Today’s companies require agile leaders in an ever-changing, ultra-competitive environment

“What is some advice you would give to a leader who has a hard time letting go of the reigns and delegating to others?”

‍In today’s dynamic business environment, the end customer has more information than at any time in human history. This information increases the need for organizations to maintain an agile culture. Customers expect companies to know them, understand them and cater to their needs. This creates an ultra-competitive environment and businesses are constantly looking for the edge needed to stay relevant. This may come in the form of improved or innovative product, reduced pricing (cutting expenses), better customer engagement and customer service or a number of other goals to support company growth. Companies need strategic and agile leaders that thrive in this dynamic environment to execute their goals.

I have been fortunate enough to lead organizations of different sizes from 20 employees up to 4,000+ employees over the last 20 years. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned over that span is the need for an agile culture with agile leaders that can push the company forward and ensure the execution of policies, procedures, programs and culture change. Identifying agile leaders to foster culture change in an organization is pertinent to its long-term success. Agile leaders recognize the need to continually ‘innovate and adapt’ and move swiftly to steer the organization on the right path. These change agents can propel a company forward by offering solutions and executing critical programs throughout the organization while maintaining a positive outlook for others to emulate. They have the ability to tackle any problem at any time. They focus on defining the problem and then aggressively attacking that problem with a succinct communication plan and clear vision. They do not shy away from leadership and they are not scared to fail, as long as they fail fast, learn and move forward. Most importantly, they know how to leverage resources to maximize efficiencies and ensure the business continues to maintain growth while executing critical programs.

These agile leaders have a clear understanding of the principles identified in “Extreme Ownership.” Primarily, the need to “Prioritize and Execute,” “Cover and Move,” “Keep it Simple” and implement a culture that leverages a “Decentralized Command” structure. Organizations need these types of leaders now more than ever. Every company is searching for an advantage and sometimes that advantage can be as simple as identifying and empowering the right agile leaders to affect change in their business.