AGILE PEOPLE
MANAGER
By Stella Ihenacho

GOAL OF THIS SESSION:
This session will help us achieve a higher degree of understanding on the impact
that Agile People Managers have on Agile teams and the Organisation.
It will also show how executives making the move to Agile can keep their
managers engaged and motivated

AN AGILE TRANSFORMATION
Involves restructuring a company’s workforce as a relatively flat network of
cross-functional, flexible teams empowered to direct their own activities and
make day-to-day decisions. As a result, most of the conventional manager’s
responsibilities—such as planning projects, assigning tasks, documenting
progress, and evaluating employees—get absorbed by other roles. When a
company’s agile transformation is complete, it will have more opportunities for
individual contributors and leaders, but few, if any positions for managers.

Can we all agree that the agile world is somewhat of a new world
for most organizations?
THE PEOPLE MANAGER

Who is An Agile People Manager?
Typical mid level managers begin their careers as strong individual contributors
and win a series of promotions that shift their responsibilities away from making
individual contributions and toward directing the work of others.
During this progression, these managers acquire influence they can use to shape
the company’s character

Oscillating Between Agile teams And Management

Functions Of An Agile People Manager?
● Managing Teams within An Agile Enterprise
● Managing The Value Of The Work
● Managing The Organization

Managing Teams Within An Agile Enterprise
The agile manager’s domain is as an intimate outsider and champion of the team,
not as an inside micromanager or chum.
Agile teams do not need managers directing their work.
Instead, the manager’s role is to set the team up for success and then support
from the outside – from the boundary of the team itself. They observe how they
work and develop over time; how to form them and nurture their growth; and
how to measure, reward, and sustain them for the long term.
Functions Of An Agile People Manager

Managing Teams Within An Agile Enterprise
● Resource Management
● Performance Management

Managing The Value Of Work
As an Agile manager, we want to be able to use this empirical approach to
understand how our teams are doing, where they need help, and where they are
excelling.
Peter Drucker said, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” This is core to
understanding if you are actually delivering the most valuable products to the
customer. Agile managers must understand what we should measure, and what
we should not measure. They must also not confuse activity from
accomplishment, and ensure that what is being measured has a target that drives
the intended impact.

Managing Organisational Change
In order to move towards an Agile culture, the Agile manager must take a
lean-agile mindset. This is a mindset that takes an economic view of all
decisions, and weighs those decisions against the principles and if they help meet
the principles.
When agile is introduced into an organization, a tremendous amount of
organizational change must occur to empower and enable agile teams in their
pursuit of delivering business value.
An agile manager needs to develop keen skills in organizational change and an
ability to shepherd an organization through the adoption change curve

Are You……?

Questions To Measure Your Impact.
● Do you provide significant organizational roadblock removal for agile teams?
● Is your performance management system helping guide teams to their
highest performance, while fairly evaluating both individual and team
contributions?
● Are you fostering an organization culture of value delivery to support agile
values?
● Do they perceive you as a coach and leader more than as a manager?
● Frequently, does your organization prioritize value over schedule and budget
compliance?

The key factor between an Agile People Manager and a Traditional
Manager- the key differentiating factor-
Mindset Change.
Agility doesn’t teach Servant Leadership or Culture (MINDSET)— It
teaches tools and processes to run a team and deliver products
and services.
But adopting a servant leadership mindset and acting on it is
essential to enabling the delivery pipeline of a sustainable
transformation.

Agile People Manager = Servant Leadership
“Servant leaders give up power and deputize others to lead.”
Skip Prichard
A servant leader brings focus to their team members, ensuring they are
developing professionally and have the capacity and competencies necessary to
do their work

Agile People Manager = Culture
“Servant leaders give up power and deputize others to lead.”
Skip Prichard
A servant leader brings focus to their team members, ensuring they are
developing professionally and have the capacity and competencies necessary to
do their work

Managers Navigating Agile Transformation?
With the absorption of their role, their main duties likely be redistributed and
their job titles erased from the organizational chart, Many will have legitimate
questions such as:
● Where will they fit into the new organization?
● What will they spend their time doing?
● How will their pay and opportunities for advancement change?
● Some might feel threatened and resist the transformation, leave the
company or struggle to master agile ways of working.

Best Pratices In Creating The Right Foundation For Agile People
Managers?
● Collaborating with managers on the company's agile
future
○ Define the roles and responsibilities of the organization in
terms of agility
○ Agility influenced Performance Assessment
○ Transparency in pay and career growth Provide training
focused on changing leadership style and mindset

Summary

AGILE TRANSFORMATION <>
AGILE TEAMS <>
AGILE PEOPLE MANAGER<>

Follow me:
Linked In: Stella Ihenacho
Email : sihenacho@nstartechnologies.com
IG :@nstar. technologies