The world is uncertain and ambiguous. Change is the only constant, and the organisations that succeed are those that can adapt and thrive in a world that doesn’t stay the same. Organisations will have to learn to sense when change is coming and nimbly respond to it. These firms will move quickly, deliberately, expertly, thoughtfully, to align with a changing world.
If you’re reading this, chances are you want the same for your organisation. That’s great! Lucky for you, there are several ways you can go about improving the strategic agility of your company:
Instead of one-off visioning exercises, focus on a process that’s iterative
Agile is the ability to adapt. It requires a continuous process of testing and learning. It requires the ability to change direction at a moment’s notice. The process allows leaders to develop a strategic mindset instead of one limited to operational activities.
It requires a focus on innovation and collaboration and value creation, with a common strategic agenda owned by all executives. Strategic Agility is a cyclic process that must be reviewed continually throughout the year and is no longer a once-a-year strategy offsite to charter the course for the rest of the year.
Research indicates that Strategic Agility is essential for creating value for customers and for companies in order to stay competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
Make sure the mindset is focused on growth and not fixated on one touchpoint only
Strategic Agility is all about being able to adapt to uncertainty. You need to be willing to learn new things and experiment with your processes and knowledge in order to accomplish tasks. A growth mindset allows people to constantly improve themselves and their capabilities. If you have a growth mindset, you know that your capabilities can always be improved, even when faced with uncertainty.
Fixed mindset people focus too much on winning and aren’t able to accomplish much over time as the environment constantly changes. In an agile organisation, you focus on learning more than on winning. With a growth mindset, you are more likely to accomplish more than with a fixed mindset.
Tribes go over better than teams so be sure to focus on that
Traditional teams are organised into specific departments with clear roles and limited communication. They are slow to react to changing objectives, and the hierarchy is restrictive. In contrast, a tribe is a group of people who are passionate about each other and work collaboratively without strict work or communication boundaries in order to achieve a goal. Tribes are non-hierarchal and have high communication; everyone works together to accomplish a goal. Tribes have been used at Spotify and ING in order to empower individuals and encourage strategic agility.
Conclusion
There is a lot of uncertainty in the world, especially these days. Change is pretty much everything; organisations need to be able to adapt well. Improve the strategic agility of your organisation through going with tribes over teams, a growth mindset over a fixed one and focusing on an iterative process.
Need agile consultancy for your organisation? Reach out to SKILLFIRE today! We’ve got a clear path towards helping your business get fantastic customer outcomes.