Kevin Cashman has written the Leading with Agility Manifesto.
I believe a company receives out-of-this-world benefits when a leader is able to create adaptive products, products that provide options and the ability to respond to the speed-of-light change that we now are so often tossed and turned by. And this leader will typically have adaptive patterns wired in his brain before manifesting agile products.
Kevin points out in his ChangeThis article that as leaders advance in their career, they need to be able to deal with more and more ambiguity. Fact is, the world is going to become evermore vague and unclear. So it's a paradox that the most important competency in shortest supply today is "Dealing with Ambiguity."
As Terry Neil so eloquently wrote, "Change is a door that can only be opened from the inside." Therefore, to change our external world, we must first alter our internal world — "We must master our adaptability mentally, emotionally, and strategically."
Kevin also writes, "The most effective people sustain a sharp, localized focus in the present moment, while at the same time maintaining a broad, visionary context."
How does one develop these seemingly contradictory skills? In my experience, this talent can be acquired by not focusing on a highly specialized skill set. Instead, seek a broad education that includes the arts.
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