Since ever, change has been the only constant, and now more than ever; authentic leaders are facing an unprecedented challenge to lead their teams.
We all have been put to the test and probably we all recognize change necessity can come unexpectedly and without any warning, the need for cat-like reflexes, the ability to turn on a dime and lithely maneuver shifting environments is pivotal in predicting success.
And that agility starts with leadership whether you are on the street, with your family, running the business, managing a department, leading a project team, or simply stepping up to the plate.
According to Bill Joiner of ChangeWise, a Boston-based leadership and organization development firm with a network of global affiliates, although the business landscape is continuously changing, and as such makes it difficult to predict, there are two things he states with certainty:
· The pace of change will continue to increase. The change will not just happen, the rate at which it will happen in businesses will bump up proportionally to the rate at which technological advances increase.
· The level of complexity and interdependence will continue to grow. Interconnections previously unheard of will exist in the business world.
Developing agile leaders, both stated and unstated in the business, is an absolute must for handling the changes that are on the horizon.
Being agile means utilizing every component of agility in concert with one another. A person cannot be an effective agile leader without using creative agility as much as they use context-setting agility.
According to a survey of 130 senior executives and HR professionals in Fortune 500 companies, agility is ranked number one as the competency most critical for leaders. So, what does it really mean? In its simplest form, it is the ability to lead successfully during swift change and intensifying complexity from any level of the organization. And research reported in Leadership Agility, authored by Joiner, indicates that only ten percent of leaders today have mastered the level of agility needed for consistent leadership in today’s changing landscape.
What changes can you make in your leadership style to help yourself become more agile? Think about your approach to leadership and see if you can find any areas that need improvement, create a plan, and put it in place. Act!
