What Is an Agile Leader? - Mike Cohn

Let’s start with what agile leadership looks like.
Guide, Don’t Command
I’ve got a poster on my wall that shows the Monopoly man, the mascot of the Monopoly game. I had to look up his name, by the way. It’s Milburn Pennybags, also known as “Rich Uncle” Pennybags.
In the poster on my wall, Mr. Pennybags proclaims, “Leadership: Guide don't Command.” I bought the poster for two reasons. One, it’s funny to have my “rich uncle” looking over my shoulder during Zoom calls. And two, the motto actually summarizes agile leadership pretty well.
Agile leaders set out some goals and create a culture for people, but they don’t tell people what to do—they don’t assign specific tasks.
Agile leaders will say Let’s achieve this goal. But those leaders won’t dictate how to achieve that goal. Instead, they create a culture of teamwork, transparency, and continuous improvement. In other words, they create an environment where teams are empowered to achieve great things.
Traditional leaders might also do those things, but creating the culture is not the foremost thing on their minds.
So if you want to be a more agile leader, start by doing less telling and more inspiring. Set big audacious goals for your teams and create an environment where they can succeed. If you do, I suspect two things will happen. Most times, your teams will surprise you with their ideas and innovation. And every time, guiding instead of commanding will help you succeed with agile.

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