Agile Leadership, Innovation and Excellence #251002

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Mindset Shift: Internalize the core principles of agile leadership and contrast them with traditional management paradigms.

• Lead Change: Develop strategies for leading and sustaining organizational change initiatives with resilience and minimal resistance.

• Foster High-Performing Teams: Build, coach, and empower cross-functional teams to achieve autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

• Drive Innovation: Implement practical tools and techniques (e.g., Design Thinking, Lean Startup) to foster creativity and manage an innovation pipeline.

• Enable Operational Excellence: Utilize metrics and feedback loops to improve flow, quality, and customer value delivery.

• Cultivate a Learning Culture: Create a safe-to-fail environment that encourages experimentation, continuous improvement, and relentless learning.

This course is ideal for leaders and influencers at all levels who are responsible for guiding teams and organizations through transformation and growth.

• Senior Executives & VPs: Who set strategic direction and need to understand how to cultivate agility at scale.

• Mid-Level Managers & Directors: (e.g., Product, Engineering, Marketing, Operations) who lead departments and must translate strategy into action.

• Project & Program Managers: transitioning into agile coaching or product ownership roles.

• Agile Coaches & Scrum Masters: seeking to deepen their leadership capabilities and influence.

• Team Leads & Emerging Leaders: who are preparing to take on greater leadership responsibilities.

• Any professional tasked with leading innovation initiatives or change management programs.

• Pre-assessment
• Live group instruction
• Use of real-world examples, case studies and exercises
• Interactive participation and discussion
• Power point presentation, LCD and flip chart
• Group activities and tests
• Each participant receives a binder containing a copy of the presentation
• slides and handouts
• Post-assessment

Day 1: The Foundation – Mindset of an Agile Leader

• Morning:

  • Module 1: Welcome & The VUCA World: Course introduction, setting expectations, and the business case for agile leadership.

  • Module 2: From Manager to Leader: Exploring the crucial differences between traditional management and agile leadership. The role of the leader as a servant, coach, and facilitator.

• Afternoon:

  • Module 3: The Agile Leadership Mindset: Deep dive into core principles: vulnerability, transparency, empathy, and a focus on outcomes over output.

  • Workshop: Leadership Self-Assessment: Participants assess their current leadership style and identify key areas for growth.

  • Day 1 Recap & Key Takeaways.

Day 2: Building and Empowering High-Performing Teams

• Morning:

  • Module 4: The Psychology of High Performance: Understanding motivation (e.g., Dan Pink’s Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose), team dynamics, and psychological safety.

  • Module 5: Coaching for Growth: Introduction to powerful coaching frameworks (e.g., GROW model) for developing team members and unlocking potential.

• Afternoon:

  • Module 6: Empowerment & Delegation: Strategies for delegating effectively, granting autonomy, and avoiding micromanagement.

  • Simulation: The Coaching Dojo: Practical, hands-on practice using coaching conversations in real-world scenarios.

  • Day 2 Recap & Key Takeaways.

Day 3: Driving Customer-Centric Innovation

• Morning:

  • Module 7: Introduction to Innovation Frameworks: Combining Agile with Design Thinking and Lean Startup methodologies.

  • Module 8: Discovery & Empathy: Tools for deeply understanding customer problems and needs (e.g., empathy mapping, customer journey maps).

• Afternoon:

  • Module 9: Experimentation & Learning: How to formulate hypotheses, build Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and validate learning quickly and cheaply.

  • Workshop: Innovation Sprint: Teams work on a real business problem using the tools learned to propose an innovative solution.

  • Day 3 Recap & Key Takeaways.

Day 4: Leading Change and Achieving Excellence

• Morning:

  • Module 10: Leading Organizational Change: Applying change management models (e.g., Kotter’s 8-Step Process, ADKAR) in an agile context. Managing resistance and building coalition.

  • Module 11: Metrics for Excellence: Moving beyond velocity. Identifying and using value-based metrics (e.g., Cycle Time, Lead Time, Customer Satisfaction) to improve flow and quality.

• Afternoon:

  • Module 12: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Facilitating powerful retrospectives and embedding Kaizen (continuous improvement) into the team’s DNA.

  • Case Study: A Transformation Story: Analyzing a real-world example of agile transformation, its challenges, and successes.

  • Day 4 Recap & Key Takeaways.

Day 5: Integration and Personal Leadership Strategy

• Morning:

  • Module 13: Agile at Scale: Overview of scaling frameworks (e.g., SAFe, LeSS, Nexus) and the leader’s role in a scaled agile environment.

  • Module 14: Personal Resilience & Sustainability: Strategies for managing energy, preventing burnout, and maintaining resilience as a leader in a demanding environment.

• Afternoon:

  • Capstone Workshop: My Leadership Action Plan: Participants synthesize their learning and create a personalized 90-day action plan to implement key insights back in their workplace.

  • Course Review, Q&A, and Feedback.

  • Closing Ceremony & Certificates of Completion.