This document discusses leadership at every level and creating an environment where people can flourish. It promotes encouraging leadership from all employees through practices like andon cords, competence building, shared vision, and autonomy-support meetings. These "safety nets" and "vision balloons" aim to create psychological safety and clarity of purpose to allow aligned autonomy across an organization. The goal is shifting away from traditional top-down management styles to a model where all people see themselves as leaders.

1. A g i l e M i d w e s t 2 0 1 8
LEADERSHIP AT EVERY LEVEL
Intent-Based Leadership Practices
@mattphilip

2. @mattphilip #agilemw20182

3. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
ENVIRONMENT FOR FLOURISHING
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KANBAN METHOD PRINCIPLES
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Encourage acts of leadership at every level?

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ALIGNED AUTONOMY
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WHY LEADERSHIP AT EVERY LEVEL MATTERS
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“Right now, your company has 21st-century Internet-
enabled business processes, mid-20th-century management
processes, all built atop 19th-century management principles.”
— Gary Hamel

8. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
WHY LEADERSHIP AT EVERY LEVEL MATTERS
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9. @mattphilip #agilemw20189

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL UPSIDE-DOWN
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Manager Manager
Worker Worker Worker
Executive
Worker

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL UPSIDE-DOWN
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Manager Manager
Worker Worker Worker
Executive
Worker

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL UPSIDE-DOWN
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Follower/
Leader
Follower/
Leader
Follower Follower Follower
Leader
Follower

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL RIGHTSIDE-UP
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Manager Manager
Worker Worker Worker
Executive
Worker

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL RIGHTSIDE-UP
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Leader Leader
Leader Leader Leader
Leader
Leader

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ENABLERS: SAFETY AND SHARED VISION
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Leader Leader
Leader Leader Leader
Leader
Leader

16. SAFETY NETS
Practices that enable psychological safety
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17. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
SAFETY NETS
•Andon Cord
•“I intend to”
•Competence Building
•Playgrounds
•Strong Communities
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ANDON CORD
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“I INTEND TO”
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Disempowered:
•Request
permission to
•I would like to
•What should we
do about
•Do you think we
should
•Could we
Empowered:
•I intend to
•I plan on
•I will
•We will

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COMPETENCE + CLARITY = ALIGNED AUTONOMY
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Competence + Clarity
GiveControl
Aligned Autonomy

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COMPETENCE BUILDING
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"The ultimate test for a leader is not whether he or
she makes smart decisions and takes decisive action,
but whether he or she teaches others to be leaders and
builds an organization that can sustain its success even when he
or she is not around."
-- Noel Tichy, The Leadership Engine

23. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
PLAYGROUNDS
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STRONG COMMUNITIES
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Village (~150)
Band (~50)
Hunting Party (~15)
Confidants (~5)
— Primed to Perform

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COMMUNITY TRUST SAFETY
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26. VISION BALLOONS
Practices that enable shared vision and clarity
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DELEGATION THEATER
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VISION BALLOONS: PRACTICES THAT ENABLE SHARED VISION AND CLARITY
•Hypothesis-Driven Leadership
•Leadership Backbriefing
•Role Clarity and Design
•Company Bets/Portfolio Board
•Autonomy-Support Meetings
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HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP
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We believe that <doing/building/creating this>
for <these people / personas>
will achieve <this outcome>.
We will know this is true when we see <this market feedback,
quantitative measure, or qualitative insight>.

30. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
LEADER BACKBRIEFING
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LEADER BACKBRIEFING
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ROLE CLARITY AND DESIGN
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Competency
▫︎Show impact of
individual
contribution
▫︎Connect meaning
of activity
▫︎Set expectations,
coach
▫︎Provide social
learning
connections
▫︎Culture add over
culture fit
Exit
Flow Channel
Engagement
Boredom
Anxiety
Challenge

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COMPANY PORTFOLIO BOARDS
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— Klaus Leopold

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COMPANY BETS BOARDS
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GIVE INFORMATION, NOT INSTRUCTIONS
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GIVE INFORMATION, NOT INSTRUCTIONS
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AUTONOMY-SUPPORT MEETINGS
•How can I help you realize your goals in the next year?
•By when would you like me to achieve these things for you?
•In what areas have I failed to help you in the past, and how can I improve?
•What kind of things would help you feel more engaged?
•How can I help smooth your path toward mastery of certain skills?
•What does success look like for you, and how can I help you succeed?
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MARQUET’S “I’M NEW HERE" QUESTIONS
•What are the things you are hoping I don’t change?
•What are the things you are secretly hoping I do change?
•What are the good things we should build on?
•If you were me, what would you do first?
•Why aren’t we doing better?
•What are your personal goals for your time here?
•What impediments do you have to doing your job?
•What is our biggest challenge?
•What is your biggest frustration?
•What is the best thing I can do for you?
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39. PARTING THOUGHTS
Creating safety nets and vision balloons
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EINHEIT
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CLARITY: YOUR BEHAVIOR CODE
•Problem solving: How do we expect people to solve problems? On their
own? Collaboratively?
•Prioritization: How should people prioritize competing objectives?
•Conflict: How do we deal with disagreement? How do we make
disagreement safe? When is consensus required and when can people make
their own decisions?
•Motivation: How do we expect our leaders to lead and motivate? Direct or
indirect?
•Heritage: Which practices, customs, cultural norms are not to be abridged
or ignored?
— From Primed to Perform
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ATTITUDES TOWARD A VISION
1.Commitment: Wants it. Will make it happen. Creates whatever “laws” (structures) are
needed.
2.Enrollment: Wants it. Will do whatever can be done within spirit of the law.
3.Genuine compliance: Sees the benefits of the vision. Does everything expected and
more. Follows the letter of the law. “Good soldier."
4.Formal compliance: On the whole sees the benefits of the vision. Does what’s
expected and no more. “Pretty good soldier."
5.Grudging compliance: Doesn’t want to lose his job. Does enough of what’s expected
because he has to but also lets it be known that he’s not on board.
6.Noncompliance: “I won’t do it; you can’t make me."
7.Apathy: Neither for nor against vision. No interest.
— From The Fifth Discipline
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COURAGE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
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“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there,
you’ll be amazed at the results.”
— George S. Patton

45. @mattphilip #agilemw2018
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
•Turn the Ship Around
•The Fifth Discipline
•Primed to Perform
•https://www.unlearn.online/
•https://trailhead.salesforce.com/
•https://www.leanability.com/en/blog-en/2017/04/flight-levels-the-
organizational-improvement-levels/
•https://blog.crisp.se/2016/06/08/henrikkniberg/spotify-rhythm
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46. @mattphilip
mattphilip@thoughtworks.com
Credits:
•net by Lisa Oregioni from the Noun Project
•air balloon by See Link from the Noun Project
•Water Slide by bmijnlieff from the Noun Project
•Ladder by Jamie Dickinson from the Noun Project
•Wikimedia Commons
THANK YOU