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Front Line Managers

Embracing an Agile Mindset

Linda Holroyd
Oct 6, 2023
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Embracing an Agile Mindset

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FountainBlue's October 6 Front Line Managers Online program was on the topic of 'Embracing an Agile Mindset'. Please join me in thanking our panelists. 

Our esteemed panelists represented a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, but they had much in common:

  • They thought, spoke and acted with agility and focused on the needs of the organization, the teams and the individuals.

  • They embrace continuous learning and bring a positive attitude and leadership/management style to their organizations.

  • They are exceptional and positive communicators with inspiring messages that connect and empower.

Below is a summary of thoughts and strategies on how to adopt an agile mindset.

Know Yourself

  • Embrace both your strengths and your weaknesses.

  • Work with people not-like-you and embrace opportunities to see the world from *their* perspective.

  • Connect with and lean on the team to help you know yourself and become a better version of yourself.

Develop Yourself

  • Be flexible and adaptive, especially in ways where you don't feel comfortable.

  • Nurture yourself so that you're bold enough to do the uncomfortable in order to learn and stretch.

  • You don't have to have deep understanding and knowledge for all things, but it would benefit you and others if you embrace opportunities to learn and grow.

Nurture the Team

  • Emphasis the 'what' rather than the 'who' when there's an issue, inviting all to brainstorm on how to improve outcomes next time.

  • Communicate and connect with transparency and authenticity, working with individuals and with the team, and working on the team dynamics.

  • Consistently practice open and respectful discourse within your team, with a focus on delivering results.

  • Leverage updated information on customer needs, market trends, technology availability, team dynamics, etc., to help you team proactively think, speak and act differently.

Respect the Flow

  • Adopt a growth mindset and a positive, can-do attitude, making it contagious for the team/group/organization to adopt.

  • Set the target requirements, offer the tools and processes, provide examples, model the way, but don't insist on the adoption of agile technologies and mindset.

  • Make the plans, work the plans, but flow with the inevitable curve balls which may shake up those buttoned-up plans, embracing them as learning and growth opportunities.

Push Through Together with Resilience and Resourcefulness

  • Agilely work with the team to deliver results with resilience and resourcefulness, in alignment with corporate mission, vision and values.

  • Manage expectations so that they are realistic, emphasizing successes and learnings, even when there's an overall 'failure'. 

  • Proactively plan a pivot, in alignment with market trends and business imperatives.

  • Nurture a culture which embraces failure as a learning opportunity.

We ended with a brainstorm on how to help everyone embrace an agility mindset:

  • Lead by Example

  • Communicate Clearly

  • Understand where they’re coming from

  • Collaborate

  • Share your experience

  • Learn their perspective

  • Encourage innovation

  • Know the history/context

  • Market trends

  • Business Case

  • Training

  • Understanding the roadblocks

Embracing agility is a difference maker, and we hope these thoughts help you personally become more agile, and introduce more agile, flexible perspectives in the workplace.

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