Agile management for real innovation in the company: instructions for use

Innovation improves people's working conditions and allows them to focus on the activities with the highest added value. On the other hand, an organisation focused only on people may find it difficult to be fully agile, because the adoption of digital can contribute to flexibility and speed, allowing greater adaptability and improved operations.

In your opinion servant leadership and soft skills are indispensable to successfully promote and drive the agile model in the company: are Italian managers ready?

We are talking about skills that include the ability to listen, empathy, collaboration and the willingness to support people in their development, and of whose importance Italian managers are increasingly aware, in relation to several factors. The growing complexity of the world of work, which requires transversal skills and the ability to adapt, is certainly one of them, and then the increase in global competition, which makes more innovative and creative work environments necessary. And again the spread of the agile model, which puts people and their collaboration at the centre. It must also be recognised that the preparation of managers in these competencies can vary and depends on the individual figure and the organisational context in which they work. Often managers with more seniority and traditional training behind them may find it difficult to adapt to a new leadership style, while it is not uncommon for smaller companies to invest less in training and offer fewer opportunities for personal and professional development. Soft skills and servant leadership, in conclusion, are an important investment for companies that want, through Agile Management, to really innovate.

Who invests in soft skills and the involvement of people in change what benefits can they expect?

Companies that focus on the development of soft skills and the servant leadership of their managers can achieve several benefits, starting with increased productivity and an improved corporate climate: agile teams working in an environment of trust and collaboration are more efficient and innovative, and employees who feel supported and valued are more motivated and satisfied with their work. A further benefit for companies is that they are more attractive to talent thanks to dedicated soft skill development paths.

Is a figure such as the 'Scrum Master' only useful in organisations that are less sensitive to the issue of collaboration?

He/she can be useful in any organisation that adopts agile principles, regardless of the level of sensitivity to sharing and collaboration. Indeed, this typical figure in the Agile methodology is responsible for promoting cooperation between team members, removing obstacles and encouraging full collaboration between people to achieve results, regardless of the organisational context in which he or she operates.

Last question: where and how do you intervene in your company with agile management in order not to lose, indeed increase, competitiveness?

Agile management is based on rapid learning and adaptation cycles, methods that help overcome resistance to change and create a more open and flexible organisational culture. Training interventions of this kind are useful both for SMEs, to help them better control and develop their strategy by facilitating a new 'mindset', and for large companies, to implement their own strategy by fluidifying their implementation processes and procedures. The end result should be unambiguous for all. On the soft side, the goal is the optimal involvement of people, an essential factor without which business objectives cannot be achieved; on the hard side, on the other hand, the goal to be achieved is a real simplification in order to take advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies such as artificial intelligence, identifying useful trends in the delegation of routine or time-consuming activities and concentrating on high value-added tasks.