Being Agile: Eleven Breakthrough Techniques to Keep You from “Waterfalling Backward”

Set Priorities, Provide Boundaries, and Let the Team Figure Out How

“The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’” [sic] Thus says Lao Tzu.

This quote highlights a critical aspect of agile leadership: Leaders set the direction and establish the priorities, but the teams need to “own the execution,” meaning they decide how to get the work done and hold themselves accountable for their commitments. For agile teams, and leaders of agile teams, this means the days of the micro-manager are over.

That being said, there is still that fine line that a leader needs to walk to enable teams to take ownership, while still providing leadership. ...