Agile Leadership with Heart
Concurrent Session 1 & 2 (combined)

Brief Abstract
The Global Pandemic has taken a toll on every aspect of our society and education is no exception. As leaders, we need to shift our mindset to provide a more agile structure for supporting our teams, our institutions, and most importantly, our students. Come learn about agile leadership, with heart.
Presenters





Extended Abstract
The Global Pandemic has taken a massive toll on every aspect of our society and online education is no exception. As our teams have dispersed to working remotely, there is greater need for flexibility, understanding, trust, and compassion. Our traditional leadership roles have been challenged and will continue to evolve as we navigate this uncertain future. As leaders, we need to shift our mindset and strategies to provide a more agile structure for supporting our teams, our institutions, and most importantly, our students.
Borrowing from the software development sector, agile leadership equips us with proven techniques our teams need to thrive in our current unpredictable circumstances. At the core of agile is servant leadership and trust. Employing agile is often accompanied with a mindset shift, valuing people above all else. This highly motivating method instills confidence in the expertise of team members while bolstering morale, thereby improving the team dynamic as well as delivering value from the onset, failing fast to provide efficiency in the process, and involving key stakeholders as true partners.
As agile leaders, this requires our engagement in critical, timely conversations to choreograph a collaborative vision that illuminates a meaningful path forward for our teams and institutions. Our role as leaders need to shift from managing to coaching the members of our teams towards self-directed and self-organized work. Providing the structure and processes to self-organize when issues arise and removing roadblocks to teams’ success. It empowers our teams to truly own their skill sets and to take the initiative to deliver value-laden solutions as needs arise. By building a community among teams, relationships are strengthened overall.
While successfully inspiring others to become agents of change is important, so is compassion and leading with the heart. The distanced working situation we find ourselves in currently means we need to come up with more creative and meaningful ways to really connect with one another. Without the ability to casually strike up a conversation in the office hallway, colleagues can feel disconnected and even isolated. As leaders, we also need to be aware of this dynamic and understand how to keep our teams connected and thriving. Leaders can leverage principles of Agile leadership to better support the members of their team, further supporting an environment of inclusivity and fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness. Creating this culture shift in our professional environments can bring positive changes which will help us thrive in the current times and guide us to long-term success.
Interactivity:
In this workshop, you will learn about the affordances of agile leadership and why it is critical for leading during a pandemic, and beyond. Through self assessments and sharing activities with your peers, you will determine your readiness to implement this approach. You will explore strategies for helping your team transition, and you will develop an ‘Agile Toolkit’ you can use to equip your team for future success.
Takeaways:
Attendees of this session will
- Identify the basic principles of agile leadership
- Discuss strategies for transitioning to an agile approach
- Develop a custom toolkit for helping their teams transition to an agile approach