What Leaders Still Get Wrong About Agile
Leadership is the biggest enabler—or blocker—of agile transformation. Many execs say they support Agile, but their behaviours tell another story. This article outlines the common blind spots, and how leaders can shift from approval to alignment.
Part 1: The Disconnect
A familiar pattern: execs sign off on an Agile transformation, talk about speed and flexibility, then disappear. They expect faster delivery—but continue to ask for fixed scopes, perfect plans, and upfront certainty.
As Gokce said in the panel: “Leaders treat transformation as a technical change. But it’s adaptive—and they have to adapt too.”
Agile becomes someone else’s project. But when leadership stays the same, the system stays the same. And teams revert to old behaviours—just dressed in new language.
Part 2: The Most Common Leadership Blind Spots
1. Thinking Agile is a delivery framework
Agile isn’t just about how teams work. It’s about how strategy, decisions, culture, and accountability flow through the organisation.
2. Expecting control and agility at the same time
You can’t empower teams and micromanage outputs. You have to choose.
3. Believing they’re exempt from change
Leaders often say “Agile is great for teams.” But real transformation starts when leadership behaviours change.
4. Mistaking activity for outcomes
OKRs. SAFe boards. Ceremonies. None of it matters if you’re not delivering better outcomes for customers and the business.
5. Defaulting to old power dynamics
When things get tough, leaders tend to fall back into command-and-control. That’s when transformation collapses.
Part 3: How Leaders Can Actually Support Agile
Step 1: See the organisation as a system
Agility isn’t just about teams—it’s about how work flows, how value is delivered, and how people interact. Zoom out.
Step 2: Ask better questions
Replace “How fast are we delivering?” with “How confident are we in what we’re delivering—and why?”
Step 3: Redefine your role
Your job isn’t to approve delivery plans. It’s to create the conditions where teams can make better decisions than you could.
Step 4: Model uncertainty and curiosity
You don’t have to have all the answers. You just have to ask the right questions and listen without judgment.
Step 5: Align strategy with reality
Don’t hand teams a dream with no context. Work with them to translate ambition into executable value—then inspect and adapt together.
Part 4: Leadership Transformation Is the Real Work
At Lithe, we’ve learned that agile transformations don’t fail because teams don’t get it. They fail because leaders don’t change how they lead.
Here’s how we help:
Executive coaching to unpack habits and shift behaviours
Leadership alignment sessions to connect vision to execution
Adaptive operating models that support both autonomy and accountability
Strategic workshops to co-design the future with teams, not for them
Because you can’t delegate transformation. You are the transformation.
Final Word
The greatest obstacle to agility is often leadership certainty.
If you want a more adaptive, empowered, and outcome-driven organisation, you need to lead like it. Start by asking, “What do I need to unlearn?”