As change continues to accelerate across all industries, business leaders need to adopt change as a constant, while adapting to the shifts quickly. Therefore, agility will become a key characteristic for business leaders of the future. 

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As we look back at business over the last 50 years, we always see some level of change and transformation that shakes the marketplace. However, the pace of change in today’s environment seems to be spinning out of control. Never in the history of business have we seen industries transform, consumer behaviors shift and technologies evolve more quickly than we’re seeing right now. This pace of change is something that business leaders will need to develop the characteristic of agility to succeed. 

So what makes an agile business leader. From our experience, agility comes from the following characteristics.

Curiosity

Agile leaders have a large sense of curiosity that keeps them learning, growing and asking “what if.” This curiosity keeps an organization from falling into complacency and pushes executives and business units to continue to redefine the current and future situations for the business and it’s market offerings. 

Optimism

Rigidity can form in organizations that don’t have agile leaders - settling for status quo. And as we’ve seen before, status quo really is a death sentence for any business. It creates a world of stagnation, decline and pessimism. Agile leaders on the other hand have a true sense of optimism. They see the world of what could be and strive to make that world. However, agile leaders balance optimism with reality to ensure they keep one foot on the ground while shooting for the stars. 

Strategic

When I think of the most strategic thinkers I’ve met in my life, one thing comes to mind that is consistent across all - they have the ability to continually adapt to new inputs. The idea of strategy in today’s business environment is something that is ever-evolving and optimizing, versus set and forget. Leaders who develop the agile characteristic will adopt the mindset of rebalancing strategies as new input comes to light while remaining consistent with the vision and mission of the company. 

Grit

Agile leaders aren’t flip-floppers who bounce from idea to idea based on what they read that morning. They are actually just the opposite. They are steadfast in their vision and mission. They maintain the grit and determination to continually strive toward these as the market shifts. They may revise their strategies along the way, but they will always strive for the end goal. Agile leaders are true sailors, they know where they’re going, but they adapt to what the weather and ocean throw at them. 

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Agility runs deep throughout Chinatown Bureau’s processes. We’ve heard from our clients about the need to move quickly and adapt to marketplace shifts - all while solving the challenges of today.

Want to learn more? Feel free to reach out.