What is an agile manager?

What is agility?

The agile method brings together a set of behaviors, reflexes and a way of working that allow you to adapt to various changes.

For example, a new competitor on the market offers a very interesting offer. Agile management allows teams to react quickly, to be proactive and in turn to test new competitive offers.

The fundamentals of agility are based on:

Continuous improvement  : we test, we modify, we learn from our mistakes, we test again… With agile management, you have to accept the idea of ​​delivering products/services that will not necessarily be successful from the first rendering.

Flexibility : being  able to absorb changes in priorities.

Adaptation :  agile management makes it possible to adapt quickly to the different situations that a company may experience: appearance of a competitor, flop of a product, declining audiences, departure of a senior manager, containment linked to an epidemic …

Like all skills, agility is worked on a daily basis, by multiplying professional experiences.

What is the role of the agile manager?

The role of the agile manager is identical to that of an orchestra conductor. He makes sure that the different parts of the project and the team work in harmony and in sync. When the agile method is used, the manager is responsible for its proper use. He has to make sure it’s in place.

How to implement agility in your team when you are a manager?

Agility is a posture adopted by the manager. The agile manager adopts the fundamentals of agility – continuous improvement, adaptation and flexibility -, implements them, then disseminates them in his team.

In recent years, working in project mode has largely taken over the old siled organizations. The project mode allows the implementation of agility by the managers, by creating a collaboration with the different teams of the company. They work together, and more separately, in the interest of the customer and the company.

Agile management requires a lot of autonomy from the team and can take time to set up correctly.

The manager who implements the agile method within his team pursues four objectives that serve the interests of the company:

Offer a rebound capacity to the company. It is being able to change paths along the way if the one taken is not suitable.

More locally, agile management also aims to improve the motivation of teams, who will work over shorter periods (known as sprints. Generally between two and four weeks) and on more varied subjects.