Being an Agile Leader in the Process of Change

Photo by rick

In the process of change, have you ever felt like you’ve taken a step backwards?  Seen someone go back to old habits?  Watched teams lose their courage to change and stick with the status quo?

Change is hard.  It’s a process of growth that can be positive or negative. Watching a video of Virginia Satir talk about the process of change, I am reminded that the introduction of a foreign element can bring resistance.  And then the period of chaos.  Limbo.  The opportunity for catastrophic expectations.  That is when we need to breathe and find our place of centeredness.  Find a state of strength.  The old is not reliable, and our anxiety increases—this is essential for change.  If we breathe in this place, then we can find openness and experiment.  Practice and change.

My job is to help people develop their agile instincts.  To help them breathe and find their place of centeredness amidst the chaos of change.  To help them discover their motivation.  From Characteristics of Agile Organizations:

It takes a lot of strength to practice Agile at the individual level during a period in which it is not practiced, and might not even be recognized, at other levels. This kind of strength is the acid test for the Agile leader. Having the courage of their conviction is what ultimately leads to successful organizational transformation. Such success is not guaranteed, more often than not it takes a lot of time, and it might wear down an Agile leader who is forced to struggle for a prolonged time without witnessing immediate results. It is, however, this kind of strength that differentiates the Agile leader from the follower.

As Satir said, “Using my power to help people grow is different than bossing them.”