He who control others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
Topics
Our latest thoughts and recommended resources.
This is the Reason Your Middle Managers are Stressed
Today’s workplace is experiencing a culture clash between the top and bottom — between the old “waterfall” ways of managing and the new “Agile” ways of the modern workplace. Management at the top is still operating under outdated silo, or “waterfall,” practices. These waterfall practices within the management structure are characterized by hierarchical decisions that trickle down … Continued
It’s about Teamwork
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” –Michael Jordan
Our approach of Taking Agile to the Top is rooted in the understanding that teamwork creates expanded results. We create leadership teams that can move together and adapt towards a shared goal. Lencioni’s fable introduces root cases of common politics and dysfunctions and outlines the characteristics of high performing teams. This book has been invaluable in our understanding of how individuals can authentically connect with each other, build trusting relationships that foster innovation and creativity.
Agile Principals across Business Sectors
Agile methodology was first designed in 2001 to help software teams respond to the unpredictability that arose with the complexity of software development. Agile moved away from the plan up front predictable project management style of waterfall to an incremental and iterative method. Reading through the Agile Manifesto and it’s twelve agile principals you’ll begin to see the foundation for a company that is thriving in the 21st century.
- Customer focused
- Adaptive
- Intrinsically motivated individuals
- Collaboration
The Friction between Agile Culture and Traditional Management Culture
Steve Denning describes the differences between the traditional vertical structure of management and the adaptive horizontal structure of agile. With the traditional structure being conceived over 150 years ago, Denning details how the business landscape has changed since its origins and how our organizational structures need to adapt to keep up.
An Epidemic of Disengagement
Deloitte’s “Global Human Capital Trends 2015” report states the No. 1 issue facing organizations this year is employee engagement and culture. The study reports that only 13 percent of the global work force is highly engaged. What has changed in the workplace to cause this systematic problem? How do we engage people in an agile way that is flexible, empowering and promotes accelerated learning? Most importantly, how do we keep pace with the changing needs of our employees?