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Developing Leadership Skills Using Agile Methods
Joe Wrenn
Ohio University
MBA 6340 - Organizational Behavior and Human TResource Management
Dr. Gretchen Schaupp
December 5, 2020
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Developing Leadership Skills Using Agile Methods
Introduction
Agile leadership techniques have been gaining popularity in business over the last few
years. Leadership agility is defined as the ability to lead effectively when uncertainty and rapid
change are customary and when success requires the consideration of multiple views and
priorities (Joiner, 2009). Agile leadership requires a process of using enhanced awareness and
intentionality to improve effectiveness under real-time conditions (Joiner, 2009). This includes
taking a step back from what you are currently focused on, gaining a broader perspective, and
bringing a new insight to what is next to be done (Joiner, 2009). This paper will first look at
past leadership roles that I was involved with and evolve into future leadership aspirations. I will
discuss areas in leadership that I feel are a weakness and how I can change by stepping away
from my comfort zone and imploring my tribe of resources to make overall self-improvements.
In the end, I feel my leadership skills will be stronger and my work will be much more efficient.
Background
Like many teenagers, my work life began behind the counter of a fast-food restaurants. I
began working at age sixteen and after a couple of years I was promoted to manager. My
responsibilities included overall shift management including customer service, staffing, quality
control, inventory, and money management. Even though these jobs are typically viewed as
“entry level”, the experienced I received has been invaluable.
Shortly after high school, I became involved in emergency services as a firefighter and
paramedic. Within a couple of years, I was promoted as a paramedic supervisor. My shifts were
typically 24 hours long. I was responsible for responding as a solo paramedic to either first
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respond or to back up a transporting ambulance crew. Additionally, I was responsible for
equipment and pharmaceutical inventory and ordering, scheduling and employee issues, vehicle
maintenance, and overall shift management. I separated from this field after a career ending
injury. Again, the experienced I gained will be with me forever.
Currently, I work in a position selling custom fire apparatus. I am one of eleven sales
representatives for a dealership in Pennsylvania. This dealership has revenues of over $50
million per year. There are multiple dealerships that cover the entire United Sates as well as
Canada. My territory encompasses ten counties in northwestern Pennsylvania and about 300 fire
departments. I have been in my current position for nearly five years. The dealership also
provides service and maintenance of fire trucks from four facilities across Pennsylvania. I have
two sales managers that oversee the sales team. Even though I am not currently in a
management position, I eventually hope to be while remaining with this company. Through
either expansion or retirements, positions will become available withing the next 3-5 years. I
think that if I can “fine-tune” some areas that I feel I can improve; it will make me a stronger
candidate for the position and a better manager, should the opportunity present itself. Using an
agile management technique will help me to be the best possible leader that I can be.
Problem Statements
I have identified a few areas that I feel that I can improve on. For each, I will state the
problem, where I currently am and where I hope to be in the future. For each problem I will also
identify my “tribe” of resources as well as how I can step outside of my comfort level to make
actual changes for the better. From there, I will reflect and re-evaluate and adjust my approach
as needed.
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Move Towards Technology
I look back to my late teens and early adulthood and realize that I was around for the birth of
modern technology. Commodore 64 personal computer, a bag cell phone, and a pager. I always
thought I was up to date on the latest technology. Somewhere along the way, technology
progressed fast than I did. Technology has also changed the way selling happens. I have come to
the realization that I need to embrace the new technology or lose sales to someone that has. A
study in the US and UK identified six major technology themes that sales representatives need to
excel in to compete in today’s markets. The themes are connectivity, relationships including
personal contact, socialness and buyer preferences, selling tools, generational, global, and
sales/marketing interface (Marshall et al., 2012). Although all six themes are important in most
cases, I feel that I can benefit most from using technology to stay connected to my customers.
According to an article by Aqua finance Inc., ¾ of Americans own a smart phone and examining
people between 18 and 29, that number jumps to 94% (Author Unknown, 2019).
Connectivity is defined as the level to which a person is connected or available to their
clients (Marshall et al., 2012). The days of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. office hours are over. Customers
expect immediate and full access to any piece of information that they are looking for. Technology
has allowed us to satisfy this need. We can now have a wealth of information at our fingertips and
in our pockets. I have realized that to excel, I need to be “plugged in” 24/7. I also need to have
access to any information my customer can be requesting remotely. I travel frequently for work
and with the correct applications on my phone, any information requested can be shared almost
immediately. Currently, if a customer or manager needs information, I must wait until I am in
front of my computer to provide it.
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Examining my tribe of resources, I have several that will be able to help me to use technology
to connect better with customers and managers. I would first talk to other sales reps and managers
that I work with to see what is working for them and what is not. I would also talk to my teenage
sons to see if they could guide me to better utilize technological tools that are available to connect
with customers and be more efficient with information. Another resource I would consult with is
a former sales coach that I had worked with in the past. He may be able to give me ideas of what
tools are most effective to reach my goal of being better connected.
I mentioned earlier that I use technology currently but I in no way optimize the possibilities
that it has to offer. I am typically a creature of habit. To try new tools will be a huge adjustment
for me. I will invest a lot of time in researching the best tools to get the desired effects and leaning
on the people around me to find the optimal solutions.
A large component of the agile method is the reflect, refine, and repeat. After a period, I will
ask customers for feedback to see if they are receiving the appropriate information in a time frame
that is acceptable. If any short comings are discovered, I will adjust to use the technology
effectively or look for a different tool that might work better. I will also ask other co-workers to
see if the tools worked for them or if they decided to use another tool. One last area that I will
evaluate is if this new use of technology has improved my organization and time management as
I expect it to.
Move away from technology
In addition to moving towards technology to connect with customers through information
management, I also would like to move away from technology to also connect with customers. I
feel that some aspects of technology take the personalization away from relationships. The impact
of recognizing customers by liking Facebook posts, or tweets, or Instagram posts become diluted
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when you are one of hundreds that are also clicking the like button. I would like to move away
from technology by sending handwritten notes to customers using paper, pen, and a stamp.
Because society has moved towards digital appliance to thank people, handwritten notes are more
thoughtful and more appreciated. Forbes lists several reasons to write thank you notes. The first
is that expressing gratitude is simply the right thing to do (Olson, 2017). another reason is that it
sets you apart and makes you appear more polished (Olson, 2017). Additionally, Florence Isaacs
explains that with a written note, you are not distracted from reaching within and exploring what
you feel and what you want to say because there is no mechanical or technological equipment to
act as a barrier (Isaacs, 2015). I feel that as a future leader, handwritten notes to employees would
also improve moral and work performance.
My tribe to move away from technology to show gratitude would be much more limited than
my initial tribe. I think members of an older generation would be better resources than younger
generations. My mother has always written very thoughtful thank you notes, and I think she could
show me a lot regarding style. I think that members of our marketing team could also help
immensely on what words work best. And the University’s writing lab could also help to adjust
the wording and grammar to make these letters an important statement to the recipient.
I feel that I show gratitude often. Typically, it involves face to face interactions or possibly a
phone conversation. I really try not to thank someone by email or text message. But to hand write
a note will be somewhat uncomfortable. I first worry that the recipient will be able to read my
handwriting. Secondly, I am concerned about spelling and grammatical errors. I will have to be
diligent about keeping a stack of note cards on my desk and writing them to everyone that I think
I should and to write them in a timely manner. I will take my time and write slowly to try to keep
them as neat as possible. I will also have several of them proofread before I send them in the mail.
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To evaluate the effectiveness, I will see if I receive feedback from anyone that would receive a
note. I will also receive feedback from any of the several people who I will have proofread notes
before they are sent. I will also ask customers in another industry how they would feel about
receiving a personalized note card.
Time Management Skills
I feel that one of my weakest areas currently is efficient time management. I work from home
and am not micromanaged by my employer. They do not monitor how long I am online or make
me document where I am and what I am doing. If I am selling, they really do not care what I do.
I tend to procrastinate which ultimately creates a back up of work with deadlines that could have
been completed much earlier. An article by Inc. Magazine states that on average, 21.8 hours per
week are wasted (Finkel, 2018). They list the largest time stealers as 3.9 hours in mental health
breaks, 3.4 hours on low value email, and 3.2 hours dealing with low-value interruptions (Finkel,
2018). Other time-wasting activities include nonproductive meetings, low-value requests from coworkers, and business activities that have no to little value (Finkel, 2018). I feel that time
management is something that could be taught to others when I eventually am promoted to a
leadership position in my company.
The members of my tribe to help me improve my time management would first be my fellow
co-workers. I would contact each sales rep to see how they stay on task and what helps them
maximize their time management. I would also research software applications to aid in compiling
a schedule and to stay on task. I would also utilize family members, since I work from home, to
look at my daily schedule to see if I were able to accomplish everything scheduled for the day.
This would only be until the time management changes became part of my daily routine.
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Strict time management will set me outside of my comfort zone. It will take a strict schedule
and discipline to accomplish these tasks. Likehack.org put together a list of ways to improve time
management skills. Their list includes delegating tasks, prioritizing work, creating a schedule, set
deadlines, overcome procrastination, wisely deal with stress, avoid multitasking, starting early,
take regular breaks, and learning to say no (Kukreja, 2020). I narrowed this list down to the three
that applied the most to my situation. They are creating a schedule, setting deadlines, and avoiding
procrastination. I think that by having a daily schedule that is printed out and posted in my
workspace, having well defined deadlines, and recognizing and correcting procrastination, I could
utilize my time much more efficiently.
The steps I take to maximize my time management will take continual revisions. Unexpected
phone calls, customer issues, and emails will also affect the schedule and the time I have allotted.
The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of my efforts will be to see if I can complete tasks as
scheduled and that there is not much deviation from either the schedule or deadlines. I will also
be able to see that much more work is being accomplished compared to prior to the changes. Once
these efforts are perfected, they should be teachable. When I am promoted to a leadership position,
my employees should work more efficiently and be able to use their time more usefully.
Conclusion
The agile leadership method has been gaining ground throughout the business world. The
agile method requires continual reassessment and adjustments to constantly improve the
outcome. This method also requires individual to utilize their “tribe” or available people and
resources to accomplish their goals. This paper examined three areas that I look to use the agile
method to prove the way I currently work. My tribe resources are listed for each as well as the
steps I will and the re-evaluation process for each. I feel the agile method could improve my
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work methods of utilizing technology and at the same time moving away from technology, as
well as better time management.
References
Author Unknown. (2019, June 26). Using technology to communicate with clients. Aqua
Finance, Inc.. https://www.aquafinance.com/resource-center/news-articles/usingtechnology-to-communicate-with-clients/
Finkel, D. (2018, March 1). Which of these time thieves is stealing 21.8 hours a week of your
working day? inc.com. https://www.inc.com/david-finkel/new-study-shows-yourewasting-218-hours-a-week.html
Isaacs, F. (2015). Just a Note To Say...: The Perfect Words for Every Occasion (2nd ed.). Potter
Style.
Joiner, B. (2009). Creating a Culture of Agile Leaders: A Development Approach. changewise,
32(4), 29.
Kukreja, R. (2020, May 22). 10 practical Ways to Improve Time Management Skills.
LIfehack.org. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-ways-improve-your-timemanagement-skills.html
Marshall, G. W., Moncrief, W. C., Rudd, J. M., & Lee, N. (2012). Revolution in Sales: The
Impact of Social Media and Related Technology on the Selling Environment, 32(3).
Olson, N. (2017, January 22). Five Reasons To Write Thank You Notes. Forbes.com.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyolson/2017/01/22/five-reasons-to-write-thank-younotes/?sh=27091a712811
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