As many businesses in the world are not adopting agile and scrum frameworks for product development and project management, there is a greater need for the leaders in those organizations to be quicker at making decisions, adaptable and flexible. If you are interested in really getting the benefits of the Scrum way of doing things, you need to have effective leaders. What does leadership look like in Scrum?
Despite many thinking that Agile and Scrum, in particular, gives all the power to the team, making it self organised, this is not true and the role of a leader has not been made obsolete but has evolved.
In the context of Scrum, to fine polish some of the leadership skills and understand how to get the most of Scrum teams – relevant individuals might want to consider the CAL certification or Certified Agile Leadership Certification.
Being More Present and Attentive
To be an effective leader in Agile and Scrum, you need to be there, in the present. There are definite merits to being strategic and planning for success, but you need to lead things as they happen. When you are there with your team you have a greater awareness of what is happening and can address the challenges that really need to be tackled with your team.
You need to listen deeply to what your team is saying and ask the right questions to get the insights you need to push things forward and pass any obstacle that gets in the way.
Be a Source of Inspiration for Innovation and Creativity For Your Employees
You’ve probably heard that Agile is not just a way of working at things more effectively, it is a way of being more effective and thinking more effectively.
Therefore, it is not enough if you want to develop a strong agile culture within your organization to just set in place methods and carry out project planning with lots of reviews that mean the work is improved constantly.
In your position as a leader, you need to inspire innovation and creativity from your employees so that your team is fully part of the progress your company makes.
Move Quicker
The word agile conjures up images of something being able to move quickly, when necessary. If your business is to have success, doing things right is one half of the solution, while doing things quickly is the other half. Organizations that move quicker than the competition to solve problems, create products, and supply to demands, are businesses that win in the end.
Agility tends to be more accessible when aspiration is the driving force behind actions. Ensuring that everyone is in the loop about what the final product or outcome should be and what all the work is heading towards, team members at every stage of the process will be more creative in reaching the finish line.
Being Creative and Resilient
When someone or something is agile, it is also seen as being flexible and able to grow and change. Companies that want to stay competitive, need to be flexible and adaptable. Rather than being caught up in worrying about what change might mean to their position and their ego, effective and strong leaders in Agile and Scrum are proud to be creative and resilient in the approach they take.
Ability to Adapt to Any Given Situation As it Occurs
Again, agility means being quick to switch and change things to meet fresh new challenges. Adaptability is crucial. In your position as a leader, you will be faced with challenges on a near-daily basis and simply referring to what you did last time or the day before is not always going to get you where you need to be next. You need to see your experience as a tool to develop new solutions, rather than just relying on the ways and approaches you have always taken.
