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#CareerAdvice : #StartingYourOwnBusiness – Your 12-Month Guide to Building your ‘Side Hustle’ this Year. Great Read & More!

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Side hustles are “in.” Or as author and founder of The Lonely Entrepreneur Michael Dermer argues, the gig economy is so prevalent, traditional 9 to 5 jobs are done on the side–instead of the other way around.

His assessment is backed by facts, since LinkedIn data found 71% of employees report having a hustle for additional income, and 36% find success in pursuing a passion project. Thanks to an uptick in the number of tech-forward and remote-friendly opportunities with lucrative salaries, the drive to start a freelance career or found a company continues to grow.

“Slowly but surely individuals started to color outside the corporate lines and bring to bear what many want: Fulfillment. Pride. Extra Cash. Passion. And most importantly the ability to align effort and talent that one expends with results,” Dermer says.

If you want to put your diligence toward your own gig or big idea, the best way to build it is to have a plan. Even if you’re setting your own hours one day, a huge part of entrepreneurism is self-reliance and focus.

Here, experts who have been there and gigged-that provide your 2019 roadmap.

JANUARY: START WITH A SERIOUS SELF-ASSESSMENT

If you think having a side hustle is an easy way to bring in extra cash for your dream vacation to Bali–think again. Considering how much work goes into developing an additional source of income, the most important aspect of getting started is figuring out your motivation. And as the CEO of Life Hacks Wealth, Marcos Jacober recommends asking yourself questions to prepare for the psychological shift required to become a bonafide hustler. “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][A side hustle will change] how you view what’s most important in your life and [challenge] your willingness to get very creative and do the dirty work on a daily basis,” he explains.

“Are you willing to make sacrifices for this to work? How badly do you want this to succeed?”

He suggests spending time getting to the heart of what is inspiring action–is it financial freedom? The luxury of doing what you love for a living? The hope to make a difference–or disrupt an industry? Perhaps, more dance lessons for your daughter? Whatever it is, write it down and put it in a place you see frequently to keep you on track.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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FEBRUARY: TAP INTO YOUR COMMUNITY

Figure out how you’re connected to people who have the job you already want. LinkedIn career expert Blair Decembrele says since February is often the coldest month of the year in most regions of the country, it’s strategic to use your time cooped up inside to your hustlin’ advantage.

This might be when you start laying the groundwork that’ll help you succeed in the months to come–from updating your social networks to securing a dotcom domain and social media accounts. You can also start cold emailing alumni connections or folks from previous jobs, and ask for referrals, recommendations, or even introductions. The digital footprint will come in handy when you’re in full pitching mode once spring rolls around.

Since you’re online anyway, Dermer also says that February is an ideal month to set specific goals on what you want to achieve–and more essentially–when you want to start taking on gigs. “It sounds boring, right? But it is critical. Gigs disappear quickly if we don’t treat them like true business ventures,” he explains. “Your ability to make your gig successful will depend on your ability to achieve financial goals. This can of course include other goals such as the launch of a website but you should never lose site of the fact that money will create longer term viability of your hustle.”

MARCH: BE REALISTIC ABOUT TIME

Now that you have built your legs–it’s time to turn your attention upwards and work on your juggling abilities. No matter the industry or the type of profession, most people struggle with time management, starting from the early days of school and far into their careers. After all–procrastination will always be tempting, especially when you don’t have a manager keeping you accountable for your gig duties. Since April will be when you’ll finally hit the ground running–more on that soon–fine-tuning the balancing act of full-time work and gigging is the best way to spend March.

Jacober suggests sitting down at the start of each day and writing your hour-by-hour deliverables. This doesn’t have to be all business-minded, since part of hustling is figuring out a work and life balance, so he recommends setting aside time for lunch, stretches, exercise, and so on. As the month wears on, you’ll quickly see what adjustments need to be made: is there enough friend time? Do you have the space for a new project? Are you going to bed too late–or too early? Are you #exhausted? Good, you’re on the right track.

APRIL: GET GOING

Now that you’ve laid the groundwork for the first quarter of the year, it’s–hopefully–about to pay off. Depending on what venture you’re shooting for, “getting started” can mean a variety of tasks. If you’re a freelancer in any capacity, it’s time to begin pitching and setting up those invites from February that kept getting pushed to the side. Entrepreneurs will be doing much of the same, as they start conversations around investors and perhaps, seeking capital.

During this month, you’ll want to ensure your website is up and fueled with the information needed to validate your experience and of course, start posting on social channels, according to Jacober. Just remember, every little thing you share should have value, since you’re building a brand, a reputation, and trust. “When it comes to social media posting, there is so much content and not enough time to consume it. Don’t just put something out there for the sake of posting. Think of the objectives you want to achieve from it and make it count,” he recommends.

MAY: GET INVOLVED IN AN ASSOCIATION OR PROFESSIONAL GROUP

The April forecast probably brought a shower of rejections–and one bright, sunny day of “yes.” Since you’ll be reeling off of the progress and feeling pumped, Decembrele says now is a strategic time to join an association or a professional group within your gig’s industry. Since May kicks off summertime, spirits are higher and more people are willing to go out and about for rooftop cocktails, making it a relatively less stressful time to mingle and make connections. Not to mention, make you better versed when you head out to pitch again. “There are often conferences where you can hear from industry speakers, members may have internship or job opportunities, and you’ll be in the know on key issues and policies,” she explains.

JUNE: GET AWAY

Since your side hustle is still in its infancy stages at this point, a two-week luxury vacation might not be in the cards. But, taking a weekend–or if you can, a week–during June to disconnect and reflect. Decembrele explains any hour spend with your loved ones in a place that feeds your passions can help spark creativity and enrich your focus toward your goals. As you will have likely learned by this stage in your gig trajectory, it’s rare for a freelancer to ever take a solid vacation. When you’re away from your phone for too many days, you could lose opportunities that come and go quickly. This may be a worry–and one that’s warranted–but try to spend at least a handful of hours when you’re out of town to pay attention to the culture and beauty that surrounds you, allowing yourself to daydream of the success you can see within sight.

JULY: INTEGRATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE INTO SALES AND MARKETING

Since you’ve been networking, you hopefully have learned a thing or two about how to put yourself out there. Much like dating, finding the right gigs, business partners, investors, and, eventually, employees means consistently pivoting, pitching, and repeating yourself.

Dermer says since July can be a slower month with vacations, use the time to home in on your sales and marketing skills. “Once you have the knowledge, you must make it front and center. It should be the first thing anyone hears. The normal bullet points don’t matter: Everyone uses them. It is your unique knowledge that must shine through,” he explains. Or in other words: Figure out how to differentiate yourself from the rest of other people who also seek your hustle. You want to be a journalist? Cool, what kind? You want to help small business build their social media efforts? What type of micro-companies–and what digital channels?

It’s an experience Jess Tatham, founder and lead developer of DevelopHER Designs, knows all too well. When figuring out how she would launch and build her web development company, she knew seeking a niche market she was personally passionate about would be the best route. Though it took plenty of naming brainstorms and some pitfalls before she found her pace, now she has helped countless female executives and entrepreneurs get their big ideas online.

AUGUST: JOURNAL AND REFLECT

Okay–you don’t have to put pen to paper, per se, but you should turn off your distractions and go over where you’ve been, what you’ve done and what’s ahead. Remember when you first thought about hustling your way to a new career in January? Look back on those notes and see where you are, two seasons later. This is when exercising your self-criticisms bones is essential to make moves. Jacober explains entrepreneurs should identify shortcomings in their processes to help them work more efficiently and effectively. Are there areas of your growing gig business that you could outsource to make room for more lucrative incentives? What about jobs you’ve been meaning to reach out to–but keep forgetting? Whatever the tasks are that keep falling through the cracks, now is the time to see where you can make changes.

Decembrele says many budding hustlers will feel stressed by this time. To manage the natural anxiety that comes from piecemealing your own empire, she suggests setting aside every week to gather yourself. “Keep those Sunday Scaries at bay by grabbing a pen and paper, and jot down to-dos, work priorities, questions, and so on,” she explains. “Writing down even the littlest notes and reminders can help you focus on the here and now. Spend some time thinking through what is a priority and start there.”

SEPTEMBER: GO IN WITH GUNS BLAZING

Technically, the last quarter of the year runs from October to December, but most companies start their mad dash to the New Year finish line after Labor Day. Since children return to school and professionals buckle down to meet goals and bring in the last of their clients and income, a side hustle requires the same diligence. Since you’ve been laying out the blueprint since April, you probably have a steady stream of go-to’s who assign or outsource your work, or are helping you build the groundwork for your business. It’s time to further engage with them and see how you can go even bigger before the end of the year by taking on a new project or perhaps, preparing for the holiday season by buying your supplies in bulk. Dermer says now is the time to put pedal to the medal and bring your gig to a new level.

OCTOBER: LEAN INTO YOUR CUSTOMER

After 30 days of going full throttle, you can now look at what you’ve made–and figure out how to make it better. And that begins from the outside in. No matter the side hustle, everyone has some sort of customer. For those in creative fields, it’s not only editors or managers who assign their stories, but the readers who critique them. For anyone in sales, it’s the people who fork over their own hard-earned cash for your product or service. For those who are creating something new in the tech space, it’s users and contractors who are making your dream possible.

Jacober says let October be when you double-down on the heart of any gig: the people. “Provide exceptional service and enhance the customer experience in every way you can. This includes follow up and real time experience management,” he continues. “Part of customer service is being a good listener. Don’t rush people through their conversations or complaints. If they bring up things they have done, hand out praise. People don’t get praised enough and are usually looking for it whether they know it or not.”

NOVEMBER: PAY YOUR GRATITUDE

Cheesy, old-fashioned, or not–saying “thanks” goes a long way when you’re competing against many others for the same gig. In fact, so much of transitioning your side hustle into your full-time lifestyle is earning solid recommendations from previous clients who stand by your talents. Word of mouth is powerful, no matter the industry, and often it is the loudest voice in the room. “The best way to keep your side hustle going is by referrals. As silly as it sounds, you want to be in touch with the people who hired you and offer them a discount for continued service or a perk if they refer someone to you,” explains millennial workforce expert and leadership trainer, Alissa Carpenter. “You want to have a stream of clients coming in based on your good work.”

In addition to writing out those “thank you” notes that could result in monetary notes in the New Year, Jacober also suggesting getting ahead of procrastination, since the holidays always disrupt our routines. This can make it far less likely you freak out when you’re traveling home for Thanksgiving, and can’t stop thinking about that email you sent to so-and-so. “Looking at our to-do list as a whole instead of as bite-sized chunks can really cause us to be overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, anxiety grips us. Anxiety slows our emotional responses and our body as a whole, leaving us feeling even more vulnerable and overwhelmed,” he says.

DECEMBER: REFLECT–AND SET GOALS

Resolutions may feel like a waste of time, but you don’t have to call ’em that if you don’t want to. Instead, think of them as goals or, rather, answers to the most important questions you need to ask yourself at the end of your first side hustlin’ year, according to Carpenter. She recommends asking: How did it go–really? What worked? What didn’t? Is this something you want to continue? Did you like it? Was the reward worth it? How were your friendships and relationships impacted? Can you continue to build? Is it time to make the leap–and make your side hustle, your only hustle?

If thinking thoughtfully through all of these questions results in a resounding “YES!–then you know you’re on the right track. Carpenter suggests setting three specific, tangible, and impactful goals for the first 90 days of the year.

And then? Well, get back to work. You’re still just getting started.

 

BY LINDSAY TIGAR – Editor’s Note: This story is part of our special New Year’s package “Your Future Self,” click here to read the full series. 
FastCompany.com | January 3, 2019

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#Leadership : In Business, Risk Never Goes Away, It Simply Evolves…The Period of Existential #Risk is Where Most Businesses Fail. It takes a Lot of Hard Work, Perseverance, & Luck to Survive.

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One thing I’ve learned along my manager/ entrepreneurial journey is that business is evolutionary. Risk in particular, never really goes away. In just evolves and takes new and different forms. To understand the evolutionary nature of risk is to understand the lifecycle of your business. Good leaders understand the how risk changes and can focus their skills and efforts accordingly.

Free- Locks

Like most things in life, business risk is both nuanced and evolutionary. Entrepreneurs and business leaders need to recognize this fact and understand what phase they find themselves in. The best leaders are the ones who can successfully evolve alongside their company and guide it to success.

While there are an infinite number of different risk phases that business will go through over the course of its life, I think that there are three main “epochs” to which every business owner can relate. Each has its set of challenges and opportunities, and it’s incredibly important for entrepreneurs to recognize where they stand about them.

Existential Risk

The first risk epoch is existential in nature. This occurs during the early stages of business when managers/entrepreneurs have to prove out the viability of their product or service. During this period, the primary focus of the business is the determination of whether or not your product is desired, valued, and functional.

The period of existential risk is where most businesses fail. It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, and luck to survive. Businesses at this stage are pre-revenue and incur a lot of startup costs. Investors who choose to participate at this stage shoulder a good deal of risk, and as a result generally take a much larger portion of the equity. Managers/Entrepreneurs in this phase of the business have to remain mindful of the unproven nature of their creation and act with the appropriate level of humility and caution.

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Execution Risk

If there is one mistake that I’ve seen many managers/entrepreneurs make time and time again, it’s harboring the false assumption that existential risk is the only risk that matters. While the need to prove out a concept’s viability is obvious, it is by no means the end-all-be-all.

The second epoch is characterized by execution risk, in which businesses work to scale the what they’ve created. This is where the entrepreneurs are separated from the operators. Some people revel in creating something from nothing and have less interest in actually running a business. Those types of entrepreneurs tend to struggle during the execution phase of the business.

Sustainability Risk

The third, and arguably most difficult “risk epoch” is all about maintaining the viability of the business you’ve created. This is the point where the sins of the past come to the surface, and seemingly solid companies can collapse with little warning.

Before founding BodeTree, I worked at the Apollo Education Group. Apollo owns and operates institutions in the for-profit education space, and recently experienced a fairly dramatic collapse. After years of hyper-growth, fantastic margins, and industry-defining advances, the University of Phoenix (Apollo’s flagship institution) is being sold to a group of investors for a mere $1.1 billion dollars. The reasons for Apollo’s fall is all too common: hubris and greed.

In attempt to keep growth rolling at the pace investors had become accustomed to, the organization pursued strategies and avenues that were ill-advised at best and unethical at worst. In short, they failed to ensure that the business had a stable and sustainable future, leading to the organization’s eventual collapse.

Like most things in life, business risk is both nuanced and evolutionary. Entrepreneurs and business leaders need to recognize this fact and understand what phase they find themselves in. The best leaders are the ones who can successfully evolve alongside their company and guide it to success.

Chris Myers is the Cofounder and CEO of BodeTree, a web application designed to help small businesses manage their finances.

 

Forbes.com | March 19, 2016 | Chris Myers

 

#Leadership : John Sculley Talks About Mentors, Failure, Reasons To Join A Startup — But Not The Future Of Soda

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What do You Do When your Back is Against the Wall & You Have to Either Pivot or Fail? How do you get somebody to feel passionate about what you believe in and get them to join you and be part of your team? These are really challenging questions which you don’t necessarily get at business school and aren’t the types of things you get working inside of a large corporation.

Former Pepsi president and Apple CEO, John Sculley, talks about his life as an entrepreneur and the present and future of business.

Former Pepsi president and Apple CEO, John Sculley, 76, talks about his life as an entrepreneur, and the present and future of business.

John Sculley is best known for his successes at Pepsi and his dramatic tenure at Apple, including the battle that jettisoned Steve Jobs from the ground-breaking tech firm. But Sculley’s post-Apple career has been focused squarely on helping build new businesses and mentoring younger entrepreneurs. His latest book and video series – Moonshot! – looks at how business founders plan for success as they attempt to transform industries.

Karsten Strauss: You spent much of your career in the corporate world, how did you first learn about entrepreneurship?

John Sculley: I had not heard about entrepreneurship until I got to Silicon Valley back in 1982. As I started to understand it I realized it was very similar to the most fun experience that I had ever had working with Pepsi, which was starting Pepsi’s international snackfood business around the world.

I had a small team and we said we weren’t going to spend much money until we were profitable so we would always travel economy class, we’d get the cheapest tickets, we’d stay at the cheapest hotels. We brought in refurbished equipment from the U.S. We had to learn how to start up in countries where no one even knew what snack foods were back in the early 1970s.

 

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Strauss: Tell us about a business that you helped build.

Sculley: I’m a cofounder of a company called Zeta Interactive. We’re one of the largest private marketing cloud companies in the world. We don’t give out our revenue but I’ll just say its north of $200 million and we’re very profitable and growing incredibly fast. We have 350 million profiled names that we do very sophisticated data science mathematic predictive algorithms for that enable our clients to be able to acquire customers, build customer loyalty and monetize customers.

Strauss: What did you learn from the Zeta experience?

Sculley: It taught me how important the role of a mentor is. My cofounder is a man named David Steinberg. David and I had a previous company together called Inphonic, which we built to a $1.6 billion company on the NASDAQ stock exchange and this was a follow-up company that David and I founded. I’ve been David Steinberg’s mentor for 18 years. One thing that makes a mentorship work is high level of trust between the parties. A mentor does not make decisions, a mentor does not run anything; the founder or CEO runs the business.

Strauss: Despite your mentorship, Inphonic was forced to file for bankruptcy and David Steinberg resigned as CEO. What happened?

Sculley: The wireless operators started to squeeze the rebates which they gave to resellers and David restructured the agreement with his large resellers where he wanted to take the revenue as recurring revenue – in the online world, recurring revenue is always considered more valuable – which was perfectly legal.

But the mistake that was made – and he’ll tell you it was his mistake but it was as much his chief financial officer’s, who did a bad analysis – was that they misjudged the implication on cash flow. By turning it into recurring revenue, it meant that he was going to defer when the revenue was recognized and the cash came in. So instead of, say, AT&T paying them a rebate at the sale of the phone, AT&T was paying a smaller amount than they had before, but they paid over a number of months. The result was he got squeezed on cash. He went out and raised cash to try and fill the gap but he wasn’t able to raise enough cash to fill the gap and the company spiraled into bankruptcy.

The only person who stuck with him, who was on his board and invested in his previous company, was me. I continued to be his mentor. I agreed to found the next company with him, which is Zeta Interactive.

Strauss: But you Left the Inphonic board before the end. Why?

Sculley: Nobody wants to be on the board of a company going bankrupt. It’s pretty simple. I was still a close friend of his and when Inphonic finally did file for bankruptcy, I said, “What do you learn from this experience?” I’ve had failures too. We all learn from failures.

Strauss: Do you think you could have offered better advice as a mentor?

Sculley: I wasn’t management, I wasn’t inside the operations of the company; I was a board member. Board members look at the reports that are presented to them. Like I said, this was not a great day for the CFO.

Strauss: What do you bring to the table as a mentor?

Sculley: I’m a marketing person who has lived in technology for 32 years so I have domain experience in consumer marketing and in technology. Especially the technologies that we use today, which are big data analytics – which is what Zeta Interactive does – and it’s also incredibly important in anything to do with mobile health and the consumerization of healthcare.

Forbes: How do you start a mentorship relationship?

Sculley: It starts with a set of principles and the most important one is I only work with people I like, and they obviously in turn have to like me. If you can’t start with a relationship first, it doesn’t make any difference what the business is. That’s different than the way most private equity or growth equity firms look at investing in business; they don’t start with friendship.

Strauss: Is there a trick to dealing with entrepreneurs?

Sculley: Entrepreneurs are, by nature, high risk takers. They have strong opinions, they are passionate about what they do, they will often tell you that the reason they work for themselves is because they couldn’t work for anybody else—it’s just not in their makeup.

Entrepreneurs make business such a high priority in their own personal lives. It’s very different than professional managers who may be there for making a lot of money over five or six years of hard work. Corporate leaders tend to want to fit into what a company is doing; entrepreneurs are there because they want to break the rules.

Strauss: Is a there a single strand of wisdom all successful entrepreneurs preach?

Sculley: The really big insights of learning don’t come from even your best successes, they come from the mistakes you make. When you make big mistakes you think about them a lot because as an entrepreneur when you make a mistake it could be life or death for your company.

Entrepreneurs are also driven by a noble cause and I first learned that working with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I’d never heard of the idea of a noble cause until I showed up at Apple because I came from the world of cola wars and competition so everything was about beating the other guy. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates weren’t talking about beating the other guy, they were talking about creating an entirely new industry.

Strauss: But Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were very competitive people.

Sculley: Bill Gates’ and Steve Jobs’ overarching motivation was a noble cause. In the conversations we had together, we never talked about making money. They were great competitors and they would argue, but that came later—first it was the noble cause.
Strauss: Do you ever get sick of being asked about Steve Jobs?

Sculley: I understand that the world is fascinated by him and he made some incredible contributions. He was a genius. He created products and industries that changed the world. I’m one of the few people who knew him incredibly well, worked closely with him when he was very young.

Strauss: Do you think Steve Jobs would have evolved into the CEO that he ultimately became had he not left Apple?

Sculley: Those were growing years for Steve Jobs. No one ever questioned that he was brilliant, but he made mistakes there and NeXT failed. He was learning from those experiences and the reality was that by the time he came back to Apple in the late 1990s he was an incredibly different person.

Every entrepreneur that has been successful that I know well will tell you that they learned the most from their mistakes. Steve, when he was very young – even before I joined Apple – was asked to step down from the Lisa group because he was considered a troublemaker; just as he was asked years later to step down from the Macintosh group.

Strauss: Entrepreneurs often try to power through the tough times. How do you know when to accept failure?

Sculley: Sometimes the way you give up is you run out of money, and that happens to a lot of entrepreneurs, unfortunately. A mentor doesn’t make decisions but a mentor can be a reality checkpoint. If there’s a really good, trusting relationship between the entrepreneur and the mentor, if the entrepreneur is failing he’ll turn to the mentor and say, “so, what’s your advice?”

It doesn’t mean that the entrepreneur has to follow the advice of the mentor but it’s useful for an entrepreneur to get advice that isn’t just yessing the entrepreneur.

Strauss: Who were some mentors that made an impact on your life?

Sculley: I didn’t really have mentors but I had a terrific couple of bosses at Pepsico when I was there. But I wouldn’t call it a mentor relationship because they were bosses and I came up through the traditional, hierarchical organization. One of the reasons I wanted to become a mentor was because I wish I’d had a mentor when I was in Silicon Valley.

Strauss: What impact do you think a mentor’s guidance would have had on you?

Sculley: There would have been a lot of decisions for which I would have loved to have had a mentor there to get their perspective. When I was very much opposed to licensing the Mac software, I actually got pushed out of Apple because there were others who did want to license it. I thought it was a terrible mistake and I wish I’d had a mentor to bounce that thinking off of and maybe I would have been able to convince people, which I wasn’t able to do.

Strauss: Do you think your communication was an issue in that situation?

Sculley: You can always get help on how you see things and how you tell other people about what you see. Those are the types of things I do as a mentor for the people I mentor. I’m doing for them exactly the things I think would have been valuable to me when I was in their role. I try to say “if I were in their shoes, what would I want a mentor to give me their opinion on?”

Strauss: What would you do if you were just coming out of college today?

Sculley: I would try to get into a startup company or I would try to join one of the many incubators or accelerators, because the opportunity to learn from other people in entrepreneurial companies is just incredibly valuable. I think it’s even more valuable than going to business school because you’re learning about the things entrepreneurs have to know.

What do you do when your back is against the wall and you have to either pivot or fail? How do you get somebody to feel passionate about what you believe in and get them to join you and be part of your team? These are really challenging questions which you don’t necessarily get at business school and aren’t the types of things you get working inside of a large corporation.

Strauss: Do you think the soda business will survive?

Sculley: I’ll pass on that question.

Follow me on Twitter @KarstenStrauss

#Leadership: Agile Leadership and the Manager/Entrepreneur…Remaining Flexible is One of the Most Important Traits a Leader can Possess–Especially Today.

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Over the last number of years, the word “agile” has been tossed around in numerous ways. The most common use has roots in the programming world, where “agile” is regarded as one step forward from “waterfall” as a means of making incremental improvements, to assure that the final product grows and is adjusted through the development process to be aligned with customer demand. In recent years, agile has emerged as “agile leadership.”

IMAGE: Getty Images

Some people have a rigorous notion of agile. Others prefer to use agile as a synonym for the ability to be flexible and responsive to a particular situation. Fortunately or unfortunately, the term itself is used in a non-concrete way.

What does agile leadership mean? At its core, my approach to agile leadership is predicated on the assumption that leadership is as much about how one adjusts one’s leadership style to a situation as it is on the embedded personality characteristics of the leader. Agile leadership, in this sense, implies contingency that how one leads is dependent on how one analyzes and views a particular situation.

For example, if the situation is one of stability, minimum uncertainty, and routinized expectations, then, as a leader, you lead in one way. If the opposite is true–unstable environment, high uncertainty, and ambiguous expectations–then, as a leader, you lead in another way.

Leading a manufacturing division is one thing; leading R&D is another. Leading when customer expectations are clear demands one kind of leadership; leading when customer expectations are not clear demands another.

 

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Agile leadership demands a mindful consideration of the context and an ability to adjust your leadership style appropriately. Agile leaders are able to vary their leadership style along a continuum. The question, of course, is what is this continuum?

The classic distinction is facilitative and directive leadership. The challenge for an agile leader is to balance their directive and facilitative style. Directive leadership sustains control by allocating resources, making expectations clear, defining goals, and establishing the parameters of success and failure. Facilitative leadership is based on giving individuals maximum flexibility and autonomy–giving them flexible goals, and letting them define and deal with parameters and constraints on their own.

In balancing these two leadership styles, an agile leader needs to be clear about which style is appropriate. During lean and difficult times, you may want to explicitly define goals, with the assumption that by delineating goals and specifying expectations will allow you to better control resources. In times of growth and abundance, you may want to define goals more broadly and give autonomy to be open to opportunities.

The challenge for an agile leader is to understand which style is appropriate at which type in time. The challenge is to balance leadership styles.

In these times, agile leadership is a special challenge for managers & entrepreneurs because they are caught on the horns of a dilemma. On the one had, they want to lead in such a fashion to give their organizations and teams the space to be innovative to assure the cutting edge. On the other hard, entrepreneurs have a short leash when it comes to resources and time. They have to be continuously accountable to assure a concrete ROI. The need to stimulate creativity and innovation may demand that the entrepreneur place a greater emphasis on their facilitative style while the shadow of ROI may demand that they emphasize their directive style. Agility is the capacity to juggle both styles as necessary. Entrepreneurial leaders need to get beyond blinders and personality and be aware of when one style suits the situation better than the other.

Even before “agile leadership” was in vogue, leaders of organizations of all sizes were well aware of it. The name may be a fad, but agile leadership has always been a core behavioral trait of successful managers & entrepreneurs.