“The Case for an Agile Leadership Team” by Jeff Rendel, Certified Speaking Professional
“It’s been nearly three months. We have proven we can alter our delivery systems and ability to produce on a tight, demanding schedule in an externally influenced, adverse environment. We need that same dexterity from our own internal, positive force. It is time to discuss and plan for growth, whatever form it takes. We have the capital. We have the brand. We have the talent. We don’t have the time to waste.”
Those words – shared by a credit union CEO and sent to her leadership team – have been echoed by many credit union leaders in recent weeks. Perhaps, it is time to heed the words of that CEO and similar sentiments of others and begin discussing the case for growth through an agile leadership team. The lessons learned from being quick to act are just as valuable for new products, processes, markets, and models. Review these agile leadership essentials and incorporate them into the dynamics of your leadership team.
- Ask “How Can We?” — a lot This fast-forward approach is based on creating a solution or acting on an opportunity. It puts your team in a state of mind designed to generate ideas, unravel challenges, and deliver results. It creates a culture of action and momentum, always moving forward.
- Attack one opportunity at a time. The normal business of banking must be balanced with the need to innovate. As you prioritize, insist that your team focus and finish as it embarks on new projects. One completed venture outdoes many piecemeal undertakings.
- Bring diverse experts together for planning and execution. Your credit union serves members many departments at a time; various roles are part of members’ experiences. Creating new solutions for members should involve a range of professionals; a multidisciplinary approach is essential. All perspectives should be understood to sharpen the initiative through its development.
- Set 30-, 60-, and 90-day sprints for implementation. Self-imposed deadlines create urgency and energy. They create entrepreneurial actions to get original ideas and remedies to market and members right away. Observe incremental project milestones along the way, too. Small celebrations consistently reenergize and add to a team’s level of commitment.
- Learn, remain flexible, and adapt. Odds are good that the initial ideas toward cracking a challenge will not be the final product. But the refinements to concepts along the way will produce a result that matters most. Objectives are constantly steady; approaches change to reflect the most valuable and practical ways to reach a target or destination.
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” reads the adage of folklore. The benefits of an agile leadership team are plentiful: faster delivery of solutions and services; improved responses to countless kinds of demands; and enhanced financial and operating results. One might argue that agility is an indispensable advantage in a competitive landscape, too. More important, agility provides the opportunity to release the capacity of your leadership team in an industry, environment, and economy that can change in a moment.
© 2020 by Jeff Rendel. All rights reserved.
Jeff Rendel, Certified Speaking Professional and President of Rising Above Enterprises, works with credit unions that want entrepreneurial results in sales, service, and strategy. Each year, he addresses and facilitates for more than 100 credit unions and their business partners.
Contact: jeff@jeffrendel.com; www.jeffrendel.com; 951.340.3770.