A River of Leadership

Leadership is like white water rafting.

The world of software development is an untamed river of uncertainty and innovation.  I swim in this whitewater of ambiguity and get caught up in its currents regularly.  Technology never rests, and the pressure to sink or swim is always present.  Being a leader is more perilous because you are also responsible for the wellbeing of others who work with you.  I want to take a closer look at those responsibilities of leadership.

At the recommendation of my colleagues, I am stepping forward and founding a chapter of the Agile Coaching Exchange in the greater Chicago area.  It is a new role for me and something I have not done before.  I am gathering speakers and attempting to set up venues for the group to meet.  I have been a participant in these kinds of gathering for years, and now I am organizing them.  It makes me respect the people organizing meetups and user groups more because I understand how much hard work it is.

The experience reminded me of a blog I authored about leadership.  A person has three choices when confronted with a challenge; lead, follow, or get out of the way.  It is time for me to show some leadership in the agile community instead of ranting like a voice in the wilderness.  It is not the traditional leadership I was trained earlier in my life to adopt.  Times change, and so does leadership.  Claire Croft mentions this in an article for Forbes magazine.

The global economy is changing too quickly.  Sears and ToysRUs are gone.  The internet reaches over half the world's population, and it is growing by 2% annually.  We measure success in days instead of years.  Finally, the job I have today did not exist when I was a college undergraduate.  It means traditional notions of leadership are not going to adapt to the turbulence of the current business world.

It means leadership needs to come from inside.  You have to play up personal strengths and work with your shortcomings.  Instead of a mask of command, a leader should expose themselves to others to build empathy and radical candor.  It includes being kind to yourself and others because we are all fighting unique struggles each day.

I continue my adventures rafting the unsettled river of technology.  As the water rises and falls, I will change my leadership style to navigate to the next destination.  I am grateful for each of my readers, who are sharing this journey with me.

Until next time.