions with resilience and agility.


4. Increased Customer Value: Business agility enables organisations to deliver (meaningful) value to customers more efficiently and effectively, fostering stronger customer relationships and driving long-term loyalty and satisfaction.

Overcoming Hesitancy: While the benefits of business agility are clear, many organisations and their leaders may feel hesitant or uncertain about embracing this transformative approach.


From my experience, agility in business and business agility, will not work if it doesn't start from the 'top down', meaning that any bottom-up efforts will be futile if your leaders don't embrace and adopt agility in business. At the very least (leaders must) hold a basic ADKAR of the agile mindset to support their thought leadership on the contemporary ways of working and to empower their teams.


Here's how hesitant organisations and their leaders can overcome their reservations and embark on the journey towards business agility:

1. Educate and Inform: Start by educating leaders first, and then their (direct report) teams about the principles and benefits of business agility. Provide resources, workshops, and training sessions, or one-on-ones if needed, to build understanding and awareness of agile concepts and methodologies.


2. Start Small, Scale Gradually: Begin with small, low-risk pilot projects to demonstrate the value of agile ways of working. Encourage experimentation and learning, and gradually scale agile initiatives as confidence and capabilities grow.


3. Foster Psychological Safety: Create a culture of psychological safety where individuals feel comfortable taking risks, sharing ideas, and challenging the status quo. Encourage open communication, collaboration, and a growth mindset.


4. Lead by Example: Leadership plays a crucial role in driving organisational change. Lead by example by embracing agile principles in your own approach to work, fostering transparency, open-mindedness, collaboration, adaptability, and a focus on customer value. Hold the mirror - does what you as a leader hold up to what you say you'd like done and what you're doing. A favourite catch phrase from some parenting notes that might be familar - 'do as I say not as I do'. This doesn't cut it when leading with agility and adopting business agility mindset - you need to 'walk the walk'. Lead by example - just get in there, try, test, and share. 


5. Provide Support and Resources: Offer support, insights, resources, and coaching to teams as they transition to agile ways of working. Invest in training, mentoring, and ongoing support to build competency and confidence in agile practices. Tapping into coaching and ensuring the business transistion to readiness with change management resources on board can really support leaders and teams. 


6. Celebrate Successes and Learn from Failures: Recognise and celebrate successes and milestones along the agile journey. Encourage a culture of learning and continuous improvement by reflecting on both successes and failures and using insights to inform future efforts.


7. Seek External Guidance: Consider partnering with experienced business agility consultants or coaches who can provide guidance, support, and best practices tailored to your organisation's unique needs and challenges. You're not alone! Many other organisations have gone through what you're looking to adopt - seek out friendlies or agility consultants who can share their experiences and learn from their lessons.


With the 'bite-size' guide here, you'll see that embracing business agility is essential for organisations looking to thrive in a rapidly changing business environment. 


By understanding the benefits of business agility, overcoming hesitancy through education and support, and embracing a culture of experimentation and learning, hesitant organisations and their leaders can adopt new levels of adaptability, innovation, and resilience, driving sustainable success for their organisation, their teams, and their customers.



For more information on how you can start to explore your business agility potential and how we can help you- Contact | quenable or email directly to info@quenable.com.au


1 view0 comments

Kommentare

bottom of page