According to Mandy, who is a published author on Agile Leadership, Agile Leadership or in fact any form of leadership cannot succeed in a meaningful way without a foundation of purpose.
In this ‘between seasons’ conversation, Neil explores the connectivity between Purpose and Agile Leadership with Mandy Hossami, a published author on the subject of Agile. They discuss how and why Purpose is a foundational principle to Agile and why both are critical to the success organizations and teams that adopt Agile.
Especially since the pandemic, lots of organizations have been talking about Agile, the common characteristics are that it encourages the ability and process to think, act, pivot and progress towards objectives quickly and effectively. At PurposeFused we believe that Purpose is also a key ingredient to the success of an Agile culture. Purpose is the reason people operate and contribute at their best and deliver positive impact.
Neil and Mandy talk about how Agile leadership and Purpose complement each other and that having a sense of purpose, or ‘why’, is the life blood of any organization. To share that Purpose with employees harnesses the power of the many. This ensures that everyone pulls together and feels good about the culture they are part of and the role they play, in helping the organization meet its objectives.
If an organization aspires to be ‘a high performing organization where people want to come to work’ we know that simply paying a high salary and forgetting about other ingredients will only go so far in driving performance and success. A unified Purpose will help galvanize such an organization and make success more likely in an uncertain and changing world. People go above and beyond when they believe that what they are doing has meaning.
An Agile culture underpinned by a foundation of Purpose will quickly and effectively enable an organization and its people to find their way on the journey; demonstrate innovation, decisiveness, flexibility and adaptability as they advance forward. Their resilience is bolstered by believing in what they are doing, because of why it matters. Because they share this Purpose between them, they are more open to communication, collaboration, testing, failing and improving – to ultimately find a way that works. Hear Mandy’s perspective on this in our most recent Connecting with Purpose episode.
A thought leader and advisor to senior business leaders, Mandy has worked with listed companies and entrepreneurial start-ups on how they create and maintain healthy cultures, manage change and lead with passion and integrity. A firm believer in lifelong learning she recently returned to University College London to complete a Masters in Industrial, Organization and Business Psychology. Along the way she became passionately interested in Agile Leadership, gained a distinction and became their oldest student!
Here are the keynotes to the conversation:
- 1:30 – What is Agile Leadership
- 4:00 – Agile Leadership & Purposeful Culture
- 6:05 – Purpose and Leadership behaviors for Agile
- 9:15 – Characteristics of Agile Leaders who are also purposeful: Humility; Authentic Regular Communication across the Org
- 13:45 – Presence of purpose in motivating people
- 15:00 – Examples of spectrum Re: when Agile works / doesn’t
- 17:30 – Environment within which Agile Leadership can thrive
- 19:30 – Waterfall Management vs Agile
- 21:30 – Engagement & Agility
To be an Agile Leader you have to empower your people and motivate them with a clearly articulated, understood and shared purpose. To learn more about how we use purpose to optimize leaders’ and teams’ potential, please get in touch!