Technology has dramatically changed the pace of business and speed is now essential to customer intimacy. Firms need metrics that track metabolic rate as well as scalability. The solution is AGILE methodologies.1 At the same time, the changing demographics of the workforce coupled with evidence that shows more diverse teams lead to more innovation has put Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) front and center, along with the fact that the 21st century leaders need to facilitate and drive outcomes from diverse workforces.2 As a result, there has been a constant pressure on leaders to examine themselves and evolve quickly, and change their leadership playbooks. While historically leadership has been about learning, doing and succeeding in a hierarchical context, today it is about leading a network of teams structured around mission-critical roles. This requires different skills like faster relationship building, influence over control, and clearer expression of values and behaviors. It also requires diversity of thought i.e. bringing in a multitude of perspectives to address complex problems, more like a goal-influencing process3.
It is a common misconception that working in an agile way means focusing on achieving goals fast. This is then simply translated into pushing people to work harder, typically under severe time pressure. This approach is stressful and unsustainable. Agile working is not simply about speeding up existing processes, it is about radically challenging our beliefs about how work gets done.
As both ‘Agile’ working and D&I have become strategic business priorities, the common response has been to identify ways in which these ideas create tension. On the surface they look diametrically opposed: one says, ‘be lean and move fast’ and the other says, ‘include different perspectives and take time to deliberate.’ However, on closer examination, it is clear that working in an agile way and being inclusive are not only interrelated, they are interdependent. Said another way, you can be inclusive but not agile, but you cannot be agile and exclusive.
The reason for this is because working in an agile way means working in teams. Agile is, at its core, a rapid action learning process for teams. Action learning is a process that involves teams working on real problems to develop new solutions to pressing, complex problems. And there is evidence to suggest that teams who can handle complex problems and adapt rapidly to changing circumstances are in fact inclusive. These teams tend to be made up of people who are different from each other; and different not only in terms of age, gender and ethnicity, but also in terms of personality and thinking styles. Their blended viewpoints and skills work together towards a common outcome, one that adds significantly more business value.
The situations that most demand agile working – complex situations that require a rapid response – are likely to make leaders shut down and become blinkered, the very opposite of being inclusive. So how, if one genuinely wants to be an inclusive and agile leader, does one go about it?
The answer lies in leaders thinking about themselves more as facilitators than traditional, hierarchical bosses. Their role is not to issue orders, but to ensure that team members are working collaboratively towards common goals. That means being aware not only of what people are like, but how they are interacting and treating others. This requires a considerable degree of emotional intelligence. Leaders need to be able to create an environment where differences are valued and where it can thrive. People need to feel confident to take a risk and speak out, raise concerns before an issue become a major problem, and share ideas that may sound initially outlandish. Leaders need to know not only how to spot genuine differences and nurture them, but also exert good judgement: to know whom to invite into the room, and when to close discussions down; to know which ideas are worth paying attention to and which should be respectfully discarded. This is difficult. We are instinctively drawn to people – and by extension pay greater attention to the ideas of people – who look, think and talk like us. Under pressure, this is heightened and our desire to take quick short cuts can result in higher levels of unconscious bias. This is extremely unhelpful when it comes to creating inclusive, agile teams.
Leaders also needs to successfully balance pressure and stress, shifting these reactions into balanced motivation. Over-worked, over-tired employees will not be happy or resilient.4 Our own research at YSC shows a clear correlation between leadership stress and deteriorating interpersonal relations. It is crucial that leaders become aware of this and manage it in themselves and their team.
Another watch out for an agile, inclusive leader is achieving the correct balance of harmony and conflict to generate creative tension. This is similar to how we learn experientially as humans – take risks, which creates tension within us, and then experiment and integrate our experiences into new ways of knowing, working and being. Leader who genuinely want to be effective and agile need to pay as much attention to developing their own interpersonal and relational leadership skills as much as their abilities to drive outcomes. Their development needs to be towards becoming ‘Goal-influencing’ leaders who facilitate an atmosphere of inclusivity at the individual and group level. Leaders who will shape the future will know how to manage the agile-inclusion paradox. They will leverage their relational skills, foster inclusion, and solve complex problems at pace.
Practical tips
- Learn more about agile working – go to a talk, course, speak with an expert.
- Help your businesses become more agile by conducting more extensive market research to better understand the marketplace.
- Train in facilitation – learn how to engage diverse thinking styles, approaches, and opinions in a constructive way. Practice running creative workshops or team meetings.
- Get to know the individual members of your team and their stories. Through this, establish a system for accountability, assigning individuals to roles and tasks where they feel valued and included and so can operate optimally.
- Create fluid, open communication streams that allow all parties to actively contribute ideas
- Build an internal network of colleagues from different backgrounds and in different roles, tapping into their expertise for a more creative outlook.
- Protect against personal biases. Actively guard against it, for example, put in place a structured hiring process to ensure you get the necessary diversity reflected in the group – demographic, cognitive, stylistic, and/or experiential/cultural
- Manage stress levels – your own and others, and learn practical and personalized methods to strengthen resilience for yourself and your people
YSC Consulting is an independent consultancy that helps organizations understand whether they have the leadership needed to achieve their future strategies. We are a global boutique made up of a diverse and eclectic group of professionals. Grounded in behavioral sciences, YSC consultants help organizations connect the dots between business strategy and leadership.