Lean-Agile leadership

In SAFe, management is still utilized, although not in the traditional management style that many of us are accustomed to. Extensive status reports, long meetings, and the command-and-control environment are left behind.

Management is still quite valuable, but managers are there to lead change, guide where necessary, and provide the inspiration for teams to succeed. Managers provide the training required for new or inexperienced employees. They also try to remove any barriers that exist within the teams so team members feel mutually respected and valued. Decision-making is left to the teams themselves, with management working more on a high-level strategy to determine future work projects.

Teams really enjoy having control of their own projects and soon become self-motivated to resolve project issues or hindrances. They take pride in their successes and look forward to working as a team to deliver success. Organizations often have more satisfied and accomplished employees and are able to deliver more projects in quicker delivery cycles than ever before. Middle managers do not feel left behind in this new Lean-Agile leadership, but rather become inspired to help create and guide teams to reach their highest potential.

For more information on the core competencies of the Scaled Agile Framework, see Seven Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise – Lean-Agile Leadership.

Let’s take a look at the third core competency related to large-scale Agile implementation, namely continuous learning culture, in the next step.